Gophers Open Battle 4 Atlantis on Saturday with No. 2 UConn

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota (3-1, 0-0 B1G) takes on No. 2 UConn (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday in the opening game of the first women's Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. The game, which is set for an 11 a.m. CT tip in the Bahamas, can be streamed on FloHoops. Fans can also find the game on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist.

ABOUT THIS GAME

Saturday's matchup is the third overall between the two programs with the last meeting coming back in 2004 at the NCAA Final Four, the only final four in program history for the Golden Gophers. Head coach Lindsay Whalen played in that game in 2004 against Auriemma's Huskies. UConn holds a 2-0 advantage in the series with the only other meeting coming back in 1990.
Minnesota is 1-13 all time against the AP/Coaches top two teams in the nation. The Golden Gophers are 0-7 all time against No. 2 and the only win being against Duke in 2004, a game that sent Lindsay Whalen and the Gophers to the program's first and only Women's Final Four.
UConn's Paige Beuckers, the reigning AP Player of the Year, is a native of Hopkins, Minn.
The Huskies, the No. 2 ranked team in the country, come into Saturday's Battle 4 Atlantis opener playing just one game this season, a 95-80 win over Arkansas at home on Nov. 14.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Fresh off a 73-56 win at home over American, the Golden Gophers are one of just three teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament that played on Wednesday. Syracuse and South Carolina are the others with all three of those teams winning their Wednesday night matchups.
Kadi Sissoko led all scorers in the Gophers latest game against American with 17 points after leaving the George Washington game with an injury. The newly masked Sissoko's 17 points was a season-high and her six made field goals tied her season high while also hitting a 3-pointer for the second consecutive game.
The Golden Gopher bench came alive in the team's victory over American on Wednesday night. Laura Bagwell Katalinich led the Maroon and Gold off the bench with eight points while Deja Winters (7), Alanna Micheaux (6) and Alexia Smith (4) all contributed to the season-high effort from the reserves.
Bagwell Katalinich returned from a hip injury after missing the first three games of the season. In limited minutes the graduate student finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, hitting timely shots and grabbing timely rebounds in the win over American highlighted by a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the third quarter.
Minnesota faces one of the toughest schedules in the country with up to 13 NCAA Tournament teams from last season on the schedule and Minnesota's opponent win percentage (.582 in 2020-21) is the highest among any other schedule in the Big Ten.
Minnesota recently announced its 2022 signing class on National Signing Day with head coach Lindsay Whalen welcoming in the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Jr. All Stars. Minnesota's four signees include Mara Braun (Wayzata, Minn.), Amaya Battle (Hopkins, Minn.), Mallory Heyer (Chaska, Minn.) and Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen played for UConn head coach Geno Auriemma on the U.S. National Team that competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics where they won two gold medals.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Gadiva Hubbard needs just six more threes to tie Destine Pitts (2017-20) and Lindsay Lieser (1999-03) for the fourth-most threes in program history.
18 - Back in 2004 the Golden Gophers were led by future No. 1 WNBA pick Janel McCarville with 18 points against Diana Taurasi, who also finished with 18 points, and the UConn Huskies in the NCAA FInal Four.
1 - This season Minnesota has attempted the most 3-pointers in the Big Ten at 98.
4 - Minnesota currently has four student-athletes (Scalia, Powell, Sissoko and Winters) who average more than 10 points per game.
6 - Six members of the 2021-22 Minnesota roster hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes with newcomers Bailey Helgren (Edina, Minn.) and Maggie Czinano (Watertown, Minn.) adding to that total this season.

The 51st season of Golden Gopher women's basketball continues on Nov. 20, at the first women's Battle 4 Atlantis against UConn (1-0, 0-0 Big East). The game is set for 11 a.m. CT and can be streamed on FloHoops (subscription required).

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2021-22 season.

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Players Mentioned

Laura Bagwell Katalinich

Maggie Czinano

Bailey Helgren

Gadiva Hubbard

Alanna Micheaux

Kadi Sissoko

Alexia Smith

Deja Winters