Minnesota rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit with a blistering second-half performance to capture an 86-67 win over UMass in the championship game of the Colorado Coors Classic in Boulder, Colo. Emily Fox scored a season-high 24 points, while Katie Ohm added a career-high 20 points and Ashley Ellis-Milan posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Minnesota , winners of six straight games, is 6-1 on the season.
Fox was honored as the Classic MVP, her second honor in as many weeks. Ellis-Milan joined Fox on the all-tournament team.
"I told the team at halftime that we were hurting ourselves and that we need to get out there and play our game," said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. "We had so many people step up in the second half. Once again, we had several players who deserved all-tournament honors. It was great to see Emmy play well in front of her home-state family and friends. Ashley took control of the boards, Katie made some huge shots. I could go on and on."
Fox started the second-half barrage with a three-pointer after the Gophers extended the possession with two offensive rebounds. The triple started a 10-0 run erased UMass' halftime lead and with an Ellis-Milan bucket, only on a second-chance opportunity, gave the Gophers a 38-36 lead, their first since early in the first half.
What Fox started after intermission, Ohm continued. The Gopher junior sharpshooter caught fire from behind the arc hitting four three-pointers and scored 16 points to finish with a career-best six treys in the game.
Ellis-Milan grabbed five offensive rebounds to fuel a huge rebounding performance that capitalized on a 27-7 advantage on the boards in the second half. Minnesota collected plenty of second chances pulling down 16 offensive rebounds to just two for UMass in the game.
UMass (3-3) tied the score one more time at 41-41, but Minnesota ran off 12 straight points to take complete control of the outcome. Brittany McCoy dished out seven assists in the second half to finish with 10, her second double-digit outing of the season. Five different players hit three-pointers for the Gophers in the second half, including Fox with four.
The first half was a completely different story. The Gophers struggled on both ends of the court, shooting just 33 percent from the field and leaving too many points on the free throw line, converting just 5-of-13 attempts. UMass made 6-10 three-pointers and 10-12 free throws to take advantage of the Gophers' sluggish start.
Minnesota returns home to play host to St. Mary's College ( Calif. ) on Monday. Tip off is at 7 p.m. in Williams Arena.
- UM – |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Gophers Win Colorado Coors Classic
22nd annual coors Classic - Boulder, colo.
Friday, Nov. 28 Minnesota 74, Drexel 50 UMass 70, Colorado 62 Saturday, Nov. 29 Drexel 67, Colorado 63 Minnesota 86, UMass 67 All-Tournament Team Emily Fox, 5-9, Sr., G, Minnesota - MVP Ashley Ellis-Milan, 6-2, Jr., F/C, Minnesota Cerie Mosgrove, 6-0, So., G, UMass Gabriela Marginean, 6-1, Jr., F, Drexel Brittany Spears, 6-1, So., G/F, Colorado Overall Records Minnesota 6-1 Drexel 3-3 UMass 3-3 Colorado 2-3 Coors Classic Records Set Individual Game Points - 36, Brittany Spears Colorado vs. UMass Old Record: 33, Robin Hasemann, Western Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan, 1989 Points Half - 26, Gabriela Marginean, Drexel vs. Colorado Old Record: 22, Laura Menty, Siena vs. Clemson, 2007 Team Game 3PT FG Made - 14, Minnesota vs. UMass Old Record: 11, UMass vs. Colorado, 2008 & Miami (Ohio) vs. George Mason, 1998 3PT FG Attempted - 34, Minnesota vs. UMass Old Record: 31, Colorado vs. Siena, 2007 Tournament FG Attempted - 40, Brittany Spears, Colorado Old Record: 39, Allie Nieman, Idaho, 1998 3PT FG Attempted - 20, Jasmina Rosseel, Drexel Old Record - 17, Melissa Manzer, Siena, 2007 Coors Classic Records Tied Individual Game FG Made - 12, Brittany Spears, Colorado vs. UMass Tied: Robin Hasemann, Western Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan, 1989 FT Percentage - 1.000 (12x12), Gabriela Marginean, Drexel vs. Colorado Tied: Lisa Nicholls, Gonzaga vs. Wisconsin, 1990 3PT FG Made - 6, Katie Ohm, Minnesota vs. UMass Tied: Melissa Manzer, Siena, 2007 |
Buffaloes fall in consolation game
| BOULDER - Drexel forward Gabriela Marginean scored 26 of her game-high 32 points in the second half to lead Drexel to a 67-63 win over Colorado in the consolation game of the 22nd Annual Coors Classic Saturday at the Coors Events/Conference Center. Colorado (2-3), which dropped both games of its Classic for the first time in team history, fell for the second straight night after holding a late second half lead. The Buffaloes led 56-49 with 6:33 remaining in the game when Drexel went on a 12-3 run over the next 2:11. Marginean made six consecutive free throws during that stretch and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the line during the game, tying a Coors Classic record and setting a mark for a CU opponent. After CU's Brittany Spears tied the score at 61 with a pair of free throws, Marginean responded with a jumper to give the Dragons a 63-61 lead with 2:10 remaining. Both teams traded missed shots and with 33 seconds remaining, Spears scored on a layup to tie the score at 63. Once again Marginean responded, giving the Dragons a 2-point lead with 17 seconds left. The Buffaloes never got the chance for a last shot to tie or win. Marginean, who added eight rebounds, closed out the game with a steal in the CU backcourt and went coast-to-coast for a layup and her 12th straight point. Colorado led UMass 60-52 with just under seven minutes left on Friday before the Minutewomen ended the game on an 18-2 run. Colorado freshman Alyssa Fressle had the best game of her young career in a losing effort. She scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 from the floor, and scored in just about every way - 3-pointers, short jumpers, and layups in transition. Fressle filled out the box score nicely with four rebounds, three assists, three steals and topped it off with a blocked shot. Senior Hannah Skildum finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field, her first game in double-digits since last year's Coors Classic game against Siena (11). Senior Kara Richards had 12 points and four rebounds before fouling out with 4:48 remaining in the contest. Spears, who was named to the five-player All-Tournament team, had 16 points and nine rebounds. She finished the weekend with Classic records for points (36) and field goals (12) in one game (both against UMass) and a 