Minnesota Set for Rematch with Penn State on Wednesday

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (8-10, 1-6 B1G) is back on the road for a matchup with Penn State (11-7, 2-5 B1G) on Wednesday, in State College, Pa. The game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. CT on B1G+ and can also be heard on the iHeartRadio app or on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THE PENN STATE GAME

Minnesota's matchup with Penn State is the second of the season between the two programs. The first meeting was on December 3, which resulted in a double overtime victory for the Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mara Braun led the way for Minnesota with 26 points while Amaya Battle (19), Mallory Heyer (18) and Katie Borowicz (13) all scored in double figures. Minnesota shot its Big Ten best 50 percent from the floor and hit 28-of-32 from the free throw line.
Minnesota is 23-29 all-time against Penn State.
Minnesota won last year's matchup in State College. The Gophers last loss to Penn State on the road was on Feb. 8, 2017. Lindsay Whalen is 3-0 in State College.
The Nittany Lions are losers of their past two contests by a combined 80 points. Their last win was on Jan. 7, a 10-point win at home against Purdue.
Penn State is 1-2 against common opponents with the Gophers.
Penn State was not selected in either the media or coaches preseason Big Ten polls.
In the last matchup with Minnesota earlier this season Makenna Marisa scored a game-high 32 points and made 7-of-10 threes.
The Nittany Lions have three scorers that average double figures with Leilani Kapinus (11.6) and Shay Ciezki (11.2) joining Marisa. Kapinus is also a force on the defensive end, averaging 3.2 steals per game this season.
As a team Penn State is No. 2 in the Big Ten in steals per game at 12.3, which is No. 8 in the nation. The team also forces the third most turnovers in the Big Ten this season at 21.3 per game, which is 16th in the country.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux extended her double figures scoring streak to eight games in the loss to Illinois. The sophomore has turned up her efficiency during her streak, scoring 16.1 points per game while shooting 56.7 percent (55-of-97) from the floor in that span. She's also averaged 8.0 rebounds per game and 3.6 offensive rebounds in that stretch.
Micheaux's latest double double vs. Illinois is her sixth of the season which is tied for the fourth most in the Big Ten this season. Two of her six double doubles are against Big Ten opponents and three of them have been against Power 5 opponent. Micheaux's last five games have been stellar at an average of 18.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg all while shooting 57.4 percent (39-of-68) from the floor. She's averaged 13.6 attempted shots during that span.
As of Jan. 16, Minnesota's latest starting lineup of Mara Braun, Amaya Battle, Mallory Heyer, Katie Borowicz and Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux, is an average age of 19 years and 5 months. The group consists of three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and one sophomore. Minnesota is the only Big Ten team to start four freshmen in a game this season (Wisconsin is the only other team to start three). The only other team to start four freshmen in the nation is Navy.
Through 18 games this season Minnesota continues to prove itself a quality team on the boards with an average rate of 43.2 per game as a team which is No. 1 in the Big Ten conference and No. 18 in the nation. The team has been one of the best on the offensive glass at 14.1 per game, No. 2 in the Big Ten and 48th in the country.
Mallory Heyer has posted four double doubles this season as a freshman - the most since Destiny Pitts had six during her freshman campaign in 2017-18. She's been steady for the Gophers in the past four games with an average of 13.8 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists.
Lindsay Whalen announced on Jan. 6, the signing of center Sophie Hart to the Gophers' program. Hart is a 6-5 graduate of Farmington High School, who played two seasons at NC State, and will join Minnesota with two years of eligibility. Coming out of high school Hart was the No. 64 ranked overall recruit in the class of 2021 and the No. 5 ranked player at her position by ESPN.
Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen announced the addition of five student-athletes on Nov. 16, who have signed National Letters of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2023-24 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Kennedy Klick, MyKynnlie Dalan, Ajok Madol and Dominika Paurová while Brynn Senden signed an Acceptance of Admission.

BY THE NUMBERS
14 - Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux secured 14 rebounds against No. 24/24 Illinois, the second time a Gopher has brought down 14 rebounds this season (Heyer).
13 - Minnesota averages 13.1 fast break points per game this season, up from 7.5 last season.
2 - The last time the Gophers and Nittany Lions met, the teams went to double overtime.
12 - Mallory Heyer has made at least one three in 12 consecutive games.
61 - This season Minnesota gets about 61 percent of its points per game from freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

The University of Minnesota remains on the road for the team's first matchup with Purdue on Jan. 21, in West Lafayette. The game will tip at 2 p.m. on B1G+ and can be heard on the iHeartRadio app or on KFAN+.

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 2022-23 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Katie Borowicz

Mara Braun

Mallory Heyer