Gophers Open Big Ten Play at Home with Undefeated Nebraska

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota (6-4, 0-0 B1G) begins Big Ten play against the University of Nebraska (8-0, 0-0 B1G) at Williams Arena on Monday night. The Dec. 6 matchup, which is set for 7 p.m., is the second straight game the Gophers will appear 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

Monday's meeting with the Cornhuskers is the 28th all time between the two programs. It's the 11th time Minnesota and Nebraska have met at Williams Arena with the Gophers winning eight of those 10 previous matchups. Last season Minnesota was 2-1 against the Big Red with Nebraska getting the better of Minnesota in the last meeting, in the Big Ten Tournament, earlier this year in March.
Minnesota has not lost to Nebraska at home since Dec. 31, 2017. Monday's matchup could be a tight battle with the two teams with the last seven meetings being decided by six points or less or in overtime (2) since 2014.
The Cornhuskers (8-0, 0-0 B1G) come into their conference opener with their best start to a season since the 2009-10 season. Nebraska's eight-game winning streak is the team's first since reeling off 10 straight wins from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28, 2013.
Nebraska returns five starters and 10 letterwinners from its 2020-21 team that advanced to the round of 16 in the Postseason WNIT. The Huskers finished with a 13-13 overall record that included a 9-10 Big Ten mark. Nebraska's top two returning players are second-team All-Big Ten guard Sam Haiby (Moorhead, Minn.) and honorable-mention All-Big Ten forward Isabelle Bourne.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Alanna Micheaux had a breakout game in the Gophers loss against UNC (12/1/21). Micheaux scored 23 off the bench on 8-of-10 shooting, the most points by a non-starter for the Golden Gophers since Gadvia Hubbard scored 28 points off the bench against Maryland back in 2017. Her scoring average has skyrocketed, after scoring just 2.2 points per game in her first five games she has scored an average of 11.0 points per game in her last four games.
This season Minnesota has averaged the third-most made threes per game in the Big Ten at 8.4, good enough for the 41st best mark in the NCAA. In total Minnesota has the fourth most made threes in the country at 84 and the fifth-most attempted at 241. In other team statistical rankings, the Gophers are second in total rebounds at 400, 23rd in total blocks at 41 and 15th in total assists at 141.
After scoring 50 points against UTSA (11/28/21) the Golden Gopher bench was at it again against UNC scoring 43 in the game. After taking eight bench players to reach 50 points against UTSA, it was just three who combined for the 43 against the Tar Heels. In the last four games the Gopher bench has averaged 34.0 points per game, significantly higher than the first six games where the bench averaged 16.5 points per game.
Minnesota has made eight or more threes as a team in seven straight games with the 11 against No. 2/2 UConn the most during that stretch.
In her last five games Jasmine Powell has played some of her best basketball of her career. She has averaged 7.2 assists with an assist to turnover ratio of 3.0, up from the 1.84 assist to turnover ratio she's had overall this season. Powell's scoring is also up in her last five games, averaging at a rate of 13.2 points per game. She's also shot well from beyond the arc, shooting 41.5 percent from three in that five-game span. Powell's season mark of 5.9 assists per game is the second best in the Big Ten this season.
The Maroon and Gold are aiming to defeat a 6-0, or better, opponent for the first time since Dec. 8, 2004 when the team defeated 6-0 UW-Green Bay.
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
17 - Graduate transfer Deja Winters is just 17 points away from 1,000 career points.
5 - In her last five games Jasmine Powell has averaged 13.2 points, 7.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds and has shot 41.2 percent from the 3-point line
10 - The Golden Gophers are one of two teams in the NCAA to have played 10 games through Sat. Dec. 4.
18 - Micheaux has gotten better each game this season and with that her minutes have shot up from an average of 9.8 in the first five games to 18.3 minutes per game in the last four.
8 - Gadiva Hubbard needs just eight threes to pass Shannon Schonrock (2002-06) for the 3rd most threes made in program history.
13 - Deja Winters currently leads the team in blocked shots this season with 13 (1.3 per game) and has registered at least one blocked shot in five straight games

The 51st season of Golden Gopher women's basketball continues on Dec. 12, against No. 12/9 Michigan (7-1, 0-0 B1G) in the team's first Big Ten road test. 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

Alanna Micheaux

Jasmine Powell

Deja Winters