Our Gophers were up 27-26 at the half over a good Purdue team that is 5-2 in the B1G (we are 2-5). We were up by three after Q1, then Purdue scored on a lot of 3's before our defense clamped down. Then Purdue didn't score again for several minutes before half, while we came back from six down to lead. by 1.
We do seem disjointed, (continues big time since Gadiva Hubbard has been out), and we have difficulty scoring and miss a lot of layups.
3rd qtr. half gone, we're down 37-34. We're not defending the 3 well, Purdue 6 of 13.
I'm watching on Flohoops.com, it's also on BTN+.
Go Gopher Women!!!
Here's the article from Gophersports.com:
Gophers Return Home to Battle Boilermakers
Gophersports.com
Women's Basketball
1/23/2019
Buy Tickets
Promotions
Watch Online
Listen Online
Live Stats
Minnesota Game Notes (PDF)
Purdue Game Notes (PDF)
MINNEAPOLIS -- Following back-to-back games on the road, Minnesota (13-5, 2-5 B1G) returns to Williams Arena for the first of two straight at home when it welcomes Purdue (14-6, 5-2) to town Thursday night.
The game will be streamed on BTN Plus and can also be heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.
PROMOTIONS
• Lindsay Whalen Replica Jersey Night: Purchase a $25 ticket and jersey package
• Student Night: Free Lindsay Whalen Replica jerseys to the first 1,000 U of M students (Must have valid UCard)
THE OPENING TIP-OFF
• The Gophers are 10-2 in home games this season. They won their first 10 games of the year at Williams Arena, tying for the sixth longest home win streak in program history. That run was snapped though with back-to-back losses to Illinois on Jan. 6 and Iowa on Jan. 14. All-time, Minnesota boasts a .696 winning percentage at The Barn (348-152). Kenisha Bell is the team's leading scorer at home this year, averaging 20.1 points per game.
• Few teams in the country get to the free throw line more than Minnesota. Through Tuesday's games, the Golden Gophers ranked second in the NCAA behind only Arkansas State (468) with 443 attempts, while their 301 made free throws are tied for fourth nationally with Western Illinois behind Notre Dame (319), Mississippi State (311) and Indiana (303). Kenisha Bell has been the most prolific free throw shooter for Minnesota, ranking fourth nationally in attempts (146) and sixth in makes (101). Additionally, Annalese Lamke ranks fifth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (79.2) and 10th in free throws made (61), while Destiny Pitts is 12th in the conference in free throw percentage (76.3).
• Minnesota enters Thursday's game receiving votes in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The latest rankings snapped a 10-week run in the AP Poll for the Gophers, their longest such streak since appearing in all 18 polls during the 2005-06 season. Minnesota has also appeared in each of the last six coaches polls prior to Tuesday, snapping its longest run there since placing in all 17 polls also during 2005-06.
• Kenisha Bell cemented her name in the Minnesota record books last Thursday night at Wisconsin as she moved into the school's Top 10 for career scoring. Needing seven points to tie Emily Fox (1,449), Bell poured in 25 points to take sole possession of 10th place. Bell spent her freshman season at Marquette and then sat out the 2015-16 season due to transfer rules, meaning she has cracked Minnesota's top 10 in roughly 2.5 seasons. Including her freshman year at Marquette, she now has 1,917 career points.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PURDUE
• Minnesota and Purdue meet for the 66th time on Thursday. The Boilermakers hold a 45-20 edge in the series, though the Gophers did win the last meeting.
• In Minneapolis, Purdue holds a 21-11 series lead, including the last six contests there. That's the longest active win streak for an opponent at Williams Arena.
• In her playing career, Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen was 2-4 against Purdue. She averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent on 3-pointers and 80.6 from the free throw line.
• Whalen's career high in points came against the Boilermakers when she scored 41 on Feb. 14, 2002. That total still stands as the seventh highest in team history.
LAST SEASON VS. THE BOILERMAKERS
• Minnesota snapped the seven-game home win streak of Purdue with a 78-74 victory when the teams last met on Feb. 8, 2018.
• Kenisha Bell led all scorers with 22 points, to go with nine assists, five rebounds and five steals. Destiny Pitts added 18 points, including 16 in the first half.
