Regular Season Wraps Up Sunday vs. Michigan State

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota (19-9, 8-9 B1G) wraps up the regular season Sunday as it hosts Michigan State (19-9, 9-8) at 3 p.m. on Senior Day.

The game will be streamed on BTN Plus and can also be heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.

PROMOTIONS

• Senior Day: The Gophers' four seniors will be honored in a postgame ceremony

• Fan Apperciate Game: A show of thanks to our biggest and best supporters

• Cub Family 4-Pack: 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 popcorn and 4 drinks for $50

• Postgame: Autographs

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• Sunday's game is Senior Day, marking the final regular season home game for Kenisha Bell, Irene Garrido Perez, Palma Kaposi and Annalese Lamke. All four will be honored in a postgame ceremony. The Gophers have a 78-46 (.629) record since Lamke stepped on campus for the 2015-16 season, a 58-34 (.630) mark in the three years that Bell and Kaposi have donned the Maroon and Gold and a 43-18 (.705) record in Garrido Perez's two seasons in a Minnesota uniform.

• Minnesota is facing Michigan State for the second time this season as the Golden Gophers fell in East Lansing on Jan. 9, 86-68. Pages 3-4 have more information on that game and the all-time series.

• With four offensive rebounds at Rutgers Thursday, Taiye Bello now has 144 this year, breaking the Minnesota single-season record of 143 set by Angie Iverson in the 1996-97 season (records date to 1987-88).

• Holding a record of 19-9 overall and 8-9 in league play, a win Sunday would give Minnesota the 14th 20-win season in program history. Additionally, the Golden Gophers could finish at .500 or better in the Big Ten for the fifth time in the last six seasons and 17th time in team history.

• The Gophers are 13-4 in home games this season, including 10 straight home wins to open the year, tying for the sixth longest home win streak in program history. All-time, Minnesota boasts a .695 winning percentage at The Barn (351-154). Kenisha Bell is the team's leading scorer at home this year, averaging 19.6 points per game, while Destiny Pitts (14.1) and Taiye Bello (10.2) are also in double figures. Bello is also the team's top rebounder at home with 14.2 boards per game.

• Few teams in the country do damage at the free throw line like Minnesota. Through Thursday, the Gophers ranked fifth in the NCAA in free throws attempted (634) and 11th in free throws made (435). Kenisha Bell has been the most prolific free throw shooter for the team, ranking third in the nation in attempts (219) and 10th in makes (149). In addition, Destiny Pitts is sixth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (80.0), while Annalese Lamke has made her last 14 free throw attempts and would be third in the Big Ten in percentage (80.7) if she had enough attempts to qualify.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN STATE

• Minnesota and Michigan State meet for the 66th time on Sunday. The Gophers trail in the all-time series 43-22.

• In Minneapolis, Minnesota trails Michigan State, 16-14, but the Gophers have won two of the last three at Williams Arena.

• Minnesota has three Michigan natives on its roster. Destiny Pitts is from Detroit, which is about 90 minutes southeast of East Lansing. She won two state titles at Detroit County Day HS, both of which took place at the Breslin Center. Kehinde and Taiye Bello are from Southfield (Southfield-Lathrup HS), which is about 70 minutes southeast of East Lansing.

• Michigan State has one Minnesotan on its roster: Nia Hollie from Minneapolis and Hopkins High School.

• In her playing career head coach Lindsay Whalen averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game against the Spartans.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. THE SPARTANS

• In a matchup of Top-25 teams, No. 18/20 Minnesota fell at No. 23/24 Michigan State on Jan. 9, 86-68.

• Kenisha Bell led three Gophers in double figures with a team-best 20 points and game-high eight rebounds. Destiny Pitts scored 15 points with seven rebounds, while Jasmine Brunson added 11 points.

• Minnesota scored the final seven points of the opening quarter to trail 19-16, while a pair of free throws by Bell extended the run to 9-0 to open the second quarter and cut the lead to one. However, Michigan State countered with a 12-3 run of its own and outscored the Gophers 24-13 in the frame to lead 43-29 at halftime.