2-game record for field goals attempted (40). Drexel kept the game close early at the line. The Dragons, who ranked second in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage last year, hit their first 11 free throws and finished 12-of-14 for the first half. The problem facing Drexel was free throws were the only shots going down in the first half. The Buffaloes held Drexel to just four field goals - one off CU's opponent record for one half - and none over the final 12:51 of the first half. The drought allowed Colorado to close the half on a 20-6 run and take a 29-21 advantage into the locker room, led by Fressle who scored 12 points in the first 20 minutes. Colorado led by as many as 13 early in the second half (40-27) before Drexel chipped away at the CU lead. The Dragons shot 53 percent in the second half (16-of-30) and 88.5 percent from the free throw line for the game (23-of-26). Drexel guard Jasmina Rosseel finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Andrea Peterson chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Colorado returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 2, by hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. |
No. 3 California 76, Iowa 43
| Paradise Jam in St. Thomas at the U.S. Virgin Islands
Iowa Post-Game Notes Iowa lost its second-straight game Saturday night at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, falling 76-43 to No. 3 California. Iowa falls to 4-3, while California remains undefeated at 7-0. Tonight was just the second-ever meeting between California and Iowa.
Tonight was Iowa's first game against a team ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls since playing No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 13, 2005 (L, 67-60).
California's Ashley Walker was tabbed the tournament's MVP. She poured in a game-high 32 points tonight, 20 of which came in the first half. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Wendy Ausdemore was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team after reaching double figures in all three tournament games. The senior finished the game with a team-high 10 points and five rebounds. She made two triples tonight, marking the fifth-consecutive contest the senior sank two-or-more treys.
Megan Skouby and JoAnn Hamlin each scored eight points. Hamlin also corralled a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
Iowa jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead, but California quickly countered with a 24-2 run to take a 25-10 advantage midway through the first half.
California shot 50.8% (31-61) from the field for the game, while Iowa was held to a season-low 33.3% (17-51) from the floor.
Iowa did post a season-low 16 turnovers tonight, however California converted those miscues into 24 points.
Iowa made (3) and attempted (4) season lows from the free throw line tonight. California was 7-8 (.875) from the charity stripe tonight.
The Bears forced the Hawkeyes into a perimeter game, as half of their first-half field goal attempts (30) were from beyond the 3-point arc (15). Iowa was only 4-15 (.267) from long distance the first 20 minutes.
Iowa's 20 points in the first stanza are the fewest it has scored in a half this season (25 vs. Texas Tech). In fact, California's Ashley Walker scored 20 points herself in the first half to match Iowa as a team.
Iowa will leave its hotel early tomorrow morning and spend the entire day traveling back to Iowa City. The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Iowa will travel to Durham, NC, to face nationally-ranked Duke at 6:05 p.m. (CST).
Iowa Post-Game Quotes Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder "California showed why they are the No. 3-ranked basketball team. We're not clicking right now."
"Ashley Walker is a tremendous player. We didn't have an answer for her tonight. When we went to a zone to clog-up the middle, they knocked down the open three."
"Wendy is a gutsy kid. She had three treatments today on her sprained ankle and played as hard as she could. I really admire her effort tonight." |
UW upsets No. 6 Baylor for Paradise Jam title
Nov. 29, 2008 ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – Alyssa Karel made the game-winning shot with seven seconds remaining to lead the Wisconsin women's basketball team to a 59-58 upset over No. 6/7 Baylor on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers (5-1) win the Island Division of the Paradise Jam, their first tournament title since winning the 2006 Lady Rebel Shootout in Las Vegas. It was also the highest-ranked team the Badgers have defeated in head coach Lisa Stone's tenure. "I'm just so emotional, I can't even stand it," said Stone. "I'm so proud of my entire team. This was a great trip. This capped off some beautiful weather and a Paradise Jam championship." The win was Wisconsin's first over a top-10 opponent since defeating then-No. 7 Purdue, 71-59, on Dec. 28, 2001 and the first time Wisconsin has beaten a ranked team since Feb. 19, 2006, when it upset No. 17 Minnesota, 67-61. "This team and their identity has surfaced; I'm so proud of them," said Stone. "From a defensive standpoint, we did what we had to do. We got one stop, they go to the free throw line. They had to make a play and we had to make a play. My team was just outstanding and this is just a great lift for us right now." The Badgers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to take their first lead of the game with just seven seconds left. After Mariah Dunham hit one of two free throws to put the Badgers within one with 53 seconds left, Karel nailed a jumper to put Wisconsin up 59-58. Baylor had one last chance and missed a jumper but Melissa Jones grabbed the offensive rebound, attempted the putback and was fouled by Lin Zastrow with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Jones had the chance to win or tie the game with two free throws. Jones missed both as the Badgers celebrated their fifth straight win and Paradise Jam championship title. Karel earned tournament MVP honors and was joined on the all-tournament team by junior guard Rae Lin D'Alie. Karel, who has scored double figures in every game this season, led the Badgers in scoring every game during the jam, including her 15 points against Baylor. Karel also finished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. D'Alie finished with six rebounds, four points, a rebound and an assist. Zastrow also finished in double figures with 10 points, nine of which came in the second half, and grabbed five rebounds, had two blocks and two steals. Junior forward Mariah Dunham had a standout