• Gadiva Hubbard also reached double figures with 17 points, bolstered by three 3-pointers, and five steals. Off the bench, Taiye Bello contributed nine points and 10 rebounds, helping Minnesota to a 42-31 rebounding edge for the game.
• After giving up 27 points in the first quarter, the Minnesota defense buckled down and allowed just 13 points in the second. Trailing 36-34 with 7:20 to play in the first half, Minnesota closed out the quarter by going on a game-turning 13-4 run to lead 47-40 at halftime
• The Gophers kept up their momentum coming out of the locker room at halftime, using an early 14-7 run to extend a lead they would not relinquish. Minnesota led by as many as 16 in the frame.
• Purdue made a game of it in the fourth quarter, cutting the Gophers' lead from 66-53 at the start of the fourth to 70-67 with 4:53 to play. Minnesota pushed the lead back to eight with 2:47 left, but the Boilermakers again fought back and trimmed the lead to three points with 15 seconds to play. Bell iced the game away though at the free throw line.
LAST TIME AT HOME AGAINST PURDUE
• Three Gophers scored in double figures, but Minnesota lost 67-54 in its 2017 home finale against Purdue.
• Whitney Tinjum had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds on senior night, while Carlie Wagner scored 17 points and Kenisha Bell joined Wagner and Tinjum in double figures with 14 points.
• Wagner and Bell combined for 23 points in the first half but the Gophers trailed 33-30 at intermission.
• The Gophers cut the deficit to 41-40, but Purdue went on a run to end the third, leading 52-45. In the fourth, Minnesota could not get closer than five points.
RECAPPING THE GAME AT NEBRASKA
• Minnesota had a six-point lead with four minutes to go but Nebraska ended on a 12-0 run to knock off the Golden Gophers, 63-57, Sunday night in Lincoln.
• Kenisha Bell was one of three in double figures for the Gophers as she had a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Annalese Lamke had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Destiny Pitts also had 10 points. Taiye Bello was the game's leading rebounder as she pulled down 13 boards to go with seven points.
• The Golden Gophers had a 46-38 lead going into the fourth quarter and had their biggest lead of the game less than three minutes into the final frame at 50-41. Later in the quarter, Nebraska made its first 3-pointer of the game to cut it to 55-51, but Bell answered as she was fouled on a 3-point attempt of her own and made two of the three shots to put the Gophers ahead 57-51 with exactly four minutes to go.
• Nebraska began its game-ending run by making 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 57 with 3:06 to play. A pair of free throws by Hannah Whitfish then put the Huskers ahead 59-57. The Gophers had chances to tie, but committed turnovers on three straight trips down the floor. A layup from Sam Haiby pushed the lead to four for Nebraska and, after another Minnesota turnover, she sank two free throws to ice the game with four seconds left.
GOPHERS GAINING EXPERIENCE IN NEW ROLES
• Even though two-thirds of Minnesota's roster consists of upperclassmen, the Gophers actually have the fewest combined career minutes of any roster in the Big Ten, according to research initially done by Nebraska's Communications office.
• Through Jan. 22, the Gophers' roster had played a combined 9,841 minutes, while no other team in the league had fewer than 10,200 combined minutes. For further comparison, Rutgers was leading the Big Ten with 16,386 combined minutes, while Thursday's opponent, Purdue, was in 11th with 10,841 minutes.
• Not only is the team playing under a new coaching staff, all five members of the starting lineup are playing in different positions than they did a year ago. Among returning starters, Kenisha Bell has gone from the 1 to the 2, while Destiny Pitts moved from the 4 to the 3.
• Meanwhile, Jasmine Brunson (the 1), Taiye Bello (4) and Annalese Lamke (5) are all starting this season after primarily coming off the bench a year ago. As a result, all three have seen significant increases in minutes per game. Lamke leads the team with an increase of 21.9 minutes per game from last year, while Brunson (+19.7) and Bello (+13.1) rank second and third, respectively.
BELLO DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Through Tuesday, Taiye Bello was second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (5), sixth in total rebounds (218) and ninth in rebounds per game (12.1). She was also 28th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (7) and 40th in double-doubles (7).
• Along with Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Cal's Kristine Anigwe, Bello is one of three in the country to have four games this year with at least 18 rebounds.
