2019-20 Women's Basketball Season Begins Tuesday vs. Missouri State

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota women's basketball begins its 49th season of play Tuesday afternoon against Missouri State in the 2019-20 season opener. The game, which will be the sixth straight season opener at home for Minnesota and the earliest season opener in program history, will be available to view online on BTN Plus and can be heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• Minnesota is 28-18 in season-opening games dating back to 1973-74 with 10 straight wins and victories in 17 of its last 18 such games. The only loss in that span came at No. 2 Stanford in 2008. Minnesota is also 40-6 in home openers dating back to 1973-74 with 19 straight wins.

• Minnesota is ranked No. 23 in the AP Preseason Poll and receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. It's the fifth time in program history the Gophers have been ranked in the AP Preseason Poll and the first since they were No. 16 in 2005-06. Minnesota is 6-4 all-time when ranked No. 23, including a 3-2 mark last season. The Gophers have won six of their last seven games vs. unranked teams when ranked No. 23.

• Minnesota is coming off a 21-11 season (9-9 in Big Ten play) and a trip to the second round of the Women's NIT in head coach Lindsay Whalen's debut campaign. In addition to it being the 14th 20-win season in program history, it also marked the 22nd postseason appearance all-time for Minnesota and seventh in the last eight years.

• Of the 24 rookie head coaches in DI basketball last season, no one had more wins or a better win percentage than Whalen with her 21-11 record and .656 win percentage (Northern Colorado's Jenny Huth also went 21-11).

• The team returns three of its top four leading scorers from last season, and 53.8 percent of its scoring, 70.4 percent of its 3-pointers, 63.8 percent of its blocks, 57.1 percent of its rebounds, 55.6 percent of its minutes, 51.9 percent of its steals, and 50.6 percent of its assists (more on page 3).

• Highlighting the individuals returning for the Gophers are junior Destiny Pitts, who was named a consensus Preseason All-Big Ten pick by the league's coaches and media, and senior Taiye Bello, who was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media members last season. The Gophers are also expected to receive a boost from redshirt junior Gadiva Hubbard, who missed all of last season due to injury, but put up 13.6 points per game as a sophomore in 2017-18.

PROMOTIONS

• The first 500 fans will receive a voucher for a free hot dog, courtesy of head coach Lindsay Whalen.

• Ticket holders for Tuesday night's men's basketball game against Cleveland State will receive free admission.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MISSOURI STATE

• Tuesday will mark the first ever meeting between Minnesota and Missouri State.

• The Golden Gophers are 27-13 all-time against teams currently in the Missouri Valley Conference and have won 14 straight against MVC programs, including 13 in a row against them in Minneapolis. The last meeting was against Northern Iowa in last year's WNIT when Minnesota won 91-75 at Williams Arena.

• During the current 14-game streak against the MVC, which dates to Nov. of 2001, Minnesota has won those games by an average of nearly 21 points (79.7-58.8).

• Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is in her first season as head coach for the Bears after spending the last six seasons at Michigan State, including the last four as associate head coach. Among her staff members is assistant coach Tori Jankoska, who played at Michigan State from 2013-17 and is the Spartans' all-time leading scorer.

GOPHERS APPEAR IN BOTH PRESEASON POLLS

• Minnesota is ranked 23rd in the AP Preseason Poll and receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll.

• It's the fifth time overall the Gophers have been ranked in the AP Preseason Poll in program history and the first since they were No. 16 in 2005-06.

• Minnesota garnered 73 points in the Coaches Poll to sit at 27th, trailing only Iowa (75 points) among those receiving votes. It's the second straight season the Golden Gophers have received votes in the Coaches Preseason Poll.

• Nine of the Gophers' opponents this season appeared in at least one of the two preseason polls. Maryland (4 AP/5 Coaches), Notre Dame (16/14), Michigan State (17/21), Arizona State (20/18) and Michigan (25/24) were ranked in both polls, while Indiana was ranked 24th in the AP Poll and receiving votes from the Coaches. Iowa and Rutgers received votes in each poll, while Missouri State received votes from the Coaches.

MINNESOTA PICKED FIFTH BY BIG TEN MEDIA

• Minnesota came in fifth in the Big Ten media's preseason rankings. Maryland was the media's top pick, followed by Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and the Gophers. Only the top five teams are announced.

PITTS, TAIYE BELLO EARN PRESEASON HONORS

• Destiny Pitts and Taiye Bello have each earned a pair of preseason honors heading into 2019-20.

• Pitts was a consensus Preseason All-Big Ten pick by both the league's coaches and media. In addition, she was one of 20 shooting guards nationally, and one of four from the Big Ten, named to the preseason watch list for the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.

• Bello, meanwhile, was placed on the preseason watch list for the 2020 Katrina McClain Award, which is given to the country's top power forward. She is one of 20 players on the list and one of three from the Big Ten.

PITTS AIMING TO TAKE GAME TO NEXT LEVEL

• • Named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2017-18, Destiny Pitts earned All-Big Ten First Team honors by the league's media and Second Team recognition from the coaches last season. Now a junior, she's looking to take her game to the next level.

• Pitts was second on the team and sixth in the Big Ten by averaging 16.3 points per game last year. She also ranked second in the conference in free throw percentage (.838), third in 3-pointers made per game (2.5) and sixth in 3-point percentage (.352).