• In the second half, Minnesota busted out for 27 points in the third quarter, the third highest point total in any quarter by that point in the season. However, the Spartans scored 24 points of their own in the same frame to maintain a 67-56 advantage heading into the fourth. Minnesota was unable to get closer than that 11-point margin over the rest of the game.

LAST TIME AT HOME AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE

• Nine different Gophers scored as Minnesota pulled out a close 83-77 victory over Michigan State last season in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2018.

• Kenisha Bell led the team with 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals. In her second start of the season, Bryanna Fernstrom scored 14 points and recorded seven rebounds, while Carlie Wagner put the team on her back and finished with 15 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.

• The Gophers capitalized with 29 points off of Michigan State's 23 turnovers. Minnesota also saw strong play in the paint, scoring 40 points.

RECAPPING THE GAME AT RUTGERS

• Destiny Pitts continued her streak of 20-point games, but Minnesota dropped its final road game of the season to Rutgers Thursday night, 60-54.

• Pitts scored a team-high 24 points against the Scarlet Knights, her fifth straight game with at least 21 points. She was was 7-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range to tie a season high for 3-pointers made.

• Pitts was joined in double figures by Kenisha Bell, who had 14 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

• Taiye Bello nearly notched her 11th double-double of the season as she pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and scored eight points, while Jasmine Brunson led Minnesota with five assists and three steals while scoring five points.

• In the second quarter, Minnesota was up one at 17-16, but Pitts helped give separation as she knocked down 3-pointers on three straight possessions to go on a personal 9-2 run. She scored 11 points in total in the frame, and Minnesota led 30-25 at the half.

• Another 3-pointer from Pitts put the Gophers ahead 37-28 with 6:43 to play in the third quarter, their largest lead of the game. However, Rutgers responded with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to just one. Pitts put a stop to the run, though, with another 3-pointer and Minnesota entered the fourth quarter up 42-38.

• Rutgers tied the game on multiple occasions early in the fourth before taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Pitts tied the game back on the Gophers' ensuing possession, but free throws put Rutgers back on top for good with 6:20 to play.

IN THE POLLS

• Minnesota enters Sunday's game in the "receiving votes" portion of the AP Poll for the sixth straight week. Prior to that, the Gophers had a 10-week run in the AP Poll, their longest such streak since appearing in all 18 polls during the 2005-06 season.

• Three 2018-19 opponents are currently ranked in the latest polls (AP/Coaches): No. 8/9 Maryland, No. 12/12 Iowa and No. 17/17 Syracuse. In addition, Rutgers is receiving votes in both polls, while Michigan State appears in the Coaches Poll. The Gophers are 3-3 against those teams currently in the polls, beating Syracuse, splitting two games with Rutgers, and losing to Iowa, Maryland and Michigan State.

GOPHERS GAINING EXPERIENCE IN NEW ROLES

• Even though two-thirds of Minnesota's roster consists of upperclassmen, the Gophers actually have the fewest combined career minutes of any roster in the Big Ten, according to research initially done by Nebraska's Communications office.

• Through Feb. 28, the Gophers' roster had played a combined 11,866 minutes, while no other team in the league had fewer than 12,200 combined minutes. For further context, Sunday's opponent, Michigan State, ranks 10th in the B1G with 12,975 combined minutes.

• Not only is the team playing under a new coaching staff, all five members of the starting lineup that has been used for most of the season have been playing in different positions than they did a year ago. Among returning starters, Kenisha Bell has gone from the 1 to the 2, while Destiny Pitts has mostly played the 3 this season after playing the 4 a year ago.

• Meanwhile, Jasmine Brunson (1), Taiye Bello (4) and Annalese Lamke (5) have all started a majority of the games this season after primarily coming off the bench a year ago. In addition, Irene Garrido Perez's 10 career starts have all come in the last 10 games. All four have seen double-digit jumps in their minutes per game this season. Brunson leads the team with an increase of 20.7 minutes per game from last year, while Lamke (+18.3), Garrido Perez (+15.9) and Bello (+14.5) and follow her.