• Bello is also currently the most improved rebounder in the Big Ten, upping her rebounds per game total from 6.3 last year to 12.1 this year. The +5.8 difference has her tops in the B1G, ahead of teammate Annalese Lamke who has gone from 0.7 to 6.1 per game (+5.4).
• Bello posted double-doubles in the first three games this season, becoming the first Minnesota player to have three straight double-doubles since Amanda Zahui B. ended the 2014-15 season with four in a row. Bello has 11 in her career, and Minnesota is 10-1 in those games.
• Though she didn't have a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in game four, she did have a career-high 19 rebounds, which were the most by a Gopher since Zahui B. had 22 against DePaul in the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2015.
• Arguably Bello's best performance came against No. 12 Syracuse when she went for 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 offensive.
• At Michigan, she made all nine attempts from the floor for a career-high 24 points. She became one of five players in Gophers history to not miss when attempting at least that many shots.
• She also had her first B1G double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Iowa.
BELL FINISHING STRONG IN SENIOR SEASON
• Senior Kenisha Bell leads the Gophers in several categories, including points per game (18.9), assists per game (4.6) and steals per game (2.06).
• Nationally, Bell is one of the best at getting to the free throw line, ranking fourth in attempts (146) and sixth in makes (101).
• She leads the Big Ten in free throws made and attempted, field goals attempted (286), steals (37) and steals per game, and ranks third in the conference in scoring average and made field goals (112).
LAMKE MAKING THE MOST OF HER SENIOR YEAR
• Annalese Lamke is making the most of her senior season. She has more recorded more points, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, rebounds and minutes this season alone than in her first three seasons combined.
• Excluding transfers and freshmen, no player among the Big Ten's top 30 scorers has seen their scoring average increase has much from last year to this as Lamke. Her +10.2 improvement from 1.1 points per game last year to 11.3 this year is nearly double that of Iowa's Hannah Stewart, who ranks second at +5.6.
• Lamke is also currently the second-most improved rebounder in the conference, jumping from 0.7 per game last year to 6.1 this year, for a difference of +5.4.
• Lamke exploded for a career-high 21 in the Gophers' season-opening win over New Hampshire. She scored 17 points alone in the second half and recorded an efficient 9-of-12 shooting.
• Against No. 12 Syracuse on Nov. 29, she had a career-high 13 rebounds and nine rebounds. Lamke also had a 20-point outing against Wisconsin on Dec. 28 and scored 18 points (all in the first half) against Illinois on Jan. 6.
• Playing in her home state, she nearly had the first double-double of her career at Wisconsin on Jan. 17, posting 14 points and nine rebounds.
MINNESOTA NEAR THE TOP IN ATTENDANCE
• Through 12 home games, the Gophers have had a total attendance of 70,038 with an average of 5,837 per contest. Through Jan. 22, the team ranks eighth in the country in total attendance and No. 11 in average.
• The average per game is the highest for the Gophers since 2007-08 when they averaged 6,596 and it's over 2,700 more than they averaged last year (3,130).
• Minnesota opened the 2018-19 season with a 70-47 win over New Hampshire on Nov. 9. The announced sellout crowd of 14,625 was a program record, surpassing the previous high of 14,363 set during Lindsay Whalen's senior season in 2004.
• Four of the top five marks in team history, and eight of the top 10, have come with Whalen as a player or coach.
• The season-opening sellout also stands as the highest attendance mark for any women's game this season by at least 800 people and over 2,500 more than third.
DEFENSE IMPROVES FROM LAST SEASON
• Through Tuesday, the Golden Gophers ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 68th in the country (out of 349) in scoring defense by allowing 59.0 points per game.
• For context, last season Minnesota ranked 335th by allowing 74.8 points per game, while the 59.0 points allowed per game is on pace to be the best since the team held opponents to 55.3 ppg in 2004-05.
• Additionally, the Gophers are 19th in the country in rebound margin (8.8), 32nd in rebounds per game (42.67) and 41st in fewest fouls commited per game (14.8).
• Advanced metrics, via HerHoopStats.com, also show how strong the Gopher defense has been compared to recent history. Minnesota is 35th in the nation in opponent points per scoring attempt (shots+FT trips) at 0.89, 39th in opponent points per play (shots+/FT trips+turnover) at 0.71, and 40th in opponent points per 100 possessions (82.7).
