B1G Game 1: Gophers Host Michigan State (12/9/20)

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MSU 26 points off of TO
MN 5
The difference in the game is Turnovers
 

well Sissoko is back in but Powell just fouled out.
 

Smith now has an opportunity to play valuable minutes.
 


Katogopher said:
Powell has not played smart tonight, glad Sissoto is back.
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Yep Powell is very much an aggressive player but she's got to be smarter than that
 
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At least we got both Sissoko and Smith back. Team has alot of work ahead of them to value the ball and cut way back on these TO's.
 


GringaGopher said:
At least we got both Sissoko and Smith back. Team has alot of work ahead of them to value the ball and cut way back on these TO's.
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Yup they look like a team that hasnt practiced much, theres talent on this team it just needs to come together. Alexia Smith is a impressive athlete shes gonna be a nice piece going forward.
 



Well, I guess the one bright spot is that the majority of this team is freshmen and sophomores, so lots to look forward to in the future.
 

Frink said:
If I'm taking one positive away so far this year it's that Sconiers has really taken a step forward.
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Agreed, I think she should stay in the starting lineup. If she can stay out of foul trouble she could get a few double doubles. Smith looked good as well. Freshmen are gonna have to grow up quickly.
 

Shooting percentages weren't that different. But they took 20 more shots than us due to the turnovers and... their 15 offensive rebounds. We did way too much ball watching after they shot.
 

gophersports.com

12.9.20 WBK Postgame Quotes - University of Minnesota Athletics

12.9.20 WBK Postgame Quotes
gophersports.com gophersports.com

“We need to be tougher with the ball flat out. We need to be tough with the ball. There were times where they were just taking it from us. They denied reversals, they denied us at the elbows..."
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Dec. 09, 2020
Williams Arena
Michigan State at Minnesota

Lindsay Whalen,

Minnesota Head Coach Opening Statement...
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“It’s our third game in a row where we’ve dug ourselves into a deep hole. We came back against Eastern Illinois, and now we’ve played against Drake and Michigan State here in the Big Ten, and it’s really tough to come back from a deficit like we’ve done in these first halves. We’ll have to see what we need to do to make sure our team is ready to play. Obviously, it’s tough to start out the way we started in these first three games. We get a few days now, a little bit of time before we go to Northwestern where we can continue to get better in practice and see what we need to work on.” On the turnovers in tonight’s game… “We need to be tougher with the ball flat out. We need to be tough with the ball. There were times where they were just taking it from us. They denied reversals, they denied us at the elbows, and we need to work to get better and make sure we’re open in those situations and more in-sync. We started out the first five minutes with five or six turnovers and it led to easy baskets.”

On how they can improve on the slow starts...
“Different things in practice. Now that we have some time to focus on ourselves, we can simulate those things in practice, because who wants to play from behind in 90 percent of the minutes we’ve played? We’ve been down in every game and I’m getting tired of it. It’s old, and we need to work to get better, for sure.”

Jasmine Powell, Minnesota Guard

On the cause of the slow start to tonight’s game…
“Turnovers. First game we had a moving screen, second game we were just turning the ball over. We’re not putting the ball up and trying to score, we’re just turning the ball over. That’s the common denominator that I’m seeing.”

On her frustrations after fouling out…
“It was very frustrating. I think I should’ve been a little bit smarter than that at the end, because we just started the quarter. I think they were waiting for me to get that fifth foul. It’s hard sitting there and watching instead of helping my team try to win. It was my first experience sitting on the sideline and watching my team, but I was trying to do anything I can leadership-wise to help my team from the sideline ".

Gadiva Hubbard, Minnesota Guard

On the turnovers to start the game…
“I think we were just rushing with it. We were very excited for the game and ended up forcing passes that just weren’t there.”

On what was working in the 15-5 run before half…
“With my shots, I figured they were playing really hard, so they were going to shoot gaps. I tried to read the defense as much as I can, and my teammates were finding me. On the defensive end we were getting stops, so it was just working out for me at that time.”
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Given there have been injuries & illness, but to my non-expert eyes there doesn't appear to be any real big-time talent on the floor for the Gophers. Poor ball handling. No aggressive ball hawking. Slow bigs who can't put layups in or hold onto rebounds when they get them. Not protecting the ball. Sloppy TOs. Gadiva Hubbard was quoted, "I thought they [I assume MSU] were playing really hard." I never had the sense the Gophers were playing hard. They looked sluggish and uninvolved on defense, not contesting many shots. Can they manage to beat anyone in the BIG at this rate?
 