game off the bench, scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds and had one block. Teah Gant also contributed offensively with eight points and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. The Badgers shot 35.5 percent from the field but stood strong at the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-21 attempts for 85.7 percent. The Badgers clamped down on defense and held pre-season first-team All-American Rachel Allison to just nine points and seven rebounds. Danielle Wilson led the Bears with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and 10 rebounds while Jhasmin Player chipped in 13 points. Baylor, who was averaging 78.7 points per game before tonight, shot just 37 percent for the game. "We rotated a lot of different people on (Rachel Allison)," said Stone." I thought Mariah, Tara and Ashley did a great job on her, but our team did as well." Baylor won the battle on the boards, 39-32 but Wisconsin had fewer turnovers than the Bears finishing with the 15-19 advantage. Wisconsin played Baylor close in the first half but the Bears were powerful in the post and managed to score 16 points in the paint by the end of the first half. Baylor led by as many as 10 points in the first half but the Badgers pulled within four after a layup by Dunham before Baylor took the six-point lead after a tip-in as time expired heading into halftime. In the second half, Zastrow came on strong and scored seven straight points to put the Badgers within five at 35-30. Baylor then managed to jump out to a 10-point lead twice midway through the game but that would be its biggest lead of the night. Wisconsin chipped away at the lead and pulled within three off a layup by D'Alie in the paint to put the score at 54-51 with 3:19 left in the game. Baylor managed to jump back out to a five-point lead but a 3-pointer by Karel with 1:37 left in the game put the Badgers within two at 58-56. Baylor was scoreless the rest of the way and turned the ball over with 1:22 left to play. The turnover led to a steal by Karel, which set up a missed 3-pointer by Gant. Dunham grabbed the rebound, was fouled and went to the line. Dunham missed the first but nailed the second to put the score at 58-57 in favor of Baylor with 53 seconds left. Baylor came down on its next possession and Player missed a 3-pointer. Wisconsin took a timeout with 23 seconds left and ran a play to Karel, which resulted in a made jumper on the left side to give Wisconsin its first and only lead of the game at 59-58. Jones went to the line with 0.5 seconds left, missed the free throws and Dunham grabbed the rebound for the Badgers' big win. "We got it down to one (point)," said Stone of her team's strategy. "We went a little bit early but that's okay. We said eight or 10 (seconds left on the clock) and we went about 12. Alyssa made a great play (and) we take it when we can get it. We wanted to use the clock. We wanted to give us enough time to get an offensive rebound. "Unfortunately, they got it in quick and came back down but I'm really proud of our team. That's a great Baylor team." Wisconsin returns home tomorrow from the Paradise Jam and be sure to check back to UWBadgers.com for a final blog from the trip. The Badgers return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. against in-state rival, UW-Milwaukee.
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Balanced Attack Puts Golden Bears Back In Win Column
| Nov. 29– [http://www.cugoldenbears.com/_Images/AthleticSportImgs/basketballw/2008-09%20WBB%20Images/Action%20Shots/Jones_3pt3.jpg]KEARNEY, Neb. - Concordia University's women's basketball team had five players score in double figures in an 82-76 win over Rockhurst University at the UNK Country Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday. Setting the pace for Concordia was Jamie Jones with 16 points and nine assists and Gillian Bjerke with 15 points and nine rebounds. The Golden Bears used the three-point shot to nab the lead from the Hawks in the first half, with Kelly Supernaw sinking her first of three final triples at the 8:37 mark to give Concordia a lead they maintained for the remainder of the game. Candace Olstad and Supernaw hit back-to-back long range field goals to put the team up 34-23, their largest lead of the first half. Concordia led 36-32 at the half. The Golden Bears played a stretch of tough defense against Rockhurst in the second half, keeping the Hawks to only one field goal and a set of free throws through five minutes of play. With solid shooting through this period, Concordia went on a 16-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, a 17 point margin with 11 minutes remaining. The Hawks gradually chipped away at the Golden Bears, but the margin proved too great and Concordia walked away with the 82-76 win. Five Concordia players posted 11 or more points in the win, topped by Jones's 16 point, nine assist and seven rebound game. Bjerke shot 5-of-9 from the field and had five free throws for 15 points and matched Shandrell Duncan for a team high nine boards. Supernaw, Candace Olstad and Kali Olstad combined for eight of the team's three-pointers and scored 12, 12 and 11 points each, respectively. Concordia shot 42.4% (28-66) from the field and 45.5% (10-22) from beyond the arc. They had a 48-44 lead on the boards, although Rockhurst put in 21 second chance points while Concordia had only seven. The Hawks were led in scoring by Amy Hake, who hit four of her five field goals from long range on her way to 17 points. Tori Hartin put a double double in the books with 13 points and ten boards. The team shot 33.8% from the field (25-74) and hit 11 threes. The Golden Bears open NSIC play on the road next Friday and Saturday, traveling to Upper Iowa and Winona State. Both games will tip off at 6:00 pm. |
Lady Lions Use Three Double-Doubles to Topple Coppin State, 76-61