We do seem disjointed, (continues big time since Gadiva Hubbard has been out), and we have difficulty scoring and miss a lot of layups.
3rd qtr. half gone, we're down 37-34. We're not defending the 3 well, Purdue 6 of 13.
I'm watching on Flohoops.com, it's also on BTN+.
Go Gopher Women!!!
Here's the article from Gophersports.com:
Gophers Return Home to Battle Boilermakers
Gophersports.com
Women's Basketball
1/23/2019
Buy Tickets
Promotions
Watch Online
Listen Online
Live Stats
Minnesota Game Notes (PDF)
Purdue Game Notes (PDF)
MINNEAPOLIS -- Following back-to-back games on the road, Minnesota (13-5, 2-5 B1G) returns to Williams Arena for the first of two straight at home when it welcomes Purdue (14-6, 5-2) to town Thursday night.
The game will be streamed on BTN Plus and can also be heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.
PROMOTIONS
• Lindsay Whalen Replica Jersey Night: Purchase a $25 ticket and jersey package
• Student Night: Free Lindsay Whalen Replica jerseys to the first 1,000 U of M students (Must have valid UCard)
THE OPENING TIP-OFF
• The Gophers are 10-2 in home games this season. They won their first 10 games of the year at Williams Arena, tying for the sixth longest home win streak in program history. That run was snapped though with back-to-back losses to Illinois on Jan. 6 and Iowa on Jan. 14. All-time, Minnesota boasts a .696 winning percentage at The Barn (348-152). Kenisha Bell is the team's leading scorer at home this year, averaging 20.1 points per game.
• Few teams in the country get to the free throw line more than Minnesota. Through Tuesday's games, the Golden Gophers ranked second in the NCAA behind only Arkansas State (468) with 443 attempts, while their 301 made free throws are tied for fourth nationally with Western Illinois behind Notre Dame (319), Mississippi State (311) and Indiana (303). Kenisha Bell has been the most prolific free throw shooter for Minnesota, ranking fourth nationally in attempts (146) and sixth in makes (101). Additionally, Annalese Lamke ranks fifth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (79.2) and 10th in free throws made (61), while Destiny Pitts is 12th in the conference in free throw percentage (76.3).
• Minnesota enters Thursday's game receiving votes in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The latest rankings snapped a 10-week run in the AP Poll for the Gophers, their longest such streak since appearing in all 18 polls during the 2005-06 season. Minnesota has also appeared in each of the last six coaches polls prior to Tuesday, snapping its longest run there since placing in all 17 polls also during 2005-06.
• Kenisha Bell cemented her name in the Minnesota record books last Thursday night at Wisconsin as she moved into the school's Top 10 for career scoring. Needing seven points to tie Emily Fox (1,449), Bell poured in 25 points to take sole possession of 10th place. Bell spent her freshman season at Marquette and then sat out the 2015-16 season due to transfer rules, meaning she has cracked Minnesota's top 10 in roughly 2.5 seasons. Including her freshman year at Marquette, she now has 1,917 career points.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PURDUE
• Minnesota and Purdue meet for the 66th time on Thursday. The Boilermakers hold a 45-20 edge in the series, though the Gophers did win the last meeting.
• In Minneapolis, Purdue holds a 21-11 series lead, including the last six contests there. That's the longest active win streak for an opponent at Williams Arena.
• In her playing career, Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen was 2-4 against Purdue. She averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent on 3-pointers and 80.6 from the free throw line.
• Whalen's career high in points came against the Boilermakers when she scored 41 on Feb. 14, 2002. That total still stands as the seventh highest in team history.
LAST SEASON VS. THE BOILERMAKERS
• Minnesota snapped the seven-game home win streak of Purdue with a 78-74 victory when the teams last met on Feb. 8, 2018.
• Kenisha Bell led all scorers with 22 points, to go with nine assists, five rebounds and five steals. Destiny Pitts added 18 points, including 16 in the first half.
• Gadiva Hubbard also reached double figures with 17 points, bolstered by three 3-pointers, and five steals. Off the bench, Taiye Bello contributed nine points and 10 rebounds, helping Minnesota to a 42-31 rebounding edge for the game.