There is definitely talent on this team. Kadi Sissoko , Jasmine Powell and Alexia Smith are all very good. Hubbard, Scalia and Sconiers can contribute and I believe the coaches will develope some of the other players as well. Whalen has not had this whole team together in any practices so far this season due to Covid and injuries. No doubt they played poorly and will have to improve quickly because they play 2 ranked opponents next.
 

Once we have all of our players healthy and in shape we will be ok.
 

Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think this team will get a lot better as the year progresses, if they can get enough players healthy to practice together regularly. The defense has been dreadful and you can't win games when you're turning it over at the rate the Gophers are, but there's some talent on this team. Players like Smith, Powell and Sissoko have the ability to shine in the BIG. And players like Hubbard and Scalia are obviously legitimate BIG players. I'm still a bit concerned about some of the "bigs", but Sconiers looks like she's improved and some of the other bigs are still very young. Late in the MSU game, I noticed that the Gopher bigs got a lot more aggressive and that's a good sign. It will be interesting to see what happens with the guard rotation as the year progresses. In the early games, it looks like Powell is trying to do too much. I'm wondering if we'll eventually end up with Smith and Powell both in the starting lineup with either Hubbard or Scalia coming off the bench. Scalia was playing too fast against MSU, but she gets a pass on that, as this was her first game.
 


I think we're headed toward a four guard lineup plus Sissoko. It would be nice if Powell and Sissoko didn't have 31 of our 56 turnovers. (They also have 27 of our 37 assists).
 

Hrothgar said:
Given there have been injuries & illness, but to my non-expert eyes there doesn't appear to be any real big-time talent on the floor for the Gophers. Poor ball handling. No aggressive ball hawking. Slow bigs who can't put layups in or hold onto rebounds when they get them. Not protecting the ball. Sloppy TOs. Gadiva Hubbard was quoted, "I thought they [I assume MSU] were playing really hard." I never had the sense the Gophers were playing hard. They looked sluggish and uninvolved on defense, not contesting many shots. Can they manage to beat anyone in the BIG at this rate?
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At the rate they played for much of last night? No. I'd be shocked if they are still playing and looking that bad in another month.

Very limited practice time and a limited number of players available for games and practice prior to the game likely had a lot to do with that performance. Seemed like everything they did for long stretches was done very slowly and deliberately and seemed to lack confidence or purpose. That just screamed "lack of full team practice time" to me. There was also a complete lack of energy and competitiveness for long stretches. I don't anticipate that being accepted or displayed in the future.

A friend of mine and I have discussed many times that young players often have a tough time with the difference in "believing" you're giving 100% effort and actually hitting that extra gear that you might not realize you have to actually "get to" that 100% effort. I get the feeling that some of our team is working on realizing that difference.

I think that having everybody available for consistent practice time every day will help.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
I think we're headed toward a four guard lineup plus Sissoko. It would be nice if Powell and Sissoko didn't have 31 of our 56 turnovers. (They also have 27 of our 37 assists).
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They used that lineup some last night in the 2nd half and I think we see it some going forward but we also havent seen Bagwell Katalinich or Mershon who should become eligible soon since the NCAA is gonna vote to let all transfers play on the 16th. Those 2 will give some much needed experience and depth in the frountcourt. Lack of practice time and lack of players makes it almost impossible to judge where this team is.
 

True Bigs are tricky in todays game. As you saw last night, we got exposed on the high picks because we can't switch unless Kadi is the one switching. Now you wont always get exposed unless you have a superstar guard like Clouden(?), but IA, Maryland, Northwestern to name a few have superstar guards. I think when you go big you almost have to play zone and do it in spurts, because even in a zone, if those bigs cant get to the shooters, it will be 3 city. Laura K is an active enough big that can defend that high pick. If we can clean that up, cut the turnovers down, we will be ok.. But winning games in the BIG is no picnic.
 

mndaily.com

Minnesota can’t overcome mistakes against Michigan State

Twenty-three total turnovers led to an 81-68 Gophers defeat.
mndaily.com mndaily.com

The Daily's Tony Liebert:



Laura Bagwell-Katalinich remained the only eligible Gopher not in uniform after the team opened the season without four players.

“We’ll know more this weekend on Laura. We will see how the next few days go with her,” said the Gophers’ head coach.
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Able to finally watch the game. The team is going to get better. Michigan State just able to knock down shots and our beloved Gophers could not. Turnovers hurt. But in time our girls will improve on that part of the game.
 


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