B1G/ACC Challenge Brings North Carolina to Williams Arena on Wednesday

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota (6-3, 0-0 B1G) is set for the 2021 B1G/ACC Challenge against the University of North Carolina (6-0, 0-0 ACC) at Williams Arena. The Dec. 1 matchup, which is set for an 8 p.m. tip, is the Gophers season debut on the Big Ten Network with Sloane Martin and Meghan McKeown on the call. The game can also be found on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist.

ABOUT THIS GAME

Wednesday's meeting between Minnesota and UNC is the sixth between the two teams. UNC has an advantage in the series 4-1 with the Gophers lone victory coming back in the 1979-80 season in Chapel Hill. Minnesota and North Carolina's game this season is the first between the two teams at Williams Arena.
Against the current Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) the Golden Gophers are 29-17 in their history with head coach Lindsay Whalen holding a perfect 4-0 record against the league including a 70-63 victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis over Syracuse earlier this season. Whalen has never faced the University of North Carolina since becoming head coach.
The Tar Heels are one of 23 undefeated Division I women's basketball teams in the nation and have Power 5 victories on the road over TCU (79-46) and Washington (58-37).
Individually the Tar Heels have three scorers who average double figures this season with Deja Kelly leading the way with 15.8 points per game. Alyssa Ustby (Rochester, Minn.) returns to Minnesota with an average points per game mark of 14.8 this season while Eva Hodgson has averaged 11.0 points per contest.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Minnesota most recent game featured junior guard Jasmine Powell's best offensive game of the season. The Detroit, Mich., native, erupted for 23 points and added eight assists and six rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers past the UTSA Roadrunners 81-52.
This season Minnesota has averaged the second-most made threes per game in the Big Ten at 8.4, good enough for the 39th best mark in the NCAA. In total Minnesota has the fourth most made threes in the country at 76 and the sixth-most attempted at 210. In other team statistical rankings, the Gophers are 1st in total rebounds at 358, 24th in total blocks at 37 and 17th in total assists at 124.
The Golden Gophers bench had its best performance since 2017 against UTSA (11/28/21) scoring 50 points combined. The 50 bench points was the most by a Minnesota team since the team scored 54 with the 50 against the Roadrunners the most by a bench under head coach Lindsay Whalen. Eight different players on the bench scored in the 29-point home win with sophomore guard Alexia Smith leading the way with a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Minnesota has made eight or more threes as a team in six straight games with the 11 against No. 2/2 UConn the most during that stretch. In that six-game stretch Sara Scalia has the most individual threes with 15 including five each against No. 2/2 UConn and Syracuse.
The Golden Gophers offense has been steadily improving since the start of the season. In the last six games the Gophers have shot 42.1 percent from the floor, nearly 10 percent better than their opening three games of the season when the Gophers shot just 34.2 percent from the floor in games against Jacksonville, Arizona State and George Washington. In that same span, the Gophers have improved from three, shooting 39.4 percent as opposed to 30.1 percent in the team's first three contests.
The Maroon and Gold are aiming to defeat its third Power 5 opponent during the non-conference portion of the 2021-22 season. With a win on Wednesday, the Gophers would have three Power 5 victories in the non-conference season for the first time since 2013-14.
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.).

BY THE NUMBERS
16 - Sixth-year senior Gadiva Hubbard scored nine points against UTSA (11/28/21) to move past Ashley Ellis-Milan (2006-10) for the 16th most points in program history.
6 - In Minnesota's five wins this season junior guard Jasmine Powell has averaged13.2 points per game, shot 26-of-68 (38.2 percent) from the floor and has averaged 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.
9 - The Golden Gophers are the only team in the NCAA to have played nine games through Tue., Nov. 30.
1 - One player in the NCAA has played more total minutes this season than Sara Scalia at 283:44.
11 - Gadiva Hubbard needs just 11 threes to pass Shannon Schonrock (2002-06) for the 3rd most threes made in program history.
0 - The Golden Gophers allowed zero made threes against UTSA (11/28/21) in their 29-point victory last week, the first time under head coach Lindsay Whalen the team has not allowed a made three in a game.

The 51st season of Golden Gopher women's basketball continues on Dec. 6, against the University of Nebraska (7-0, 0-0 B1G) in the Big Ten opener at Williams Arena. The game is set for 7 p.m. will be the second game in a row that the Gophers can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

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

Gadiva Hubbard

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Alexia Smith