Whalen Era Begins Friday Night vs. New Hampshire

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota women's basketball (24-9, 11-5 B1G last season) begins its 48th season of play Friday night at 8 p.m. when it plays host to New Hampshire (19-12, 9-7 America East last season) in the 2018-19 season opener. It'll be the first game for the Golden Gophers under first-year head coach Lindsay Whalen.

The game, which will be the fifth straight season opener at home for Minnesota, will be available to view online on BTN Plus and can be heard on the Gophers' new radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• One of the most decorated players in women's basketball history, Whalen was named the program's 12th head coach on April 12, 2018. As a student-athlete at Minnesota, Whalen finished her career as the Gophers' all-time points leader, along with being second all-time in assists and third all-time in steals. A four-time all-state selection at Hutchinson High School, about an hour west of Minneapolis, Whalen was the first three-time All-American in program history, a three-time All-Big Ten selection and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. After a Sweet Sixteen appearance her junior season (2002-03), Whalen led the Gophers to their only Final Four in program history in 2004. Her jersey, No. 13, hangs in the rafters of Williams Arena.

• Highlighting the individuals returning for the Gophers from last season are redshirt senior Kenisha Bell, who was an AP Honorable Mention All-American, a unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree and a member of the All-Big Ten Defensive Team, and sophomore Destiny Pitts, who is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was selected to both the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and the All-Big Ten Second Team (media).

• A sellout crowd has already been announced for the home opener with approximately 14,000 fans expected. That figure puts in range the all-time Minnesota women's basketball attendance mark of 14,363, which was set during Lindsay Whalen's senior season against Penn State. There have only been two games in program history with attendance higher than 14,000 and only eight with a figure greater than 13,000.

• Minnesota is 27-18 in season-opening games dating back to 1973-74 with nine straight wins and victories in 16 of its last 17 such games. The only loss in that span came at No. 2 Stanford in 2008. Minnesota is also 39-6 in home openers dating back to 1973-74 with 18 straight wins. Gophers' head coaches are 5-4 in their debut games (game information is not available for Joan Stevenson (1971-72) or Deb Wilson (1972-73)).

SERIES WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Friday night will be the first ever matchup between Minnesota and New Hampshire.
• The Golden Gophers are 5-0 all-time against teams from the America East Conference, beating Maine and Binghamton twice and Vermont once. All games took place at Williams Arena and Minnesota won those contests by an average of 19 points (78.4-59.4).

GOPHERS RECEIVING VOTES IN BOTH PRESEASON POLLS

• Minnesota received votes in both the preseason AP and USA Today Coaches Poll. The last time that happened was in 2005-06 when the Gophers began the year ranked 16th and 17th, respectively, in the polls.

• The Golden Gophers were the top team to receive votes in the AP Poll, placing them 26th in the country. It's the 8th time in program history Minnesota has appeared in the AP Preseason Poll and the first since also receiving votes in 2015-16.

• Minnesota garnered 12 points in the Coaches Poll to tie Florida Gulf Coast for 33rd. Like the AP Poll, It's also the 8th time in program history Minnesota has appeared in the Coaches Preseason Poll and the first since also receiving votes in 2013-14.

• Eight of the Gophers' opponents this season appeared in at least one of the two polls. Maryland (9 AP/10 Coaches), Iowa (13/17) and Syracuse (18/18) were ranked in both polls. Michigan received votes in each poll, while Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State received votes in one of the two polls.

MINNESOTA PICKED THIRD BY BIG TEN MEDIA

• Minnesota came in the third in the Big Ten media's preseason rankings behind No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Iowa. The latter two teams were also picked in those same spots by the league's coaches, while Michigan was ranked third. Only the top three teams are announced.

• Bell was one off 11 student-athletes to be recognized by both the media and league's coaches on their respective Preseason All-Big Ten Teams. She was a unanimous selection by the coaches and was joined by Pitts on the media's preseason team.

• It's the first time the Gophers had multiple players earn preseason conference honors since the 2014-15 season when Rachel Banham and Amanda Zahui B. did it.

BELL, PITTS LAND ON PRESEASON WATCH LISTS

• Kenisha Bell was one of 20 student-athletes, including one of three from the Big Ten, to be added to the watch list for the 2019 Nancy Lieberman Award, given annually to the nation's top point guard.

• Destiny Pitts was one of 20 student-athletes, including one of two from the Big Ten, to be added to the watch list for the 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given annually to the nation's top shooting guard.

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Players Mentioned

Kenisha Bell

Destiny Pitts