Gophers Host Michigan on Alumni Sunday

Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-5, 4-2) vs. Michigan Wolverines (9-8, 2-4) LOCATION  Williams Arena / Minneapolis , Minn. DATE / TIME:  Sunday, Jan. 18 / 2 p.m. TELEVISION:  None RADIO / WEBCAST:   KBEM 88.5 FM  / Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com Corbu Stathes (Play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analyst) Golden Gopher Watch List — Jan. 18, 2009 • Golden Gophers Host Michigan on Sunday - Minnesota returns to Williams Arena on Sunday, Jan. 18, to play host to Michigan at 2 p.m. After back-to-back road games, the Golden Gophers own an overall record of 12-5, 4-2 in Big Ten play. Minnesota is coming off a huge 59-56 victory over No. 15/13 Ohio State in Columbus . • Deb Hunter Banner Presentation Pregame - Former Gopher great Deb Hunter will be honored with a banner presentation before Sunday's game. Hunter (1979-83) is the fifth Gopher to be honored with a banner in the rafters of Williams Arena: Linda Roberts (1977-81), Laura Coenen (1981-85), Carol Ann Shudlick (1990-94) and Lindsay Whalen (2000-04). • Hall of Fame Adds Class of 2009 - The Minnesota Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will welcome Ellen Kramer Brown and the 1981-82 Gopher team into the fold in a halftime ceremony on Sunday. • Gophers Win at Ohio State - The Gophers defeated Ohio State by a score of 59-56, handing the No. 15/13 Buckeyes their first Conference loss of the season, and winning in Columbus for the first time. Gophers Host Michigan on Sunday Minnesota returns to Williams Arena on Sunday, Jan. 18, to play host to Michigan at 2 p.m. After back-to-back road games, the Golden Gophers own an overall record of 12-5, 4-2 in Big Ten play. Minnesota is coming off a huge 59-56 victory over No. 15/13 Ohio State in Columbus . Michigan is 9-8 overall and 2-4 in league action after dropping a 41-37 contest at home to in-state rival Michigan State on Thursday. Deb Hunter Banner Presentation Pregame Former Gopher great Deb Hunter will be honored with a banner presentation before Sunday's game. Hunter (1979-83) is the fifth Gopher to be honored with a banner in the rafters of Williams Arena: Linda Roberts (1977-81), Laura Coenen (1981-85), Carol Ann Shudlick (1990-94) and Lindsay Whalen (2000-04).             Hunter's statistical impact from a career that spanned four seasons from 1979-83 have held up impressively to the test of time. Twenty-five years after she left the Williams Arena stage, she still owns major school records in assists (532) and steals (413). Hunter was ranked second in scoring with 1,363 points at the end of her career and remains high on the leaderboard in eighth.             Hunter, a 5-10 guard from Cloquet , Minn. , was the court leader who directed the Gophers' coming of age in the early 1980s. During her career, Minnesota celebrated several program firsts; the first national tournament appearances (AIAW Tournaments in 1981 and 1982), the Gophers' first national ranking (18th in the AP poll on Jan. 27, 1980) and the most wins in school history (28 in 1980-81) among them.             A two-time Golden Gopher MVP (1982, 1983), Hunter was also among the first Minnesota players to earn acclaim on a national scale. She earned American Women's Sports Federation Honorable Mention All-America accord in 1982, and all-region honors three times. She was named to the very first All-Big Ten First Team following her senior season in 1983. Today, she is the head basketball coach at Austin College in Texas . Gopher Hall of Fame Inducts 2009 Class The Minnesota Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will welcome Ellen Kramer Brown and the 1981-82 Gopher team into the fold in a halftime ceremony on Sunday.             Ellen Kramer Brown played for the Gophers from 1987-91 under coaches LaRue Fields and Linda Hill-MacDonald. A 6-0 forward from Roseville , Minn. , Kramer Brown  was a three-time All-Bin Ten honoree during her Gopher career earning honorable mention acclaim as a sophomore and junior and second-team honors as a senior in 1991. Minnesota 's 1991 leading scorer and most valuable player, Kramer Brown finished her career fifth in Minnesota history with 1,336 points and 712 rebounds. She was the seventh Gopher to accumulate over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. Today she remains among the top 10 in Gopher history in both statistics.             