Minnesota Hosts Purdue in Bid for Third Straight Win

MINNEAPOLIS -- After two straight wins on the road, Minnesota is back at home this Thursday as it hosts Purdue (6-6, 3-5 B1G) at 4 p.m.

The game, which is the only scheduled regular season matchup between the schools this year, will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus and can be heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• Jasmine Powell leads the Gophers with a scoring average of 17.0 points per game this season. She has scored at least 11 points in each of the last 13 games dating to last season and has made three or more 3-pointers in six straight contests. In addition to her scoring prowess, which ranks 13th in the Big Ten, Powell is second in the conference and 13th nationally with her 6.1 assists per game.

• After missing the first two games of the season, Sara Scalia averaged 8.0 points over her first three contests and was shooting 23.5 percent from the floor (8-34) and 20 percent on 3-pointers (4-20). However, she has averaged 15.6 points over the last five contests while shooting 37.3 percent on field goals (25-67) and 37.5 percent on 3's (18-48). She missed the Jan. 10 contest with Penn State but has scored at least 14 points in each of her last three games, including a season-high 21 at Penn State on Jan. 25. Scalia has made four or more 3-pointers in three of her last four games.

• In the season opener, Kadi Sissoko scored 24 points in her first game at Minnesota to tie a school record for points a Gophers debut (Kenisha Bell vs. VCU, 11/15/16). Already with two double-doubles this season, Sissoko has been close to adding to that total in her last two games with 8 points and 9 rebounds at Nebraska (1/19) and 15 points and 8 boards at Penn State (1/25). Sissoko is second in the Big Ten in offensive rebounds per game (3.73) and is the team's top rebounder (6.9).

• After scoring a season-high 24 points at Wisconsin (1/3), Gadiva Hubbard had her scoring average at a season-best 12.8 points per game. However, she scored only 14 points in her next three games while shooting 24.0 percent from the floor (6-25) and 5.9 percent on 3-pointers (1-17). She's since broken out of that mini-slump, though, by scoring 18 points in each of her last two games and improving her shooting: 11-22 from the field (50.0 percent) and 7-17 (41.2) on 3's. Her scoring average is back up to 11.5 per contest and she's also averaged 6.5 rebounds in her last two games after posting 3.1 over her first nine games.

• The Gophers have four players averaging double figures in Big Ten play with Powell leading the way at 16.0 points per game. Scalia is behind her at 12.8 along with Hubbard (11.6). Sissoko is averaging 11.0 points per game and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per contest in league play.

• The Gophers are 1-5 at home this season with its win coming over Eastern Illinois in its season opener. Like she is for the season and league play, Powell is the team's top scorer at Williams Arena with 18.7 points per game. Also averaging double figures for Minnesota at home are Scalia (10.7) and Sissoko (10.3). Klarke Sconiers is the team's top rebounder in Minneapolis with 6.0 boards per contest.

FACING PURDUE

• Minnesota and Purdue meet for the 69th time on Thursday. The Boilermakers hold a 46-22 edge in the series, though Minnesota has won three of the last four.

• In Minneapolis, Purdue holds a 22-11 series lead and has won seven straight contests. It's the Gophers' longest active home losing streak; no other streak is currently longer than three games (Indiana, Ohio State, South Dakota State). Minnesota's last home win over the Boilermakers came on Jan. 14, 2010.

• Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen's career high in points came against the Boilermakers when she scored 41 on Feb. 14, 2002. That total still stands as the seventh highest in team history.

• Purdue is 6-6 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers started the season 5-2, but have gone 1-4 since. A 56-55 win over Wisconsin last Thursday snapped a four-game losing streak for the team. Of the team's six losses this year, five have come against teams that were ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game.

• Kayana Traylor is the team's top scorer at 14.8 points per game. She is fourth in the Big Ten in both free throws made and attempted (61-of-75).

• Brooke Moore is behind Traylor at 10.5 points per game, while Fatou Diagne is the team's top rebounder at 7.5 boards per contest.

• As a team, Purdue is third in the Big Ten in free throws attempted (245) and fourth in makes from the line (167).

