Gophers Hang on to Defeat Northwestern

Ashley Ellis-Milan hit a right-handed lay-in with a minute left and Jackie Voigt netted two clutch free throws late as Minnesota held off Northwestern for a 43-40 win at Williams Arena on Sunday. Minnesota improves to 14-6 overall 6-3 in Big Ten play.   Ellis-Milan finished with 13 points. Voigt tallied eight points and nine rebounds. Emily Fox was the only other Gopher to score in double figures with 10 points.   Yes, the score is correct – 43-40. One has to go all the way the early days of women's collegiate basketball, back to the 1973-74 season to find a game where Minnesota won scoring less points (38-37 over Minnesota-Duluth on Feb . 4, 1974.   Regardless of the lack of scoring, however, the game was as exciting as any tied going into the last four minutes of the game.   Ellis-Milan hit a free throw with 3:08 remaining broke a 36-36 tie, then she dished the rock to Fox who hit a jumper on the Gophers' next possession to give Minnesota a 39-36 lead with 2:38 left.   Northwestern's Amy Jaeschke hit a nice fade-away jumper from the left wing with 2:14 remaining to close the Wildcats to within a point at 39-38. The Wildcats got the ball back on a Fox missed three-pointer. Northwestern looked to Jaeschke once again and the Gopher defense swarmed to the 6-5 center. Jaeschke calmly found guard Brittany Orban underneath the basket for an easy bucket giving the Wildcats a 40-39 lead. Orban led Northwestern with 13 points.   Despite having a rough game on offense, the Gophers looked into the post for Ellis-Milan. Ellis-Milan took an Ohm pass and spun across the lane banking home a right-handed lay-in. Minnesota regained the lead at 41-40 with 1:03 remaining.   The Gopher defense pressured the Wildcats into settling for a long three-point attempt by Erin Dickerson and the rebounded was snagged by Ellis-Milan, the first of her three big rebounds in the final 45 seconds.   The Gophers looked to work time off the clock and Fox took a jumper with 15 seconds on the game clock. The shot bounced off the rim and Ellis-Milan grabbed the rebound. Forced to foul, Northwestern decided to put rookie Voigt on the line. The Gopher rookie, who has started every game this season, calmly toed the line and swished both free throws to give Minnesota a 43-40 lead with 13 second left.   The Wildcats had three shots at the basket, only one from three-point range, before Ellis-Milan sealed the game with a defensive rebound as time expired.   Neither team found any rhythm on offense. Northwestern shot 27.7 percent going 1-for-13 from three-point range. Minnesota edged that at 30.8 percent overall and 2-for-20 from behind the arc. What the Wildcats gained with a 42-32 advantage on the boards, the Gophers negated by turning the ball over just 13 times to 19 for Northwestern.   The 43 points scored by the Gophers is the lowest winning total in 35 years. The combined total of 83 ( Minnesota , 43 – Northwestern 40) is the lowest combined score in the NCAA era for Minnesota . The previous low was 94 points, which occurred twice, the last being a 63-31 Gopher loss at Purdue on Feb. 12, 2005. The previous combined scored at home in Williams Arena was 97 points when Minnesota defeated St. Francis, 64-33, on March 19, 2005 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.   The 40 points allowed is the lowest this season and the lowest point total scored against the Gophers since Chicago State managed just 34 points in a 72-34 loss in Williams Arena on Dec. 2, 2006. The total is the lowest the Gophers have allowed in Big Ten since Northwestern scored just 33 points (71-33) in Williams Arena in the regular-season finale of the 2005-06 season.   - UM -