The 1981-82 Golden Gophers owns the distinction of being the first Minnesota squad to earn a berth into the national tournament, the 1982 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Tournament. The Gophers actually competed in the Tournament the previous season on the merits of hosting the national championship. In 1982, Minnesota won the AIAW Region Six title and traveled to the AIAW National Tournament in Piscataway , N.J. The Gopher defeated St. John's in the first round before losing to top-seeded Rutgers in the quarterfinal round. The Gophers finished with an 18-11 overall record. Back to Class on Tuesday Minnesota's game versus Michigan is the Gophers' eighth and final game between the Fall and Spring semesters. Classes resume on Tuesday, Jan. 20. How Sweet It Was Minnesota experienced history on Thursday, coming away with the program's very first win in Columbus in 24 tries. The Gophers defeated Ohio State by a score of 59-56, handing the No. 15/13 Buckeyes their first Conference loss of the season. Streak Busters Minnesota has ended the two longest winning streaks in the Big Ten this season. First the Gophers ended Indiana 's nine-game winning streak on Jan. 8 with a 70-62 win in Williams Arena. Minnesota then halted Ohio State 's eight-game winning streak, defeating the Buckeyes by a 59-56 score in Columbus on Thursday. Windex Awards All Around Stats don't always tell the whole story but in this case they certainly do. Minnesota out-scored Ohio State by a 15-0 margin in second-chance points in the Gophers' 59-56 win on Thursday. Ohio State managed to pull down just three offensive rebounds in the game with two of them coming in a nine-second possession ending the first half. Both the Buckeyes' starting post players, Jantel Lavender and Star Allen, were held without an offensive rebound. The Gophers have pitched three second-chance shutouts this seasons: North Dakota State (22-0), Drexel (13-0) and Ohio State (15-0). How Did We Manage to Win That One? A look at the box score from the Gophers' win at Ohio State makes one ponder just how Minnesota won this game when:             • Ohio State made 20-22 free throws             • Ohio State shot 56.3 percent in the second half             • Minnesota got to the free throw line just six times             • Gophers had more turnovers (19 to 17)             • Gophers were whistled for 21 fouls, OSU 12             • OSU's Lavender/Prahaulis combine for 36 points             • Brittany McCoy plays 12 minutes and doesn't dish                                 out an assist for just the second game in her career. Here's How the Gophers Won Minnesota can credit the victory at Ohio State to some of these statistics:             • Gophers dominate the boards, 34-21             • Second-chance points, 15-0             • Ohio State grabs just three offensive rebounds             • Gophers hit 7-of-12 three pointers             • Gopher get help, 11-2 in bench scoring             • Getting after it - Gophers forced five held-ball                         possessions on defense             • Limit shots - OSU took only 40 shots -                         Jantel Lavender had just six field goal attempts She Certainly Brought Her "A" Game Ashley Ellis-Milan can chalk up the Ohio State game as her finest all-around game as a Golden Gopher. She made a huge impact in the game on both ends of the floor. Ellis-Milan led the Gophers with 17 points, including the decisive free throws in the closing seconds of the game. She played nearly the entire game, sharing the responsibility of guarding Jantel Lavender with teammate Zoe Harper. Ellis-Milan pulled down seven rebounds, with her three offensive boards equalling the output of the entire Buckeye team. To top it off, Ellis-Milan took two charges as well. Back in the Groove Katie Ohm exploded for five three-point field goals in the win at Ohio State . Though she leads the Big Ten overall in three-pointers made, Ohm had netted just nine treys in Big Ten play this season. She hit 5-of-7 from behind the arc versus the Buckeyes. Ellis-Milan Doubling-Up Effort in Big Ten Play Junior center Ashley Ellis-Milan has been the Golden Gophers' most consistent performer in Big Ten action this season. She leads the team averaging 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per Conference game. Ellis-Milan recorded double-doubles in three of the first six Big Ten games this season and has improved her field goal percentage to a solid 52.5 percent against Big Ten opponents. Overall, Ellis-Milan has posted 19 double-doubles in her Golden Gopher career. Jumping Up The Assists List Brittany McCoy jumped past three former Gophers to leap from seventh to fourth on the Minnesota career assists list. McCoy's 315 assists vaulted past Debbie Hilmerson, Holly Thompson and Janel McCarville, who all collected 314 assists during their Gopher careers. Teammate Emily Fox is third on the list with 360. Better Be Ready To Play Some Defense The Big Ten is known as a physical league. Starting the Conference season where experienced coaches know so much about their Big Ten opponents, the statistics are revealing just how important team defense is this season. Only one team, Indiana at 71.5 is averaging over 70 points per Big Ten game. Amazingly over half the teams - six ( Michigan State , Michigan , Minnesota , Northwestern, Wisconsin and Illinois ) - are averaging less than 60 points a game this season in Conference play.             