LAST SEASON AGAINST THE BOILERMAKERS

• Minnesota used a huge second-half spurt to knock off Purdue, 72-59, in West Lafayette on Jan. 19.

• Tied at 43-43 with 3:52 left in the third quarter, the Golden Gophers embarked on a 19-0 run over the next 5:49 to record its third straight win at Mackey Arena, a first in program history. Jasmine Powell and Sara Scalia each scored six points during the stretch, while Gadiva Hubbard added five.

• During Minnesota's 19-0 run, Purdue was 0-for-8 from the floor and turned the ball over four times.

• Five Gophers scored in double figures with Scalia leading the way with 18 points for the second straight game.

• Hubbard was right behind her with 17, while Jasmine Brunson kept up her stellar play with 13 points and five steals, and Taiye Bello notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Powell was the fifth Gopher to reach double figures as she had 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.

LAST TIME IN MINNEAPOLIS

• Despite 19 points from Destiny Pitts, 17 from Kenisha Bell and 18 rebounds from Taiye Bello, Minnesota lost at home to Purdue, 64-53, on Jan. 24, 2019.

• The Gophers held a 31-28 lead with less than two minutes elapsed in the third quarter, but Purdue scored seven straight points and 13 of the next 16 to grab the lead for good.

• Minnesota made it a two-point game when a 3-pointer from Bell cut the deficit to 43-41 to open the scoring in the fourth quarter. The Boilermakers pushed the lead back to six and the Gophers were never able to get closer than four points the rest of the way.

RECAPPING THE WIN AT PENN STATE

• Minnesota doubled up Penn State in the fourth quarter, 32-16, on its way to an 85-76 victory Monday night in University Park, Pa.

• Minnesota had four players in double figures with Sara Scalia leading the way with a season-high 21 points. It was the fourth 20-point performance of her career, and the Gophers are 4-0 in those contests. Scalia hit five 3-pointers Monday to match a career high set last season at Penn State, while her seven rebounds equaled a season best.

• Gadiva Hubbard tallied 18 points and six rebounds in the win, while Jasmine Powell pitched in with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, tying season highs in both of the latter categories.

• Kadi Sissoko scored 15 points and tied Kayla Mershon for the team lead with eight rebounds.

• With Minnesota leading 51-50 in the third quarter, the Lady Lions finished the frame on a 10-2 run and led 60-53 entering the fourth. In the third, PSU outscored Minnesota, 21-12.

• Penn State pushed the lead to 67-57 with 8:18 to go, but Minnesota closed out the game with a 28-9 run.

• Scalia sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a bucket from Sissoko to cut the lead to two. Powell then buried a 3-pointer of her own to cap an 11-0 run and give Minnesota a 68-67 lead.

• Penn State briefly took the lead and later tied it again at 72-72, but the Gophers got clutch buckets from Hubbard and Laura Bagwell Katalinich to extend the lead to four with 1:53 to play. Minnesota then put the game away at the line, finishing 13-of-14 on free throws in the fourth.

• The fourth quarter was the highest scoring quarter for the Gophers since scoring 32 points in the third quarter against Incarnate Word on Dec. 5, 2018, and it tied for the fourth-most points in a fourth quarter in team history.

• The Gophers had a season-high 22 assists on their 30 made field goals and committed just 13 turnovers.

POWELL, GOPHERS IMPROVING FROM LONG RANGE

• Sophomore Jasmine Powell has improved her 3-point shooting between the first two years of her career.

• As a freshman, Powell was 30-of-100 on 3-pointers, shooting 30 percent from long range and making 0.96 3-pointers per contest. But this year, she's already 30-of-82 on 3's, shooting 36.6 percent and making 2.7 per game.

• She ranks third in the Big Ten in 3's made and 3's made per game, fourth in 3's attempted and she is eighth in 3-point percentage.

• This season, Powell has made at least two 3-pointers in every game but one, including eight games with at least three made and two games of a career-high four made 3's. She's made at least three 3-pointers in each of her last six outings.

• As a team, the Gophers have seen notable improvement in 3-pointers as of late. Through the first eight games, the team was shooting a combined 28.6 percent (57-199) from long range, but in the three games since they're shooting 40.2 percent (33-82).