PITTS HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME

• Through the first seven games of B1G play, Destiny Pitts was averaging 9.6 points per contest while shooting 33.8 percent on field goals and 20.0 percent on 3-pointers, making 9-of-45 attempts from long range.

• Since then, she is averaging a team-high 20.6 points per game over the last 10 contests while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 45.7 percent on 3-pointers (37-for-81).

• In her last five games, she has scored 21 points against Northwestern, 27 at Purdue, 22 vs. Penn State, 24 at Maryland and 24 at Rutgers. It's the first time in her career she's scored 20+ points in back-to-back games, let alone five straight.

• She's looking to become the first Gopher to score 20+ in six straight games since Kenisha Bell did it in Dec. of 2017.

• On the year, Pitts ranks third in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made/game (2.6), fourth in 3-point percentage (37.1), fifth in minutes/game (34.7), and sixth in scoring average (15.4) and free throw percentage (80.0).

BELLO DOMINATING THE GLASS

• Through Thursday, Taiye Bello was second in the country and leading the Big Ten in offensive rebounds per game (5), ranked sixth nationally in total rebounds (349) and seventh in rebounds per game (12.5). She was also 23rd in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (7).

• Bello is also currently the most improved rebounder in the Big Ten, upping her rebounds per game total from 6.3 last year to 12.5 this year, which ranks second in the conference. The +6.2 difference has her tops in the B1G, ahead of teammate Annalese Lamke who has gone from 0.7 to 5.1 per game (+4.4). No other player in the B1G has improved their average by more than +3.3.

• Bello has 18 games this 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.

• Bello has 15 double-doubles in her career, including 10 this year, and Minnesota is 13-2 overall in those games.

• She has 144 offensive rebounds this season, breaking the Minnesota single-season record of 143 set by Angie Iverson in 1996-97 (note: records date back to 1987-88).

• Against Penn State on Feb. 17, Bello recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. She was 7-of-7 from the floor, marking just the eighth performance in team history, and her second this year, with that many attempts without a miss.

• Janel McCarville and Amanda Zahui B. are the only other players in team history to have multiple games in a career where they've attempted at least seven shots and not missed.

• Against No. 17 Rutgers on Feb. 3, Bello posted her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. It tied for the sixth highest total in Gopher history, and they were the most by a Gopher since Amanda Zahui B. had 22 rebounds against DePaul in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Ten of the rebounds were on the offensive end, while the other 11 came on defense.

• Bello's 21 rebounds are also tied for the most by any Big Ten player this year with Maryland's Shakira Austin.

• She had her first B1G double-double of the year with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Iowa and pulled down 18 rebounds in back-to-back games versus Purdue and Ohio State.

• At Michigan on Dec. 31, she made all nine attempts from the floor for a career-high 24 points. She became one of five players in Gophers history to not miss when attempting at least that many shots.

• Arguably Bello's best performance of the season came against No. 12 Syracuse when she went for 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 offensive.

• Bello posted double-doubles in the first three games this season, becoming the first Minnesota player to have three straight double-doubles since Amanda Zahui B. ended the 2014-15 season with four in a row. And though she didn't have a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in game four, she did have 19 rebounds.

BELL FINISHING STRONG IN SENIOR SEASON

• Senior Kenisha Bell leads the Gophers in several categories, including points per game (18.8), assists per game (4.3) and steals per game (2.1).

• Nationally, Bell is third in the country in free throw attempts (219) and ranks 10th in makes (149).

• She leads the Big Ten in free throws made, free throw attempts and steals (59), ranks second in field goals made (182) and attempted (452), and sits third in the league in scoring average and steals per game.

• After being named to preseason watch lists for the Nancy Lieberman Award (nation's top PG) and Naismith Trophy (nation's top player), Bell earned spots on midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award and is oen of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Award.

• Bell has also been a four-time Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll honoree.

• At Indiana on Feb. 6, Bell went over 2,000 career points. She scored 434 in her freshman season at Marquette and has scored 1,669 at Minnesota for a total of 2,103 career points. She's one of 19 active players in the country with at least 2,000 career points.