Case in point - the average points scored by the five winning teams on Thursday ( Minnesota , Indiana , Purdue , Michigan State and Iowa ) was 59.0 points. Minnesota scored exactly that in its win at Ohio State . Buford One of the Big Ten's Top Rookies Gopher rookie Kiara Buford is averaging 11.3 points per game when she sees 20 or more minutes of action. Buford's latest 20-minute outing was a nine-point performance at Ohio State . Averaging 8.9 points per Conference game, Buford is currently the Big Ten's third-leading freshman scorer behind Purdue's Brittany Rayburn (9.2) and Ohio State 's Samantha Prahaulis (9.2). Ohm Firing on Record Pace From Long Range Katie Ohm has been sensational from behind the arc this season. Her 50 three-point field goals in on record pace to set Minnesota 's single-season record of 73 (Lindsay Lieser, 2001-02; and Shannon Schonrock, 2004-05). Ohm has 15 more three-point field goals made than her nearest Big Ten competitor. Ohm has netted three or more three-pointers in 10 games this season. Voigt One of Four Big Ten Rookie Starters Minnesota forward Jackie Voigt is one of four true freshmen in the Big Ten to earn a spot in the starting lineup of their respective teams for the opening games of the Conference season. The 6-1 forward has started all 17 games for the Gophers this season. Other rookie starters around the Big Ten are: Fabiola Josil ( Illinois , guard), Brittany Orban (Northwestern, forward) and Samantha Prahalis ( Ohio  State , guard). Emmy Continues Climb Up Scoring Chart Emily Fox started her season in 13th on the Minnesota all-time leading scorers list and is currently 11th with 1,255 career points. Looking ahead, Fox's next target on the list in 10th place is Ellen Kramer (1987-91) with 1,336 points. It Starts With the Defense Minnesota has used its pressure defense to force opponents into an average of 19.9 turnovers a game. In seven games this season, the Gophers have snagged 10 or more steals. Coaches Love This One Minnesota's starting backcourt of Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy are ranked first and second in the Big Ten statistics in a very important, but under-appreciated stat of assist-to-turnover ratio. Fox has 72 assists to 44 turnovers for a 1.64 assist/turnover ratio. McCoy checks in with a ratio of 1.50 with 79 assists and 50 turnovers. The duo enjoyed their best collective outing versus Boston College , combining for 13 assists without a single turnover. In their last outing, the McCoy/Fox duo trammed for 14 assists and four turnovers. Closing in on Century Mark For Record Third Time Brittany McCoy is closing in on adding the 2008-09 as her third consecutive season with 100 or more assists. McCoy has 79 assists averaging 4.7 dishes a game, which ranks second in the Big Ten. The Gopher junior is already the only player in school history to dish out 100 or more assists as both a freshman and sophomore. Taking Care of the Rock Minnesota enjoyed its most efficient offensive outing of the 2008-09 committing a season-low nine turnovers in the win over Indiana . Another indicator of the Gophers' solid overall offensive outing was collecting 20 assists on their 26 field scored. The Gophers' guard tandem of Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy teamed to dish out 14 assists (seven a piece) with just four turnovers. Scouting Michigan Michigan owns a record of 9-8 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play coming off a 41-37 loss at home to in-state rival Michigan State on Thursday. It's been an interesting season for Michigan , notching some of the best non-conference wins (Vanderbilt, Notre Dame) for the Big Ten, yet being unable to carry that momentum forward.  The Wolverines are led by senior guard Jessica Minnfield, who is averaging 10l.6 points per game. All five starters average between 7.2 and 10.6 points per game.   The Minnesota / Michigan Series Minnesota leads the series with Michigan by a 27-22 margin. The Gophers have won the last six, and 10 of the last 11, games versus the Wolverines.