| O'Rourke notches first career double-double with 12 points and 13 assists MALIBU, CALIF.; November 29, 2008 — The Penn State Lady Lions (4-2) had three players post double-doubles in a 76-61 win over Coppin State (0-4) in the consolation game of the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament in Malibu, Calif. Senior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and sophomores Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) and Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) all recorded double-doubles to lead the Lady Lions over the Eagles, while Trogele and O'Rourke were selected to the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS All-Tournament team. Junior guard Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) led five Lady Lions in double figures with a career-high 16 points that included four three-pointers. She also dished out three assists in the win. O'Rourke registered her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 assists. It is the highest single-game assist total for a Lady Lion since Jess Strom dished out 13 helpers against Oklahoma State on Nov. 24, 2001. Trogele posted her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. She also handed out three assists and had two blocks and two steals. Wolff recorded her third career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds off of the bench. She also blocked a career-best four shots and recorded three steals. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) was the final Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points. She also had three steals on the game and finished the tournament with nine thefts. The Lady Lions looked sluggish early as Coppin State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 41 seconds of the game, but Penn State reeled off 10 consecutive points to take a 10-5 lead with just under 17 minutes to play in the half. Wolff started the run with a rebound and putback off of a Quinn miss, while O'Rourke contributed a pair of free throws and Quinn, Grant and Trogele each added layups during the scoring flurry. After a CSU score, the Lady Lions got back-to-back jumpers from O'Rourke and a breakaway layup from Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) to establish a 16-7 lead with 14:38 left in the half. The Lady Lions started the game shooting 63.6%, but missed three straight shots and turned the ball over three times to allow the Eagles score the next 10 points of the game and take a 17-16 lead with 11 minutes to play in the half. A Quinn three-pointer put Penn State back in the lead at 19-17 and a Trogele scoop shot extended the lead to four points (21-17), but the Eagles scored the next four points to tie the game at 21 apiece with just over nine minutes left in the half. A Quinn layup off of a great pass by Lewis and a bucket by Wolff put the Lady Lions ahead by four (25-21) with 4:30 on the clock. A Trogele basket was sandwiched between five points by Danielle Anders to give the Lady Lions a one-point lead (27-26) before PSU scored six consecutive tallies to make it a 33-26 lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Coppin State went on to score seven of the final 10 points of the half to send the teams into the locker room with the Lady Lions leading 36-33. The lone tallies for the Lady Lions in the final two minutes was a three-pointer by O'Rourke. O'Rourke head the Lady Lions with nine points and eight assists, while Trogele added eight points and four rebounds. Wolff also had a solid first half with eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Anders scored more than half of Coppin State's points with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Lady Lions came out firing on all cylinders in the second as Quinn drained a three-pointer just 22 seconds into the second half and Penn State would add a Trogele basket and one Lewis free throw to extend the lead to nine points (42-33) before the Eagles would get on the board in the second half. After an exchange of baskets, Quinn knocked down a pair of three-pointers, sandwiched around a Coppin State free throw to make it a 53-39 game with 14:42 on the clock. A three-minute scoring drought for the Lady Lions allowed Coppin State to close within 10 points (53-43) with 12 minutes to play, but Penn State scored the next nine points of the game, including five tallies by Wolff and two each by Trogele and Grant to take a commanding 62-43 lead with 9:41 remaining in the game. The Eagles would pull as close as 12 points with 6:11 on the clock, but back-to-back three-pointers by O'Rourke and Gray put Penn State up by 18 at 70-52 with just under four minutes to play. The squads swapped baskets down the stretch with Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) capping the scoring with a jumper with 20 seconds left. GAME NOTES: Senior Brianne O'Rourke dished out 13 assists for her fifth career game with 10 or more assists…O'Rourke's 13 assists are also a career high and is the highest single-game assist total by a Penn State player since Jess Strom dished out 13 helpers against Oklahoma State on Nov. 24, 2001...O'Rourke registered her first career double-double with 12 points and 13 assists…Sophomore Julia Trogele notched her first career double-double with 12 points and career-high 13 rebounds…Sophomore Janessa Wolff tallied her third career double-double with 15 points and 10 boards off of the bench…Wolff blocked a career-high four shots….Junior guard Meggan Quinn notched a career high with 16 points…Junior Meredith Monroe returned to the court after missing four games with a knee injury… Trogele and O'Rourke were selected to the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS All-Tournament team. The Lady Lions will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to play Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon and remain home to face Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555. The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone. —LADY LIONS— |
Spears' 36 Points Not Enough Against UMass
| BOULDER - Colorado sophomore Brittany Spears scored a career-high and Coors Classic record 36 points, but UMass rallied from a late eight-point deficit to hand the Buffaloes a 70-62 loss in the first round of the 22nd Annual Coors Classic, Friday night at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The loss puts Colorado (2-2) in Saturday's consolation game against Drexel (2-3) at 5 p.m. MST. Minnesota (5-1) defeated Drexel 74-50 in Friday's early game and will play UMass (3-2) in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. MST. Spears' 36 points tied for the third best total in team history, matching Jasmina Ilic's total against Nebraska on Jan. 4, 2006, and just two off the school record of 38 held by current Director of Operations Tracy Tripp against Oklahoma State on Feb. 4, 1987 and Susan Horner against Weber State on Mar. 10, 1979. Spears also set career-highs in field goals made (12) and attempted (25) and free throws made (9) and attempted (11). Her 25 field goal attempts tied a Coors Classic record. Despite Spears' record night, Colorado struggled as whole from the field. The Buffaloes shot just 36 percent overall (22-of-61) and just 25 percent from 3-point range (7-of-28). UMass' zone defense caused some trouble for CU and led to rushed shots. "When teams