BRUNSON MAKING MARK IN RETURN TO STARTING LINEUP

• After starting the first 18 games of the season, Jasmine Brunson came off the bench for the next two contests. She then returned to the starting lineup against Northwestern on Jan. 31, and has elevated her offense and helped the Gophers to a 6-2 record in that span.

• Through the first 20 games of the year, Brunson was averaging 7.2 points and shooting 36.2 percent from the floor. In eight games since rejoining the starting lineup, she's averaging 11.1 points while shooting 39.0 percent.

• On the year, Brunson is averaging 8.3 points per game after averaging 2.9 last season. That +5.4 increase is the second best in the Big Ten behind only teammate Annalese Lamke (+7.2).

GARRIDO PEREZ GETS CALLED INTO STARTING LINEUP

• Irene Garrido Perez has been called into the starting lineup for the last 10 contests, marking all 10 of her career starts.

• Since making the first start of her career against Purdue on Jan. 24, Garrido Perez has averaged 5.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while playing 36.1 minutes per game. Prior to that, her career totals in those categories were 1.6 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.2 steals while averaging 8.5 minutes.

• She's shooting 45.5 percent on 3-pointers since joining the starting lineup, making 15 of 33 attempts. Her 43.1 shooting percentage on 3's this year ranks fifth in program single-season history (min. 50 attempts).

• Against Penn State on Feb. 17, Garrido Perez set a career high with 16 points, including a career-best four made 3-pointers and six made field goals.

• In a win at Indiana on Feb. 6, she made all four shots, including all three 3-point attempts. Nine of her then-career high 11 points came in the first half. In addition, she set career highs for rebounds (6) and minutes (40).

LAMKE MAKING THE MOST OF HER SENIOR YEAR

• Excluding transfers and freshmen, no player in the Big Ten has seen her scoring average increase has much from last year to this as Annalese Lamke. Her +7.2 improvement from 1.1 points per game last year to 8.3 this year is 1.8 points better than Jasmine Brunson, who ranks second at +5.4.

• Lamke is also currently the second-most improved rebounder in the conference, jumping from 0.7 per game last year to 5.1 this year, for a difference of +4.4.

• Lamke is shooting 80.7 percent from the free throw line, which would rank fifth in the Big Ten if she qualified. In fact, she's made her last 14 attempts dating back to the Purdue game on Jan. 24.

• Lamke exploded for a career-high 21 points in the Gophers' season-opening win over New Hampshire. She scored 17 points alone in the second half and recorded an efficient 9-of-12 shooting.

• Against No. 12 Syracuse on Nov. 29, she had a career-high 13 rebounds and nine points. Lamke also had a 20-point outing against Wisconsin on Dec. 28 and scored 18 points (all in the first half) against Illinois on Jan. 6.

MINNESOTA NEAR THE TOP IN ATTENDANCE

• Through 17 home games, the Gophers have had a total attendance of 95,582 with an average of 5,622 per contest. Through Feb. 27, the team was 10th in the country in total attendance and No. 12 in average.

• Within the Big Ten, only Purdue had a higher total attendance and only Purdue and Iowa had a higher average attendance.

• The average is the highest for the Gophers since 2008-09 when they averaged 5,833 and it's nearly 2,500 more than they averaged last year (3,130).

• Minnesota opened the 2018-19 season with a 70-47 win over New Hampshire on Nov. 9. The announced sellout crowd of 14,625 was a program record, surpassing the previous high of 14,363 set during Lindsay Whalen's senior season in 2004.

• Four of the top five attendance marks in team history, and eight of the top 10, have come with Whalen as either a player or coach.

• The season-opening sellout stood as the highest attendance for any women's game this season until it was passed on Jan. 31 by the 17,023 that saw No. 2 UConn play at No. 3 Louisville. It is now No. 3.

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Players Mentioned

Kenisha Bell

Taiye Bello

Jasmine Brunson

Bryanna Fernstrom

Irene Garrido Perez

Palma Kaposi

Annalese Lamke

Destiny Pitts

Carlie Wagner