University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 23
Williams Arena
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
65
vs
45
Cornell
1
2
3
4
F
Cornell
8
8
16
13
45
Minnesota
20
20
19
6
65
Minnesota Improves to 5-0 with Win Over Cornell
11/23/2018 6:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second straight game, No. 23 Minnesota (5-0) used a hot start to blow past its competition.
Tuesday, the Golden Gophers scored nine of the first 11 points in an eventual 84-42 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Friday afternoon, Minnesota opened the contest with a 19-2 run en route to a 65-45 win over Cornell (2-2) at Williams Arena.
Sophomore Destiny Pitts hit a season-high three 3-pointers in that opening stretch and finished with 11 points. She was joined in double figures by senior Kenisha Bell, who scored a game-high 18 points and was a rebound shy of her first double-double of the season.
Senior Annalese Lamke scored eight points, including all six free throw attempts, and matched a career high with nine rebounds, while fellow senior Palma Kaposi stuffed the stat sheet off the bench as she tied a career high with six points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded a career-best three steals.
After that initial 19-2 run, Cornell worked its way back into the game and a Big Red layup with 6:05 left in the second quarter saw Minnesota's lead at 22-11. The Golden Gophers broke the game wide open after that, though, with a 16-0 run that lasted nearly five minutes. Bell had eight of the 16 points and Minnesota entered the locker room at the half leading 40-16. It was the fewest points allowed by the Gophers this season.
Leading by 24 at the break, Minnesota extended its lead to as many as 33 points as a free throw from Bell with 2:11 left in the third had the Gophers up 58-25. Cornell never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Minnesota is now 5-0 for the second straight season and fifth time in program history. With the win, head coach Lindsay Whalen joined her former coach, Pam Borton, as the only Minnesota coaches to win the first five games of their careers. Borton won her first 12 games during 2002-03, Whalen's junior season.
The Golden Gophers are back in action next Thursday when they host No. 14 Syracuse (5-1) at 7:30 p.m. as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. If both teams remain ranked, it would be the first Top 25 matchup for Minnesota since Jan. 25, 2015 when it was ranked No. 21 and fell at No. 25 Rutgers, 66-61.
GAME NOTES
Friday was the first ever meeting with Cornell … Minnesota is 9-0 all-time against teams from the Ivy League … Bell was 7-of-12 at the free throw line and has now made 360 free throws in her career, tying Laura Coenen for eighth in Minnesota history ... Irene Garrido Perez had a career-high three steals
Tuesday, the Golden Gophers scored nine of the first 11 points in an eventual 84-42 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Friday afternoon, Minnesota opened the contest with a 19-2 run en route to a 65-45 win over Cornell (2-2) at Williams Arena.
Sophomore Destiny Pitts hit a season-high three 3-pointers in that opening stretch and finished with 11 points. She was joined in double figures by senior Kenisha Bell, who scored a game-high 18 points and was a rebound shy of her first double-double of the season.
Senior Annalese Lamke scored eight points, including all six free throw attempts, and matched a career high with nine rebounds, while fellow senior Palma Kaposi stuffed the stat sheet off the bench as she tied a career high with six points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded a career-best three steals.
After that initial 19-2 run, Cornell worked its way back into the game and a Big Red layup with 6:05 left in the second quarter saw Minnesota's lead at 22-11. The Golden Gophers broke the game wide open after that, though, with a 16-0 run that lasted nearly five minutes. Bell had eight of the 16 points and Minnesota entered the locker room at the half leading 40-16. It was the fewest points allowed by the Gophers this season.
Leading by 24 at the break, Minnesota extended its lead to as many as 33 points as a free throw from Bell with 2:11 left in the third had the Gophers up 58-25. Cornell never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Minnesota is now 5-0 for the second straight season and fifth time in program history. With the win, head coach Lindsay Whalen joined her former coach, Pam Borton, as the only Minnesota coaches to win the first five games of their careers. Borton won her first 12 games during 2002-03, Whalen's junior season.
The Golden Gophers are back in action next Thursday when they host No. 14 Syracuse (5-1) at 7:30 p.m. as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. If both teams remain ranked, it would be the first Top 25 matchup for Minnesota since Jan. 25, 2015 when it was ranked No. 21 and fell at No. 25 Rutgers, 66-61.
GAME NOTES
Friday was the first ever meeting with Cornell … Minnesota is 9-0 all-time against teams from the Ivy League … Bell was 7-of-12 at the free throw line and has now made 360 free throws in her career, tying Laura Coenen for eighth in Minnesota history ... Irene Garrido Perez had a career-high three steals
Team Stats
F-167
F-428
FG%
.315
.344
3FG%
.417
.286
FT%
.500
.594
RB
41
45
TO
22
11
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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