sit in zone, we have four shooters on the floor," CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "We took shots too fast, and took dumb shots. UMass took advantage. We weren't taxing them defensively and didn't play on both ends of the floor." Colorado trailed for nearly all of the first 27 minutes of the game, but took its first lead since the opening seconds at 50-48 on an Alyssa Fressle 3-point field goal that capped a 10-2 CU run with 13:07 remaining in the game. Tied at 52 with 9:21 remaining, Colorado looked like it was beginning to pull away as the Buffs scored eight straight on a Spears layup and back-to-back 3-pointers by Spears and Bianca Smith. UMass made the final and most important push though, outscoring Colorado 18-2 over the final 6:57 of the game. CU missed 7-of-8 down the stretch, gaining only a Spears layup which came with just 42 seconds remaining to end a string of 15 straight points by the Minutewomen. "I wish we could play that game over again," Spears said. "We need to play better defense. We need more ball pressure and to use more time on offense. We are just rushing shots. We have to believe in each other." UMass forward Teya Wright recorded a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Guards Kim Benton and Stefanie Gerardot each scored 12 points and were a combined 7-of-15 from 3-point range. The Minutewomen made 11 3-pointers, hitting 39 percent from downtown. Fressle finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Smith had nine points and six rebounds. Spears added nine rebounds and four assists to her strong statline "We are in a similar position to where we were a year ago," McConnell-Miller said. "The sign of a really good team is one that is able to put the last possession, the last game behind them. That's what we have to do." Minnesota 74, Drexel 50 Kay Silva scored 17 points off the bench as Minnesota pulled away from Dragons in the second half in the first game of the Coors Classic. The Golden Gophers led by just five at halftime (32-27), but broke the game open with a 21-5 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Ashley Ellis-Milan had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which has won five straight since its season-opening loss to Stanford. Colorado native Emily Fox had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. Drexel was led by Gabriela Marginean who had 15 points and nine rebounds. |
Michigan women's basketball downs Belmont, 64-60
Site: Hattiesburg, Miss. (Reed Green Arena)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team weathered a late Belmont rally to seal a 64-60 victory on Friday night (Nov. 28) in the first round of the Southern Mississippi Lady Eagle Classic at the Reed Green Arena. Belmont scored nine points in the final 3:33 to cut a 10-point Michigan lead all the way to one point with 13.7 seconds remaining, but U-M held on thanks to two free throws from senior guard Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) with seconds remaining.
Senior Stephany Skrba (Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) led Michigan from the floor, tallying 15 points on six-of-11 shooting. She also had nine rebounds, one shy of her first double-double of the season. Senior Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) and Minnfield were also in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
With Michigan holding a 48-40 lead midway through the second half, Belmont mounted a comeback, cutting the lead to four points with a three-point play by Belmont's LaWanna Holiday and a free throw. U-M countered with the play of Benson, who knocked down two crucial three-pointers to give Michigan a 56-46 lead at the 3:51 mark. The Bruins then went on a critical 9-3 run late in the half to keep the game within reach before Minnfield iced the win.
Both teams came out and exchanged early buckets in the opening minutes of the second half, but U-M was able to take a 43-36 lead on the heels of six points from Skrba. The Wolverines built a 10-point lead, 48-38, at the 8:21 mark behind a strong presence on the glass, outrebounding the Bruins, 16-8, and scoring 24 points in the paint to Belmont's 14.
Belmont scored the first points of the game, but the Wolverines opened up a 9-2 lead behind a 7-0 run sparked by five consecutive points from Minnfield. Michigan built a 16-9 lead, but the Bruins chipped away with nine unanswered points to take a 19-16 lead at the 5:40 mark of the half.
Nine consecutive points by the Wolverines, including six points from Skrba, put Michigan ahead, 27-19, with just under the three minutes left to play in the first frame. Belmont then came back to take a 30-29 lead thanks to a trio of long-range buckets with less than a minute remaining in the half, but a steal from Minnfield resulted in a long outlet pass to junior center Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowmen Collegiate), who with a layup sent Michigan into the break with a 31-30 lead.
Skrba led all scorers at halftime with eight points on four-of-eight shooting from the field, while Belmont's Jessica Bobbitt led all players with five rebounds. U-M posted a 52-38 rebound advantage in the game.
Michigan concludes action at the Southern Mississippi Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday (Nov. 29) when it takes on host Southern Mississippi for the Lady Eagle Classic title at 4 p.m. CST in Reed Green Arena in Hattiesburg, Miss. |
Day 1 Of 2008 Coors Classic
| Minnesota 74, Drexel 50 UMass 70, Colorado 62 Saturday, Nov. 29 Consolation: Drexel vs. Colorado, 5 p.m. MST (Colorado home team) Championship: Minnesota vs. UMass, 7:30 p.m. MST (UMass home team) |
Sylva Paces Golden Gophers to Victory
Senior Kay Sylva scored a career-high 17 points to lead Minnesota to a 74-50 victory over Drexel in the Colorado Coors Classic on Friday in Boulder , Colo. The Golden Gophers, 5-1 on the season, will face the winner of the Colorado/UMass in the Classic championship game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. CT.
After holding only a 32-27 halftime lead and seeing their leader Emily Fox without a point in the first half, the Gophers broke the game open early in the second half behind their senior captain. Fox, playing in the Coors Event Center for the first time since winning her third state title in as a high school senior at ThunderRidge, buried a three-point field goal with 16:50 left to play to break into the scoring column. Seconds later Fox grabbed a steal and went coast-to-coast continuing a scoring streak that would extend to 11 straight points to give her team a 14-point lead with 13:49 remaining.
