University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Add Bagwell Katalinich to Roster
3/18/2020 4:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota women's basketball team has added a piece to the frontcourt as Laura Bagwell Katalinich has signed a financial aid agreement to join the Golden Gophers in the fall of 2020, head coach Lindsay Whalen has announced. Bagwell Katalinich signed her agreement in January 2020.Â
A Minneapolis native who attended Academy of Holy Angels, Bagwell Katalinich is a 6'0 senior forward who has spent the past three seasons at Cornell University. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
In her two seasons of competition with the Big Red, Bagwell Katalinich played in all 52 games with 50 starts and averaged 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 79.9 percent on free throws.
"Laura brings us a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree to our program as she won a state championship in high school," Whalen said. "We are thrilled that she is going to be joining us for her final college season in her home state! She is a great player and teammate, and will be a great addition to our program."
This season, Bagwell Katalinich started played in all 26 games for Cornell with 24 starts. She ranked third in the Ivy League in free throw percentage (75.7), fifth in field goal percentage (45.9) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.0). In addition, on her team she led the Big Red in scoring (13.4), field goals made and attempted (135-for-294), free throws made and attempted (78-for-103), offensive rebounds (78), defensive rebounds (105) and total rebounds (183).
She scored in double figures in 19 games, including five games with at least 20 points, and posted seven double-doubles. Among her season highlights include a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds against Colgate on Nov. 14, a career-high 29 points and 13 boards against Delaware State on Nov. 23 and 23 points with 16 rebounds versus Binghamton on Dec. 5.
Last year, Bagwell Katalinich was named First-Team All-Ivy League and was an Academic All-District honoree. She led the squad in scoring (16.1 per game) and rebounding (7.9) and was tops in the conference in free throw percentage (84.2). She also recorded double-digits in 23 games, reached 20 points nine times and had six double-doubles.
She started the Big Red's game against the Gophers at Williams Arena on Nov. 23, 2018, scoring two points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Bagwell Katalinich had to sit out the 2017-18 season after transferring to Cornell from Penn where she played in three games during the 2016-17 campaign.
At Academy of Holy Angels, Bagwell Katalinich was a nominee for McDonald's All-American and Minnesota Miss Basketball in her senior season of 2016 as she averaged 30.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She was also All-State Second Team and the unanimous Tri-Metro Conference Player of the Year.
A three-time all-conference honoree and two-time Team MVP and captain, Bagwell Katalinich helped lead Holy Angels to a AAA State Championship, Section 3AAA Championship and Tri-Metro Conference Championship, averaging 22.7 points and 15 rebounds during the state tournament to earn Class AAA All-Tournament Team honors.
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A Minneapolis native who attended Academy of Holy Angels, Bagwell Katalinich is a 6'0 senior forward who has spent the past three seasons at Cornell University. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
In her two seasons of competition with the Big Red, Bagwell Katalinich played in all 52 games with 50 starts and averaged 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 79.9 percent on free throws.
"Laura brings us a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree to our program as she won a state championship in high school," Whalen said. "We are thrilled that she is going to be joining us for her final college season in her home state! She is a great player and teammate, and will be a great addition to our program."
This season, Bagwell Katalinich started played in all 26 games for Cornell with 24 starts. She ranked third in the Ivy League in free throw percentage (75.7), fifth in field goal percentage (45.9) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.0). In addition, on her team she led the Big Red in scoring (13.4), field goals made and attempted (135-for-294), free throws made and attempted (78-for-103), offensive rebounds (78), defensive rebounds (105) and total rebounds (183).
She scored in double figures in 19 games, including five games with at least 20 points, and posted seven double-doubles. Among her season highlights include a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds against Colgate on Nov. 14, a career-high 29 points and 13 boards against Delaware State on Nov. 23 and 23 points with 16 rebounds versus Binghamton on Dec. 5.
Last year, Bagwell Katalinich was named First-Team All-Ivy League and was an Academic All-District honoree. She led the squad in scoring (16.1 per game) and rebounding (7.9) and was tops in the conference in free throw percentage (84.2). She also recorded double-digits in 23 games, reached 20 points nine times and had six double-doubles.
She started the Big Red's game against the Gophers at Williams Arena on Nov. 23, 2018, scoring two points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Bagwell Katalinich had to sit out the 2017-18 season after transferring to Cornell from Penn where she played in three games during the 2016-17 campaign.
At Academy of Holy Angels, Bagwell Katalinich was a nominee for McDonald's All-American and Minnesota Miss Basketball in her senior season of 2016 as she averaged 30.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She was also All-State Second Team and the unanimous Tri-Metro Conference Player of the Year.
A three-time all-conference honoree and two-time Team MVP and captain, Bagwell Katalinich helped lead Holy Angels to a AAA State Championship, Section 3AAA Championship and Tri-Metro Conference Championship, averaging 22.7 points and 15 rebounds during the state tournament to earn Class AAA All-Tournament Team honors.
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