University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, December 2
Williams Arena
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
67
vs
50
Air Force
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F
Air Force
11
5
16
18
50
Minnesota
11
19
12
25
67
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell
Strong Finish Sends No. 20 Minnesota Past Air Force, 67-50
12/2/2018 6:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS -- Leading by three early in the fourth quarter, No. 20 Minnesota embarked on a 25-4 to put away Air Force (4-4) Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena with a 67-50 victory. With the win, the Gophers are now 7-0 for the second straight season and the fourth time in program history.
Senior Kenisha Bell led all scorers with a season-high 27 points and came a rebound shy of a double-double for the third straight contest. She also had a season-high six steals, a pair of assists and one blocked shot. She scored 12 points alone in the second quarter, the most points by a Gopher in any quarter this year. It was her fourth 20-point game this season, and she's the only Gopher to reach double figures in every game this season.
With Sunday's performance, Bell has now cracked the top-15 on Minnesota's career scoring list. Her 1,292 career points have moved her past Ashley Ellis-Milan (1,281) for 15th place.
Junior Taiye Bello finished with 18 rebounds for the second consecutive game, 10 of which came in the first quarter. It was the fourth game this year where Bello had at least 18 rebounds. After Thursday's 18-rebound outing Thursday night against No. 12 Syracuse, Bello was one of two players in the country, and the only one from a Power 5 Conference, to have three games with at least 18 rebounds.
Tied at 11 after the first quarter, Minnesota dominated in the second quarter as it outscored the Falcons 19-5. It was the fewest points allowed by the Gophers in any quarter this season, giving them a 30-16 lead at the break. The 16 Air Force points also tied for the fewest scored by an opponent in a half this year.
Minnesota's lead grew to 36-16 coming out of intermission, but Air Force responded with a 14-1 run to make it a 37-30 game with just under three minutes to play in the third.
The Gophers led by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but the Falcons scored the first seven points of the final frame to trail 42-39 with 7:55 to play. That would be as close as Air Force would get, though, as Minnesota responded emphatically with a 25-4 run over the next 5:50 to put the game away.
The run started when Bello grabbed one of here nine offensive rebounds and made the put-back layup. She was one of five Gophers to score during the stretch, including Bell, who had six straight points after Bello's layup. Sophomore Destiny Pitts scored seven of her season-high 16 points during the run, while junior Jasmine Brunson had five of her nine points and senior Annalese Lamke scored three of her seven points.
Minnesota's 54 rebounds were a season high, including 19 offensive rebounds resulting in 11 second-chance points. The Gophers also had a season-high 13 steals, which contributed to 23 points off turnovers.
Minnesota wraps up its six-game homestand on Wednesday with a matinee matchup against Incarnate Word. Tipoff for Field Trip Day is scheduled for noon on BTN Plus.
GAME NOTES
Minnesota is 3-0 all-time against Air Force ... Bell's 14 free throw attempts give her 508 for her career, tying Laura Coenen for seventh in Minnesota history ... Bell's six steals give her 172 for her career, moving her into ninth in team annals ahead of Kiara Buford (167) ... Bello's nine offensive rebounds give her 237 for her career as she jumped ahead of Cara Pearson (231) for eighth on the all-time Gopher list ... freshman Delaynie Byrne played a career-high 12 minutes and had her first multi-rebound game
Senior Kenisha Bell led all scorers with a season-high 27 points and came a rebound shy of a double-double for the third straight contest. She also had a season-high six steals, a pair of assists and one blocked shot. She scored 12 points alone in the second quarter, the most points by a Gopher in any quarter this year. It was her fourth 20-point game this season, and she's the only Gopher to reach double figures in every game this season.
With Sunday's performance, Bell has now cracked the top-15 on Minnesota's career scoring list. Her 1,292 career points have moved her past Ashley Ellis-Milan (1,281) for 15th place.
Junior Taiye Bello finished with 18 rebounds for the second consecutive game, 10 of which came in the first quarter. It was the fourth game this year where Bello had at least 18 rebounds. After Thursday's 18-rebound outing Thursday night against No. 12 Syracuse, Bello was one of two players in the country, and the only one from a Power 5 Conference, to have three games with at least 18 rebounds.
Tied at 11 after the first quarter, Minnesota dominated in the second quarter as it outscored the Falcons 19-5. It was the fewest points allowed by the Gophers in any quarter this season, giving them a 30-16 lead at the break. The 16 Air Force points also tied for the fewest scored by an opponent in a half this year.
Minnesota's lead grew to 36-16 coming out of intermission, but Air Force responded with a 14-1 run to make it a 37-30 game with just under three minutes to play in the third.
The Gophers led by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but the Falcons scored the first seven points of the final frame to trail 42-39 with 7:55 to play. That would be as close as Air Force would get, though, as Minnesota responded emphatically with a 25-4 run over the next 5:50 to put the game away.
The run started when Bello grabbed one of here nine offensive rebounds and made the put-back layup. She was one of five Gophers to score during the stretch, including Bell, who had six straight points after Bello's layup. Sophomore Destiny Pitts scored seven of her season-high 16 points during the run, while junior Jasmine Brunson had five of her nine points and senior Annalese Lamke scored three of her seven points.
Minnesota's 54 rebounds were a season high, including 19 offensive rebounds resulting in 11 second-chance points. The Gophers also had a season-high 13 steals, which contributed to 23 points off turnovers.
Minnesota wraps up its six-game homestand on Wednesday with a matinee matchup against Incarnate Word. Tipoff for Field Trip Day is scheduled for noon on BTN Plus.
GAME NOTES
Minnesota is 3-0 all-time against Air Force ... Bell's 14 free throw attempts give her 508 for her career, tying Laura Coenen for seventh in Minnesota history ... Bell's six steals give her 172 for her career, moving her into ninth in team annals ahead of Kiara Buford (167) ... Bello's nine offensive rebounds give her 237 for her career as she jumped ahead of Cara Pearson (231) for eighth on the all-time Gopher list ... freshman Delaynie Byrne played a career-high 12 minutes and had her first multi-rebound game
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Team Stats
F-721
F-428
FG%
.295
.390
3FG%
.235
.100
FT%
.588
.513
RB
38
54
TO
20
18
STL
9
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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