"Kay was the spark off the bench once again," said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. "We have been fortunate to have players step up and make big contributions for us. I don't know if our offense struggled because we were overly concerned with our defense but we played so much better in the second half."
Minnesota connected on 56.5 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half, building as big as a 26-point lead late. Fox scored all 13 points in the half, while Sylva attacked the basket for 10 of game-high 17. The Gophers also controlled the boards, outrebounding Drexel (2-3) by a 24-13 margin and pressuring the Dragons into shooting 29.6 percent for the game.
Jackie Voigt was the standout in the first half, not with a big offensive display, but with a solid defensive performance on Drexel senior Gabriela Marginean. Marginean, voted the preseason Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year and entering the game averaging 29.5 points a game, was held to just six points on just 1-of-6 field goal attempts in the first half.
"Jackie played very well on Marginean," added Borton. "She was up to the challenge and was able to frustrate Marginean in that first half. That a very impressive outing from a true freshman."
Marginean finished with 15 points, nearly half her season scoring average, and hit on just five of 14 shot attempts. When Voigt was out of the game, Brittany McCoy took over on Marginean in the second half and finished the task on defense.
Ashley Ellis-Milan was the third Gopher in double figures with 13 points. The junior center added 10 rebounds, her fourth game in a row with double-digit rebounds, to earn her second double-double of the season.
The Gophers needed their defense in that first half as their offense struggled shooting a cold 32.1 percent. The first half was also marred by a combined 23 turnovers and 23 personal fouls whistled.
Minnesota visited the free throw line 36 times in the game, making 26. Thanks to the big second half, the Gophers finished the game with a 43.1 percent field goal percentage.
The Gophers will seek to win their second early-season tournament title coming off a title performance last week at their own Subway Basketball Classic.
- UM - |
Loper Charity Shots Lead To 85-76 Win
| Nov. 28– KEARNEY, Neb. - 29 free throws made by the Lopers of Nebraska-Kearney (4-1) were more than enough to make up for a low shooting average and led to an 85-76 win over Concordia University (4-2) on Friday evening. The Golden Bears play Rockhurst University in their final game at the Country Inn & Suites UNK Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow at 4:00 pm. The Golden Bears out-shot the host Lopers 40.9% to 33.3% in the game played at the Health and Sports Center in Kearney. The team was up in the opening minutes of the game, but UNK took over soon after for the remainder of the meeting. Jamie Jones tabbed 20 points, just one point shy of a career high performance, to keep the Golden Bears within a shooting distance. The team received double figure scoring from five players, as did the Lopers. Nebraska-Kearney won the non-conference dual from the charity stripe, where they sank 13 more shots than Concordia. The Lopers hit 29-of-34 free throws for 85.3%. Megan Becker made all eight of her attemps on her way to 14 points. Another key to the win was UNK's ability to turn CU turnovers into buckets. Nebraska-Kearney scored 29 points off of turnovers. The Golden Bears had a successful game down low, with forwards Candace Olstad, Shandrell Duncan and Gillian Bjerke dumping in 41 points. The Golden Bears out-matched the Lopers with 36 points in the paint. They nabbed 34 defensive boards to UNK's 33, but UNK came up with 17 offensive boards, leading to 16 second chance points. Concordia was down five points at the half, 29-34, but was never able to narrow the gap to less than four points. They trailed by as many as 16 points near the midpoint of the second period before the Golden Bears finished the game with a 35-28 stretch of scoring. CU hit 27-of-66 field goals for 40.9% while UNK hit 24-of-72 field goals. The Golden Bears were out-shot from long range for the first time this season, hitting six triples to UNK's eight. Jones topped the Concordia scoring list with 20 points. Candace Olstad followed with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Bjerke came back from injury to drop in 12 points and nab eight boards in 20 minutes of play. Duncan had a strong game for Concordia with ten points and a team high nine boards. Zoraa Quoie wrapped up the double figure scoring list with ten points. Jade Meads and Jonni Mildenberger notched 18 points each for the Lopers. Mead completed a double-double with 13 rebounds. Topping all players in assists was Kaitlin Petri with seven. |
Minnesota 74, Drexel 50
| Minnesota plays Colorado/UMass winner tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Drexel plays Colorado/UMass loser tomorrow at 5 p.m. |
South Florida 82, Iowa 79 (OT)
| Paradise Jam, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Iowa Post-Game Notes South Florida snapped Iowa's three-game winning streak with an 82-79 overtime decision Friday night at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Iowa falls to 4-2, while South Florida improves to 5-1. Tonight was the first-ever meeting between Iowa and South Florida.
Tonight was Iowa's first overtime game since a 78-74 win vs. Wisconsin (1/13/08). The Hawkeyes fall to 15-22 in overtime games.
South Florida went on a 12-0 scoring run midway through the second half to claim a 68-56 advantage with 8:15 left. The Black and Gold mounted a furious comeback. Trailing by three (74-71), Wendy Ausdemore drained her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 3.5 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The Bulls outscored the Hawkeyes 8-5 in the overtime to claim the victory. South Florida scored the first six points in the extra time. Down by three (82-79), Kelly Krei's 3-point attempt from the left wing at the buzzer hit the left side of the iron to end the game.
Wendy Ausdemore netted her 1,000th career point tonight with a 3-pointer from the wing in the first half. She becomes the 26th Hawkeye to accomplish the feat. The senior finished the contest with a team and season-best 24 points and equaled a career high with 11 boards. Ausdemore entered this week's tournament with two double-digit rebounding performances her first three seasons; she grabbed double-digit rebounds in each of the last two games. Ausdemore made a season-high five treys in defeat.