• After giving up 27 points in the first quarter, the Minnesota defense buckled down and allowed just 13 points in the second. Trailing 36-34 with 7:20 to play in the first half, Minnesota closed out the quarter by going on a game-turning 13-4 run to lead 47-40 at halftime
• The Gophers kept up their momentum coming out of the locker room at halftime, using an early 14-7 run to extend a lead they would not relinquish. Minnesota led by as many as 16 in the frame.
• Purdue made a game of it in the fourth quarter, cutting the Gophers' lead from 66-53 at the start of the fourth to 70-67 with 4:53 to play. Minnesota pushed the lead back to eight with 2:47 left, but the Boilermakers again fought back and trimmed the lead to three points with 15 seconds to play. Bell iced the game away though at the free throw line.
LAST TIME AT HOME AGAINST PURDUE
• Three Gophers scored in double figures, but Minnesota lost 67-54 in its 2017 home finale against Purdue.
• Whitney Tinjum had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds on senior night, while Carlie Wagner scored 17 points and Kenisha Bell joined Wagner and Tinjum in double figures with 14 points.
• Wagner and Bell combined for 23 points in the first half but the Gophers trailed 33-30 at intermission.
• The Gophers cut the deficit to 41-40, but Purdue went on a run to end the third, leading 52-45. In the fourth, Minnesota could not get closer than five points.
RECAPPING THE GAME AT NEBRASKA
• Minnesota had a six-point lead with four minutes to go but Nebraska ended on a 12-0 run to knock off the Golden Gophers, 63-57, Sunday night in Lincoln.
• Kenisha Bell was one of three in double figures for the Gophers as she had a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Annalese Lamke had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Destiny Pitts also had 10 points. Taiye Bello was the game's leading rebounder as she pulled down 13 boards to go with seven points.
• The Golden Gophers had a 46-38 lead going into the fourth quarter and had their biggest lead of the game less than three minutes into the final frame at 50-41. Later in the quarter, Nebraska made its first 3-pointer of the game to cut it to 55-51, but Bell answered as she was fouled on a 3-point attempt of her own and made two of the three shots to put the Gophers ahead 57-51 with exactly four minutes to go.
• Nebraska began its game-ending run by making 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 57 with 3:06 to play. A pair of free throws by Hannah Whitfish then put the Huskers ahead 59-57. The Gophers had chances to tie, but committed turnovers on three straight trips down the floor. A layup from Sam Haiby pushed the lead to four for Nebraska and, after another Minnesota turnover, she sank two free throws to ice the game with four seconds left.
GOPHERS GAINING EXPERIENCE IN NEW ROLES
• Even though two-thirds of Minnesota's roster consists of upperclassmen, the Gophers actually have the fewest combined career minutes of any roster in the Big Ten, according to research initially done by Nebraska's Communications office.
• Through Jan. 22, the Gophers' roster had played a combined 9,841 minutes, while no other team in the league had fewer than 10,200 combined minutes. For further comparison, Rutgers was leading the Big Ten with 16,386 combined minutes, while Thursday's opponent, Purdue, was in 11th with 10,841 minutes.
• Not only is the team playing under a new coaching staff, all five members of the starting lineup are playing in different positions than they did a year ago. Among returning starters, Kenisha Bell has gone from the 1 to the 2, while Destiny Pitts moved from the 4 to the 3.
• Meanwhile, Jasmine Brunson (the 1), Taiye Bello (4) and Annalese Lamke (5) are all starting this season after primarily coming off the bench a year ago. As a result, all three have seen significant increases in minutes per game. Lamke leads the team with an increase of 21.9 minutes per game from last year, while Brunson (+19.7) and Bello (+13.1) rank second and third, respectively.
BELLO DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Through Tuesday, Taiye Bello was second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (5), sixth in total rebounds (218) and ninth in rebounds per game (12.1). She was also 28th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (7) and 40th in double-doubles (7).
• Along with Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Cal's Kristine Anigwe, Bello is one of three in the country to have four games this year with at least 18 rebounds.