• She ranked fifth in team single-season history in 3-pointers attempted (230) and free throw percentage (.838), and sixth in 3-pointers made (81). Among her highlights on the year were a career-high 35 points, including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers and 11-of-12 at the free throw line at Boston College on Dec. 9, 29 points on a career-best 10 made field goals in a WNIT win against Northern Iowa on March 22 and 24 points with a career-high six assists versus Penn State on Feb. 17.

• Pitts enters the 2019-20 season ranked sixth in team history in career 3-pointers made (171) and attempted (471), and ninth in 3-point percentage (.363). Her career point total sits at 958, leaving her 42 points away from becoming the 25th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

BELLO POISED FOR BIG SENIOR SEASON

• After a breakout junior season where she earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors from the coaches and media, Taiye Bello is poised for a strong senior season.

• With 718 career rebounds and 80 blocks, she enters the year just nine rebounds and four blocks away from cracking Minnesota's career top 10 in both categories. In addition, she needs 19 offensive rebounds to set the program record.

• In addition to setting the Minnesota single-season record with 152 offensive rebounds last year, she also ranked fourth in team single-season history and tied for seventh in Big Ten history for total rebounds (380), fifth in team annals in rebound average (11.9) and defensive rebounds (228), and seventh in blocks (49).

• She had 19 games last year with at least 10 rebounds, 11 games with at least 15 boards, seven games with at least 18 rebounds and one game with at least 20.

HUBBARD BACK FROM FOOT INJURY

• Redshirt junior Gadiva Hubbard is expected back on the court this year after missing all of last season following surgery on her right foot on Oct. 19, 2018.

• She played in 32 games with 31 starts during the 2017-18 season, finishing third on the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game and second with 3.4 assists.

• Hubbard ranked eighth in Minnesota history with 3-pointers attempted (198) and 10th with 3-pointers made (69) that season and reached double figures 23 times with eight 20-point games.

• For her career, she averages 13.2 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 assists and 2.1 3-pointers per game while shooting 34.7 percent on 3-pointers and 82.1 percent from the free-throw line.

GOPHERS WELCOME SEVEN NEWCOMERS IN 2019-20

• Minnesota welcomes seven newcomers to its roster in 2019-20, including five true freshmen and two transfers.

• Masha Adashchyk is a 5'11 guard from Minsk, Belarus, who spent two seasons playing for Panola College in Carthage, Texas. She averaged 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per contest in her two seasons and helped the Fillies reach the NJCAA Championship as a freshman.

• A 6'3 three-star recruit out of Roosevelt HS in Des Moines, Grace Cumming was the 42nd ranked post player in the country, according to ESPN.

• A native of Clinton Township, Mich., Jasmine Powell attended Detroit County Day School, the same school as Destiny Pitts. A four-star recruit according to ESPN, the 5'6 Powell was the 78th player overall in the class and the 23rd-ranked point guard.

• Like Cumming, Justice Ross also hails from Des Moines, Iowa, and attended Des Moines East. A three-star recruit according to ESPN, the 6'0 Ross was touted as the No. 33 wing player in the country.

• A homegrown product, Sara Scalia attended Stillwater HS. A three-star recruit according to ESPN, the 5'10 Scalia was rated as the No. 56 guard in the country.

• Klarke Sconiers is a native of the Bronx, N.Y. and attended Christ the King High School. A three-star recruit according to ESPN, the 6'2 Sconiers was also rated as the No. 18 post in the class.

• Kadi Sissoko, a former five-star recruit who spent her freshman season at Syracuse, will sit out the 2019-20 season due to transfer rules. She played in 22 games with one start for Syracuse this past season, averaging 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds while playing 9.6 minutes per contest.

SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Gophers have 29 regular season games scheduled for the 2019-20 campaign with 11 non-conference matchups and 18 games in Big Ten play.

• 17 of the Gophers' games will take place at Williams Arena, including six straight to start the season, the longest stretch to begin a season in program history.

• Four non-conference games will be against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season: Nov. 5 against Missouri State (Sweet 16), Nov. 17 vs. Arizona State (Sweet 16), Dec. 4 at Notre Dame (NCAA Runner-Up) and Dec. 15 against UC Davis (First Round).

• After playing Notre Dame on Dec. 4, Minnesota heads to the nation's capital for a pair of games on Dec. 8 at American University and Dec. 10 at George Washington. The stretch of three straight road games is just the second for the Gophers in the last 12 seasons.

• In the Big Ten, the Gophers have home-and-away dates scheduled with Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Minnesota will host Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern and Rutgers at the Barn, and visit Illinois, Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue.

SEVEN GAMES ON TV THIS YEAR

• Minnesota is scheduled to have seven games air on national television this season with five contests on the Big Ten Network and two games on ESPN2.

• BTN will have the following games: Jan. 4 at Nebraska, at Illinois on Jan. 12, at Indiana on Jan. 27, versus Michigan on Feb. 10 and at Michigan State on Feb. 17.

• BTN has also confirmed that it will carry all remaining conference games on BTN Plus, along with a select number of nonconference games.

• The Gophers will appear twice on ESPN2 with both games taking place at Williams Arena: Feb. 2 vs. Rutgers and March 1 against Maryland.

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Players Mentioned

Masha Adashchyk

Taiye Bello

Grace Cumming

Gadiva Hubbard

Destiny Pitts

Jasmine Powell

Justice Ross

Sara Scalia

Klarke Sconiers

Kadi Sissoko