South Florida attempted 19 more free throws than Iowa tonight. The Bulls were 21-32 (.656) from the foul line, while the Hawkeyes were 9-13 (.692).
Megan Skouby tallied 20 points tonight. She has reached double figures in five of Iowa's six contests this season.
JoAnn Hamlin pulled down a game and career-high 14 rebounds in defeat. She also posted seven points, four of which came in overtime.
Kristi Smith fouled out at the 8:36 mark of the second half. She finished with 12 points, three assists and two rebounds. Back-up point guard Kamille Wahlin netted a season-high eight points and had three assists in relief.
The Bulls feasted on Iowa turnovers, scoring 26 points after a season-high 27 Hawkeye miscues.
Both Iowa and South Florida had 9-0 scoring runs in the first 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes led by as many as eight (14-6), as did the Bulls (42-34) in the first half. South Florida led by four at the break (44-40).
Both teams made seven 3-pointers in the first half. Iowa made a season-high 10 triples, while South Florida made nine for the game.
Iowa returns to action tomorrow night with its final game of the 2008 Paradise Jam against No. 3 California at 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the Sports and Fitness Center on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Iowa Post-Game Quotes Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder "This was a disappointing loss. Again, turnovers were our Achilles Heel tonight. We did a good job rebounding, but we didn't possess the basketball."
"It was unfortunate having Kristi (Smith) foul out with eight minutes left, but we felt like we needed to have her in there at that point of the game. I thought Kamille (Wahlin) grew up tonight. She played extended minutes and played extremely well down the stretch."
"California is a very good basketball team and we will have to be at our best tomorrow night."
Senior Megan Skouby "I'm proud of the way our team fought back, but we're not happy with the result." |
Lady Lions Drop a Nailbiter to No. 8/5 Texas A&M, 61-57
| Grant leads three Lions in double figures with 22 points and career-high six steals MALIBU, CALIF.; November 28, 2008 — Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) had 22 points and a career-high six steals and the Penn State Lady Lions (3-2) rallied from as many as 15 down in the second half in a tough 61-57 loss to #8/5 Texas A&M (5-0) in the first round of the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament in Malibu, Calif. Penn State will now face the loser of the Coppin State-Pepperdine game at either 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. Pacific time tomorrow afternoon. Grant's 22-point effort is her third consecutive game with 20 or more points and the 14th of her career. She is now 20 points away from becoming the 31st player in school history with 1,000 points. Senior point guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also had a solid all-around game with 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) added 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting and six rebounds in the loss. The Lady Lions also received significant contributions from freshmen Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) and Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.). Womack had five points and seven rebounds, while Phillips registered career highs of three steals and two assists. Penn State's free throw woes continued as the Lions connected on just 8-of-20 shots from the charity stripe. Texas A&M jumped out to the 5-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game before Grant got the Lady Lions on the board with a layup at the 16:47 mark. The Aggie reeled off seven straight points to establish a 12-2 lead as the Lady Lions struggled to find their offensive rhythm, missing six of their first seven shots. Grant snapped the drought with a layup and the Lady Lions turned up their defensive pressure to spark a 13-0 run that pushed the Lady Lions into the lead. During the run, O'Rourke drained a jumper and on the ensuing play, Grant stole the ball and converted on her breakaway layup. Following a free throw from Womack, Trogele drained a driving layup off of a Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) steal to make it a 12-11 game. On the very next play, Grant stole the ball and went the length of the court to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the game at 13-12. O'Rourke capped the Penn State run with a layup off of a pass from Grant to make it a 15-12 Penn State lead with 10 minutes left in the half. After an exchange of baskets, Texas A&M went on a 15-4 run to end the opening period and send the squads into the locker room with the Aggies holding a 31-21 lead. Grant had a game-high 10 points and five steals in the first half, while O'Rourke added five points and three assists in the opening frame. The Lady Lions recorded eight steals on 10 A&M turnovers in the first half. The Lady Lions came out firing in the second half as Trogele scored back-to-back baskets to slice the Texas A&M lead to 31-25 just a minute and a half into the second period. The squads exchanged baskets before an 11-1 Aggie run made it a 15-point game (46-31) with 14 minutes remaining in the game. After another exchange of scores, Penn State scratched and clawed its way back into the game as the Lady Lions scored 13 of the game's next 14 points to pull within one point at 49-48 with nine minutes to play. Grant started the run with a layup off of an O'Rourke pass, which was quickly followed by a layup by Trogele and a three-pointer by O'Rourke. On the ensuing A&M possession, Phillips stole the ball and tossed the outlet pass to O'Rourke who drained the jumper to bring PSU within six points. The defense remained intense for the Lady Lions as they scored their next four points off of Aggie turnovers. Trogele completed the Lady Lion run with a layup on a nifty post move to make it a one-point game (49-48). A pair of A&M baskets brought the lead back to five points (53-58), but the Lady Lions got a rebound and putback from Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) to make it a 53-50 game with seven minutes on the clock. A driving scoop shot by Grant coupled with an O'Rourke bucket in transition gave the Lady Lions their first lead since the 10-minute mark of the first half at 53-52 with 3:40 left in the game. The Aggies would score the next five points of the game to take a 58-54 lead with 1:31 on the clock, but Womack skied for a rebound and tip-in to cut the lead to 58-56 with one minute to play. The Lady Lions earned a defensive stop on the next A&M possession as Trogele came down with the rebound and punched the ball ahead to Grant, who was fouled by