Gophers to Battle Badgers in Second Border Battle Matchup

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota (9-12, 2-7 B1G) returns home for a rivalry matchup with Wisconsin (5-14, 2-7 B1G) on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena. The January finale for the Gophers can be seen live on the Big Ten Network or streamed online. Fans can also listen to the game on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THIS GAME

Minnesota and Wisconsin meet for the 83rd time on Sunday. It is the Gophers most played series, one ahead of Iowa (82).
The Sunday matchup is the Gophers first time playing the same opponent twice this season. In the two team's earlier matchup this season the Gophers walked away winners on the road by a score of 82-66 at the Kohl Center. Redshirt junior forward Kadi Sissoko had one of her best all-around performances of her career notching 16 points, 8 rebounds and a career high 8 assists on the way to the Border Battle victory.
Minnesota has two Wisconsinites on its roster in freshmen Erin Hedman (New Berlin; Eisenhower HS) and Caroline Strande (Racine; Racine Lutheran HS). Conversely, Wisconsin has two Minnesotans on its roster: freshman Sacia Vanderbpool from Byron, Minn. (Byron HS) and Sara Stapleton from Blaine (Centennial HS).
Wisconsin head coach Marisa Moseley is familiar to Minnesota as she previously served as an assistant for the Golden Gophers from 2007-09 under then head coach Pam Borton. In two seasons the Gophers were 40-24 and 22-14 in the Big Ten, making the NCAA Tournament both years and winning a tournament game in 2009. Moseley also recently won her first Big Ten win, a road win over Rutgers on Jan. 16.
UW's leading scorers, Julie Pospíšilová and Sydney Hilliard, account for 42 percent of the Badgers' scoring this season. Pospíšilová leads the team with 14.5 points per game while Hilliard adds 12.8 points per game. The duo have led Wisconsin in scoring in 15 games this season.
As a team, Wisconsin's best statistic amongst Big Ten teams is the Badgers' sixth-best turnovers per game rate at 15.1 per game. The Badgers' are respectable in fewest fouls and fewest turnovers this season, ranked seventh and eighth in the conference and are seventh in scoring defense at 67.0 per game.

GOPHER NOTABLES

The Golden Gophers are coming off their fourth-straight loss, a 80-66 decision to Purdue (13-7, 4-5 B1G). Deja Winters led the way offensively for the Maroon and Gold with 17 points, hitting on 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Jasmine Powell (13) and Sara Scalia (10) both added double figure scoring. Off the bench Laura Bagwell Katalinich had her best overall game of the season with six points as well as seven rebounds, three offensive, along with two assists and two steals.
Sara Scalia extended her double figures scoring streak to 11 with her performance against Purdue. Scalia is one of eight players in the Big Ten that have active double-figures scoring streaks of at least 11 games. In her last 11 games Scalia has averaged an impressive 19.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from three (43-of-93) and has averaged 3.9 made threes per game during the streak.
As a team this season Minnesota has the second-best three-point field goal percentage in the Big Ten at 37.2 which is also good enough for 13th best in the NCAA. On average the Maroon and Gold make 8.6 threes per game, good enough for the 25th best mark in the nation and the third best in the conference. In total the team's 181 made threes is the most in the Big Ten and the 10th most in the country.
Guard Deja Winters has continued to show why she is one of the Big Ten's most impactful grad transfers this season. Averaging 11.8 points per game, and 14.9 in 2022 so far, Winters also has been the Gophers best on-ball defender this season. Her 33 steals (1.6 per game) leads the team and is tied for 13th in the Big Ten this season and her 20 total blocks (1.0 per game) are good enough for the 10th most in the conference this season.
At home this season Sara Scalia has been the Gophers best offensive threat at 17.0 points per game, slightly up from her 16.1 per game overall. Scalia has shot 43.4 percent from three at Williams Arena with her most notable performance coming in the form of a 37-point performance against Ohio (12/15/21).
On Dec. 21, head coach Lindsay Whalen was announced as a candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Whalen, who is eligible for the first time this year, is on the ballot for her time as a player. After a stellar collegiate career where she led the Maroon and Gold to the Final Four, Whalen collected numerous honors and championships in the WNBA and with the U.S. National team. Finalists will be announced Friday, Feb. 18, in Cleveland, Ohio, during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Minnesota's four signees in the 2022 signing class were all named McDonald's All-America Games nominees last week. Those future Golden Gophers include Mara Braun (Wayzata, Minn.), Amaya Battle (Hopkins, Minn.), Mallory Heyer (Chaska, Minn.) and Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

BY THE NUMBERS
181 - At 181 made threes this season the Gophers have now passed the 2009-10 Gophers for the 8th most 3-point field goals made in a single season (since 1987-88). The team now is just three behind the seventh most (2008-09), and 13 behind the sixth most (2013-14).
11 - Sara Scalia is the 11th highest scoring individual in the Big Ten this season at 16.1 points per game.
11 - Sara Scalia has scored in double figures in ten straight games, the second longest streak of her career (13).
5 - The Gophers have won five straight games against the Badgers, head coach Lindsay Whalen is 6-1 as a coach against Wisconsin.
6 - In 20 games so far this season the Maroon and Gold have had six different starting lineups.
7 - Grad student Gadiva Hubbard moved into seventh place in total minutes played against Purdue (1/27) and is now just 54 minutes away from passing Kiara Buford (2008-12) for the sixth most.

Minnesota next heads to Bloomington, Ind., on Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. The game can be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard on KFAN+.

NOTE: The University has implemented a temporary proof of vaccination/test policy that applies to all events from Wednesday, January 26, 2022, to Wednesday, February 9, 2022. For more information, please visit this link. Please note participating student-athletes, coaches, team support staff, and officials are not subject to this regulation.

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

Erin Hedman

Gadiva Hubbard

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Kadi Sissoko

Caroline Strande

Deja Winters