• During the three-game stretch, Powell is shooting 10-22 (45.5 percent), Sara Scalia is 11-30 (36.7) and Gadiva Hubbard is 7-20 (35.0). Seven Gophers have taken a 3-pointer in the last three games and only one has a shooting percentage under .350.

• The team currently ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-pointers attempted (281) and third in both 3's made (90) and 3's made per game (8.2).

SISSOKO AMONG BIG TEN'S MOST IMPROVED

• Kadi Sissoko has recorded the biggest increase in rebounding average in all of the Big Ten from her last season of competition and one of the best improvements in scoring.

• As a freshman at Syracuse in 2018-19, Sissoko averaged 1.8 rebounds per game. But this year, her rebounding average stands at 6.9. That increase of 5.1 rebounds per game is best in the conference.

• Sissoko is also among the most improved scorers in the league as she has gone from 3.2 points per game as a freshman to 12.3 this year, an increase of 9.1 that is third-best in the league.

BIG TEN RANKINGS

• In Big Ten play, the Gophers rank second as a team in 3-pointers made per game (8.67) and fifth in free throw percentage (.760).

• Jasmine Powell ranks third in assists per game (5.8) and 3-point percentage (.379), fourth in free throw percentage (.838) and 3's made per game (2.78), 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44), 14th in scoring average (16.0) and 15th in defensive rebounds (4.67).

• Kadi Sissoko sits fifth in offensive rebounds (3.33) and 20th in rebounding average (6.56).

• Sara Scalia is fifth in 3-point percentage (.324) and 3's made per game (2.75).

• Gadiva Hubbard ranks 13th in 3's made per game (1.78), while Klarke Sconiers is 14th in blocks (0.78).

GOPHERS ENDURING CHALLENGING START TO SCHEDULE

• Minnesota is 4-7 to start the season and 3-6 in Big Ten play, though the team has started the season against a difficult schedule.

• The 11 teams the Gophers have played have a combined record of 79-58 (.577), including a 57-28 (.671) mark for the teams against which they've lost.

• The Gophers will have played six of their nine league games against teams ranked eighth or better in the current standings.

• Five of the six losses in Big Ten play have come against teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Top 25: No. 10 Maryland (11-2), No. 15 Indiana (9-3), No. 23 Northwestern (8-3), RV Michigan State (9-2) and RV Iowa (9-3).

GOPHERS GAINING EXPERIENCE WITH YOUNG ROSTER

• With 10 of its 13 players either freshmen or sophomores, no team in the Big Ten has a higher percentage of its roster comprised of underclassmen than Minnesota's 76.9 percent. Wisconsin (73.3 percent) is the only other team at 70 percent or higher.

• Through Jan. 27, the Gophers' roster had played a combined 9,641 minutes, which ranks ninth in the Big Ten. For comparison, Thursday's foe, Purdue leads the conference with a combined 16,350 minutes.

• Redshirt senior Gadiva Hubbard (3,182) accounts for nearly a third of the Gophers' career minutes herself. The other two upperclassmen are graduate transfer Laura Bagwell Katalinich (1,648) and junior Kayla Mershon (1,034). Bagwell Katalinich missed the first three games this season due to injury, while Mershon sat out the first four due to NCAA transfer rules. Those three combine for nearly two-thirds of the Gophers' career minutes (5,864 minutes; 60.8 percent).

• Of the 13 Gophers on the roster this year, six are playing in their first season of collegiate basketball and three are playing in their first year at Minnesota.

• If the minutes are limited to only in their time within the program, the Gophers have a combined 7,063, which would rank 12th in the conference, and Hubbard would account for 45.1 percent of those minutes.

• Meanwhile, Hubbard (-2.1 minutes per game) and Sara Scalia (-0.9) have seen their playing time stay relatively similar to last year, while Jasmine Powell (+8.0) and Klarke Sconiers (+8.0) have both seen notable increases in their playing time.

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Players Mentioned

Laura Bagwell Katalinich

Kenisha Bell

Taiye Bello

Jasmine Brunson

Gadiva Hubbard

Kayla Mershon

Destiny Pitts

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Klarke Sconiers

Kadi Sissoko