University of Minnesota Athletics
2018-19 Women's Basketball Roster
Jersey Number 23
Kenisha Bell
- Class:
- Redshirt Senior
- Height:
- 5-9
- High School:
- Bloomington Kennedy HS
- Hometown:
- Minneapolis, Minn.
- Prev School:
- Marquette University
Bio
| PRONUNCIATION |
Finished the 2017-18 season ranked fifth in team history in scoring average (18.1), seventh in assists (371), eighth in free throw percentage (.751) and ninth in free throw attempts (438) • Finished her career ranked third at Minnesota in free throws made (508) and attempted (693), fifth in scoring average (18.5) and games in double figures (86), sixth in assists (411), seventh in field goals attempted (1,492), eighth in points scored (1,754) and steals (215), and ninth in field goals made (596)
2018-19 • Redshirt Senior Season:
Honorable mention All-American (AP) • semifinalist for the 2019 Naismith Trophy Women's Defensive Player of the Year • named to the 2019 Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List • consensus 2019 All-Big Ten First Team honoree (media; unanimous by coaches) • named to the 2019 All-Big Ten Defensive Team selection • consensus 2018-19 Preseason All-Big Ten honoree (coaches and media) • ranked No. 17 on ESPNW's Preseason Top 25 Player Countdown • preseason Watch List for 2019 Nancy Lieberman Award and Naismith Trophy • Four-Time Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll: 11/26, 12/3, 12/24 and 2/11 • Academic All-Big Ten honoree • Tied own school record for free throws made in a season with 255; also tied for eighth most in a season in Big Ten history • Ranked second in team single-season history in free throws made (179) and 10th in field goals attempted (528) and assists (140) • had five double-doubles on the season and 15 games with at least 20 points • her 12 assists against Northern Iowa (3/22) tied for the sixth most in program history • scored 24 points and matched season high with 11 rebounds in double-OT win over Northwestern (2/10) • attempted 17 free throws against Indiana (2/6/19) and San Diego (11/17), tying for the fourth most in program history • posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists at Wisconsin (1/17) • had a double-double with 14 points and season-high 11 rebounds against Illinois (1/6) • scored a season-high 28 points with nine assists and seven rebounds vs. Rhode Island (12/22) • had 24 points and nine rebounds in win over No. 12 Syracuse (11/29).
2017-18 • Redshirt Junior SeasonAP Honorable Mention All-American • WBCA All-Region Nominee for All-American • unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree • All-Big Ten Defensive Team selection • two-time Big Ten co-Player of the Week (11/20 and 1/22) • four-time Big Ten Honor Roll selection (12/18, 12/26, 1/2 and 2/12) • set school records for made free throws (187) and free throw attemps (255); free throw attempt total was seventh most in Big Ten history • ranked third in team history for single-season assists (223) and assists per game (6.8), seventh in points (661) and steals (85) and ninth in field goal attempts (532) • led the team with seven double-doubles • started all 33 games • set a Gophers NCAA Tournament record for free throws made and attempted against Green Bay (3/16) • established a Minnesota Big Ten Tournament Record with 10 assists and tied a team record with 14 free throw attempts against Ohio State; also had 27 points and nine rebounds in the game (3/3) • set career highs in points (35), field goals made (13) and field goals attempted (27) at Iowa (2/4) • finished with 30 points and nine assists against UC Riverside (12/22) • poured in 31 points and 10 rebounds against Boston College (11/19)
2016-17 • Redshirt Sophomore Season
Received All-Big Ten Honorable Mention • averaged 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists (fourth in the Big Ten) and 2.2 steals (fifth in the Big Ten) per game • started all 30 games in which she played and scored in double figures 28 times • named Gophers’ Defensive Player of the Year • seventh all-time a single season as a Gopher with 148 assists • average of 4.9 assists per game is ninth best in a single season by a Gopher • tied for ninth place in the single season record books with 142 made free throws • recorded seven games with four steals • scored 20-plus points in six games this season • scored a season-high 24 points on two occasions: at VCU (11/15) and against Michigan State (1/30) • her 24 points at VCU gave her the highest-scoring Gophers debut in the past 20 years, and she added eight assists • tallied a double-double in second game with Gophers with 10 points and 10 assists against Georgetown (11/18).
2015-16 Season:
Sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
At Marquette:
Unanimously selected to the 2014-15 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team after starting 28 games • set a Golden Eagles rookie record and ranked second on the team with an average of 14.5 points per game • also set program freshman records in points (434), field goals (157) and free throws (111) • scored in double figures 25 times, including a season-high 25 points against Northern Kentucky • notched 59 steals, ranking fourth all-time among Marquette freshmen • named the BIG EAST’s freshman of the week four times.
High School:
A 2014 graduate of Bloomington Kennedy High School • led the Eagles to a runner-up finish in the 2014 Class AAAA state tournament at Williams Arena and was named to the all-tournament team • Associated Press All-State First Team and Star Tribune All-Metro First Team choice as a senior • Bloomington Kennedy’s 2014 recipient of the Athena Award • averaged 20.5 points per game her senior year • coached by Percy Wade and Quintin Johnson • played AAU ball for North Tartan under coach Gerard Coury.
Personal:
Daughter of Aishia Bell and Brian Townsend • has nine brothers and seven sisters • three of her brothers play college basketball, and one runs track at Marquette • majoring in communications.
Gophers Win Season Opener 2-1
Thursday, August 15