Danielle Gant. Grant stepped to the line with six seconds remaining and a chance to tie the score, but could only connect on the front-end of the one-and-one to keep the Texas A&M lead at 58-57. The Aggies made three of their four free throw attempts down the stretch for the final margin. GAME NOTES: Junior guard Tyra Grant had a career-high six steals…Grant's 22-point effort was her third consecutive game with 20 or more points and is the 14th of her career…Freshman Emily Phillips had a career-high three steals and tied her career high with two assists…Senior Brianne O'Rourke reached the 450 assist mark for her career…Junior Meggan Quinn missed the first free throws of her career early in the first half. She had made the first seven free throw attempts of her career. Following the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament, the Lady Lions travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to play Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon and remain home to face Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555. The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone. —LADY LIONS— |
Badgers knock off Villanova, 47-45
| ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands The pressure was on for the Wisconsin women's basketball team and the Badgers responded in the final seconds of its opening game at the Paradise Jam. After losing an 11-point lead in the second half and trailing for more than 10 minutes late in the second half, the Badgers took the lead back won in the final minute, 47-45 against Villanova to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Wildcats drop to 2-2. Wisconsin trailed by two points with 1:26 left in the game but a 3-pointer by Alyssa Karel gave the Badgers the lead back at 44-43. Villanova attempted to take the lead but Laura Kurz missed a layup with 36 seconds remaining and freshman forward Anya Covington grabbed the board to give the Badgers the ball. Villanova fouled Rae Lin D'Alie three times to get into the bonus and D'Alie delivered, making two free throws. The Wildcats pulled within one at 46-45 with 12 seconds left after a layup by Tia Grant but D'Alie made one-of-two free throws with 10 seconds left and the Badgers stuck to their defense and forced a missed layup by Grant to end the game. "The guards came up when they had to," UW head coach Lisa Stone said. "These are veteran guards and Rae Lin is our leader out there and she sets the tone defensively. She struggled shooting wise but the ones she made at the end are the ones that counted from the free throw line. Alyssa's three was an icebreaker; it put us back in the lead. I thought we controlled the first half, finished a little sluggish when they came back in to only be down by five but I thought we came out in the second half with good energy and good intensity and made the shots when we needed to at the end." Covington had her best game of the season and finished two points away from her first double-double. She grabbed a career high 10 rebounds and finished with eight points (which ties her career high), all of which came in a five and a half minute stretch in the second half. She also finished with one block. "We knew we could score inside it was just a matter of how we were going to get in there and to find out who would do it for us. Anya really stepped up to the challenge," Stone said. "She's getting better all the time defensively; offensively she rebounded like a crazy girl in there. She had 10 boards, really got after it and gave us a presence inside. We were stagnant … in the second half and couldn't get any rhythm going offensively. I tell you want, we stayed with that intensity all game and it was a great win over a great team." Wisconsin finished 16-of-45 for the game and shot 35.6 percent. Villanova shot 33.3 percent for the game but after struggling at 21.1 percent in the first half, shot 42.3 percent in the second half. Alyssa Karel led the Badgers with 12 points and D'Alie added eight points and three assists. Karel also grabbed seven rebounds for Wisconsin while D'Alie had five boards. Wisconsin out-rebounded Villanova, 34-31. Freshman Ashley Thomas got her first career start and scored six points, had six rebounds and a steal. Three Wildcats finished in double figures with Lisa Karcic and Grant scoring 11 points and Heather Scanlon added 10 points. The Badgers shot 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and were led by two 3-pointers from Karel. Villanova, who made 11 3-pointers against the Badgers last year in its win during the WNIT, finished 6-20 from beyond the arc, but made five three's in the second half to finish at 30 percent for the game. After struggling at the free throw line the first three games, Wisconsin made them when it counted today and finished 10-14. Villanova went 9-16 for 56.3 percent. D'Alie finished 3-of-4 and they all came in the final minute of the game. Wisconsin finished with nine assists and 14 turnovers. Villanova turned the ball over 11 times in the first half but just once in the second half and finished with 10 assists, nine of which came in the second half. Villanova opened up the game with a three pointer at 18:08 but that was the last points it scored until a Grant free throw at the 7:40 mark. Wisconsin went on an 11-0 run during that stretch but also had a hard time finding the bucket and was held scoreless for almost eight minutes in the first half. Villanova pulled within five at 15-10 but Wisconsin went on a quick 4-0 run which included a 3-pointer by Mariah Dunham and a free throw by Jade Davis to go up 19-10 with under four minutes left in the half. The Wildcats managed to outscore Wisconsin 5-1 the rest of the way but the Badgers took the 20-15 lead into half time. Both teams shot below 30 percent in the first half with Wisconsin going 6-22 for 27.3 percent and Villanova finished the half 4-19 for 21.1 percent. Wisconsin took control early in the second half, scoring six straight and took its biggest lead of the game at 26-15. That run was short-lived though and Villanova out-scored the Badgers 18-5 to take its first lead of the game at 33-31. Villanova connected on four 3-point attempts during that stretch. The Wildcats hung onto the close lead down the stretch and were up three at 40-37 until a Covington jumper and D'Alie layup gave the Badgers the lead back at 41-40. Villanova took the lead one last time with one more 3-pointer to put the score at 43-41 but Karel responded with her three and helped the Badgers win the game in the final minute. Wisconsin returns to action at the Paradise Jam tomorrow when it takes on the University of Central Florida. Game time is set for noon (CT) and can be heard on AM 1070 WTSO or you can follow all the action on the gameday blog. |