• Bello is also currently the most improved rebounder in the Big Ten, upping her rebounds per game total from 6.3 last year to 12.1 this year. The +5.8 difference has her tops in the B1G, ahead of teammate Annalese Lamke who has gone from 0.7 to 6.1 per game (+5.4).
• Bello posted double-doubles in the first three games this season, becoming the first Minnesota player to have three straight double-doubles since Amanda Zahui B. ended the 2014-15 season with four in a row. Bello has 11 in her career, and Minnesota is 10-1 in those games.
• Though she didn't have a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in game four, she did have a career-high 19 rebounds, which were the most by a Gopher since Zahui B. had 22 against DePaul in the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2015.
• Arguably Bello's best performance came against No. 12 Syracuse when she went for 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 offensive.
• At Michigan, she made all nine attempts from the floor for a career-high 24 points. She became one of five players in Gophers history to not miss when attempting at least that many shots.
• She also had her first B1G double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Iowa.
BELL FINISHING STRONG IN SENIOR SEASON
• Senior Kenisha Bell leads the Gophers in several categories, including points per game (18.9), assists per game (4.6) and steals per game (2.06).
• Nationally, Bell is one of the best at getting to the free throw line, ranking fourth in attempts (146) and sixth in makes (101).
• She leads the Big Ten in free throws made and attempted, field goals attempted (286), steals (37) and steals per game, and ranks third in the conference in scoring average and made field goals (112).
LAMKE MAKING THE MOST OF HER SENIOR YEAR
• Annalese Lamke is making the most of her senior season. She has more recorded more points, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, rebounds and minutes this season alone than in her first three seasons combined.
• Excluding transfers and freshmen, no player among the Big Ten's top 30 scorers has seen their scoring average increase has much from last year to this as Lamke. Her +10.2 improvement from 1.1 points per game last year to 11.3 this year is nearly double that of Iowa's Hannah Stewart, who ranks second at +5.6.
• Lamke is also currently the second-most improved rebounder in the conference, jumping from 0.7 per game last year to 6.1 this year, for a difference of +5.4.
• Lamke exploded for a career-high 21 in the Gophers' season-opening win over New Hampshire. She scored 17 points alone in the second half and recorded an efficient 9-of-12 shooting.
• Against No. 12 Syracuse on Nov. 29, she had a career-high 13 rebounds and nine rebounds. Lamke also had a 20-point outing against Wisconsin on Dec. 28 and scored 18 points (all in the first half) against Illinois on Jan. 6.
• Playing in her home state, she nearly had the first double-double of her career at Wisconsin on Jan. 17, posting 14 points and nine rebounds.
MINNESOTA NEAR THE TOP IN ATTENDANCE
• Through 12 home games, the Gophers have had a total attendance of 70,038 with an average of 5,837 per contest. Through Jan. 22, the team ranks eighth in the country in total attendance and No. 11 in average.
• The average per game is the highest for the Gophers since 2007-08 when they averaged 6,596 and it's over 2,700 more than they averaged last year (3,130).
• Minnesota opened the 2018-19 season with a 70-47 win over New Hampshire on Nov. 9. The announced sellout crowd of 14,625 was a program record, surpassing the previous high of 14,363 set during Lindsay Whalen's senior season in 2004.
• Four of the top five marks in team history, and eight of the top 10, have come with Whalen as a player or coach.
• The season-opening sellout also stands as the highest attendance mark for any women's game this season by at least 800 people and over 2,500 more than third.
DEFENSE IMPROVES FROM LAST SEASON
• Through Tuesday, the Golden Gophers ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 68th in the country (out of 349) in scoring defense by allowing 59.0 points per game.
• For context, last season Minnesota ranked 335th by allowing 74.8 points per game, while the 59.0 points allowed per game is on pace to be the best since the team held opponents to 55.3 ppg in 2004-05.
• Additionally, the Gophers are 19th in the country in rebound margin (8.8), 32nd in rebounds per game (42.67) and 41st in fewest fouls commited per game (14.8).
• Advanced metrics, via HerHoopStats.com, also show how strong the Gopher defense has been compared to recent history. Minnesota is 35th in the nation in opponent points per scoring attempt (shots+FT trips) at 0.89, 39th in opponent points per play (shots+/FT trips+turnover) at 0.71, and 40th in opponent points per 100 possessions (82.7).
