Women Win Two; Prep for Creighton

After missing her team’s first two exhibition games and first two regular season games, Gopher post player Janel McCarville announced her return to the lineup with an assist on a Shannon Schonrock 3-pointer and a bone-jarring screen in an 82-45 win over Arkansas State Friday at Williams Arena. The win was the first of two weekend victories for the Gophers, who defended their Subway Classic tournament title Saturday with a 70-56 win over Virginia Tech.

In the win over Arkansas State, McCarville proved the she doesn’t need to score points to help her team win games, as she led the team with 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots in only 22 minutes of play. Although she scored only 5 points, McCarville was able to find teammates for open shots and easy baskets to fuel an offense that had struggled without her in the first two regular season games. Shannon and Shannon led the scoring in the easy win over Arkansas State. Shannon Schonrock and Shannon Bolden each scored 15 points, with Bolden 6 of 7 from the field.

The Gophers outrebounded a quick-but-outmuscled Arkansas State team 42-15 in a game in which Coach Pam Borton was able to substitute freely.

In Saturday’s Subway Classic championship game win over Virginia Tech, the Gophers played their best basketball of the season in building a 30-6 lead in the first 8:41 of the game. Jamie Broback scored 16 of her 23 points in this opening run, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. From that point on, Virginia Tech began chipping away at the Gophers large lead. VA Tech go to within 41-27 at halftime and 59-48 with 5:23 remaining in the game, but they could never get closer in a game marred with tight officiating and 50 fouls.

McCarville, who still looks like she’s trying to build up her game-conditioning as she returns from a fractured bone in her left hand, contributed her first double-double of the year in the win over VA Tech. She scored 12 points and secured 14 rebounds.

Creighton Next. The Gophers do not play again until the Sunday after Thanksgiving when they travel to Omaha to play Creighton. The Bluejays won last year’s postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament title and finish with a 24-9 record in the 2003-2004 season.

Creighton was picked to finish second behind Southwest Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. They’re led by Laura Spanheimer, a 3-time all-conference player and 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Creighton opened it season with two exhibition wins and a regular-season opening win over Northwestern, 77-65. Northwestern is picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 10.

The Bluejays are a perimeter-oriented team that likes to shoot beyond the arc, hitting 14 of 37 3-point attempts in the win over Northwestern. Creighton starts 3 guards and 2 forwards; no center.

Prediction. Although Creighton is another formidable opponent for the Gophers, this is a game the Gophers should win. The Gophers will have an advantage inside with McCarville and Broback, but they’ll have to defend the perimeter. A good 3-point shooting team like Creighton is always a threat to get hot, especially at home, and the defense of players like Schonrock, Bolden, April Calhoun, and Kelly Roysland could be the key for a Gopher victory.

Notes and Observations:

• Don’t be surprised if McCarville leads the team in assists this year. She’s one of the best-passing post players in the country. Her presence and her ability to find open teammates on the perimeter should get a lot more points for the two Shannons.
• OK, maybe I was wrong. In last week’s article, I noted that Broback could “hit an occasional outside shot”. She was 4 of 4 in 3-point shots to open the game against Virginia Tech.
• Shannon Schonrock seems to be driving to the basket more this year and, as a result, she’s had some nice assists. She’s also improved her ability to make entry passes to her teammates in the lane. Despite the Gophers added depth at the guard position, the “Energizer Bunny” played 71 minutes in the two games of the Subway Classic.
• 10th-ranked Ohio State, the consensus pre-season pick to win the Big 10, lost to 11th-ranked Notre Dame, 66-62, in the preseason WNIT championship game Saturday night. Perennial Big 10 power Penn State has started the season with three straight losses against tough competition.
• The Gophers road game at UW-Green Bay on December 8 is sold out. With last year’s Final Four appearance and exposure, the Gophers have now become a “targeted” road foe and they’ll play before some large and enthusiastic crowds in their away games also..

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