University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, December 21
12:00 PM
University of Minnesota
10-1,0-0Big Ten
77
vs
49
Lehigh
7-3,0-0Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
10
10
11
18
49
Minnesota
24
14
24
15
77
Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn
Gophers Win 10th Straight by Shutting Down Lehigh
12/21/2019 3:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota women's basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule and won its 10th straight game with a resounding 77-49 victory over Lehigh (7-3) Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena.
The Gophers are now 10-1 heading into next Saturday's Big Ten opener at Penn State. It's the third straight year the Gophers have won 10 or more non-conference games in the regular season, and they are 21-1 under head coach Lindsay Whalen over the last two seasons in those games.
"I feel good that we are 10-1," Whalen said. "It's a really hard non-conference schedule this year. Our guys battled every night; every night we asked them to come out here and put us into a position to go into the Big Ten season feeling really good and they did that every night."
The team's 10-game win streak is tied for the sixth longest in program history and is the longest since starting last season 12-0. Entering play Saturday, only three teams in the country had a longer winning streak than the Gophers.
Four Gophers reached double figures against the Mountain Hawks with reigning USBWA National Player of the Week Destiny Pitts leading the way with a game-high 19 points. Pitts, who also had a game-high four 3-pointers, added four assists and three rebounds.
Freshmen Jasmine Powell and Sara Scalia each recorded their fifth double-figure game of the season. Ten of Powell's 14 points came in the first half, while her seven rebounds were one off a career high. Scalia, meanwhile, finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Senior Masha Adashchyk matched Scalia with 12 points to surpass her previous career high of nine set against Bryant on Nov. 26. Adashchyk was 5-of-7 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers.
Additional standout performances included a game-high nine rebounds for senior Taiye Bello and six assists for senior Jasmine Brunson, which tied a career best. Brunson also matched season bests with five rebounds and three steals.
The Gophers jumped on the Mountain Hawks early, opening the game on an 18-6 run. Lehigh never got closer than 10 the rest of the way and their 49 points were a season low for a Gophers' opponent. In addition, Lehigh's 19 made field goals and 12.5 percent shooting (2-16) on 3-pointers tied season lows for a Minnesota foe.
"I thought we came out and defensively we set the tone right away," Whalen said. "I loved how aggressive we were on offense, as well. Got things going to the basket early and a couple kick out 3's, as well. But defensively these guys play hard, nothing is easy against us.
"[Lehigh] shot 31% for the game, that's tough, that is hard to play against when you are as aggressive and physical and determined to impose your will on a team, it is hard to play against. Tonight was a really good example of that for us."
Minnesota is back in action next Saturday at Penn State in the Big Ten opener. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on BTN Plus.
The Gophers are now 10-1 heading into next Saturday's Big Ten opener at Penn State. It's the third straight year the Gophers have won 10 or more non-conference games in the regular season, and they are 21-1 under head coach Lindsay Whalen over the last two seasons in those games.
"I feel good that we are 10-1," Whalen said. "It's a really hard non-conference schedule this year. Our guys battled every night; every night we asked them to come out here and put us into a position to go into the Big Ten season feeling really good and they did that every night."
The team's 10-game win streak is tied for the sixth longest in program history and is the longest since starting last season 12-0. Entering play Saturday, only three teams in the country had a longer winning streak than the Gophers.
Four Gophers reached double figures against the Mountain Hawks with reigning USBWA National Player of the Week Destiny Pitts leading the way with a game-high 19 points. Pitts, who also had a game-high four 3-pointers, added four assists and three rebounds.
Freshmen Jasmine Powell and Sara Scalia each recorded their fifth double-figure game of the season. Ten of Powell's 14 points came in the first half, while her seven rebounds were one off a career high. Scalia, meanwhile, finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Senior Masha Adashchyk matched Scalia with 12 points to surpass her previous career high of nine set against Bryant on Nov. 26. Adashchyk was 5-of-7 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers.
Additional standout performances included a game-high nine rebounds for senior Taiye Bello and six assists for senior Jasmine Brunson, which tied a career best. Brunson also matched season bests with five rebounds and three steals.
The Gophers jumped on the Mountain Hawks early, opening the game on an 18-6 run. Lehigh never got closer than 10 the rest of the way and their 49 points were a season low for a Gophers' opponent. In addition, Lehigh's 19 made field goals and 12.5 percent shooting (2-16) on 3-pointers tied season lows for a Minnesota foe.
"I thought we came out and defensively we set the tone right away," Whalen said. "I loved how aggressive we were on offense, as well. Got things going to the basket early and a couple kick out 3's, as well. But defensively these guys play hard, nothing is easy against us.
"[Lehigh] shot 31% for the game, that's tough, that is hard to play against when you are as aggressive and physical and determined to impose your will on a team, it is hard to play against. Tonight was a really good example of that for us."
Minnesota is back in action next Saturday at Penn State in the Big Ten opener. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on BTN Plus.
Team Stats
Lehigh
MINN
FG%
.317
.437
3FG%
.125
.364
FT%
.600
.438
RB
39
50
TO
11
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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