B1G Game 1: Gophers Host Penn State (12-3-22)

As for the fouls Katie B and Rose have been accumulating, as PhiloVance pointed out, a lot of these fouls are due to those two being very agressive, especially Katie. As that aggressiveness on defense is a big part of her value to the team, she'll have to learn to curb that when necessary and I think she will. As for Rose, the Gophers really need her on the court this year and she'll have to walk the fine line before aggressiveness and common sense. Like a lot of the things this team has to work on, I'm thinking these things will be corrected as the year progresses.
Yes, I think Katie's are primarily due to aggressiveness and a "make the ref make the call" mentality. I'm not sure much can be done about them except sit her from time to time.

Rose on the other hand needs to clean up the extra from behind shove and the frustration reach-in. And she can't sub in and pick up a foul 20 seconds later. I think Rose's fouls are fixable; but we've seen no progress this season.
 



Amanda Zahui B was very talented. I'd love for the Gophers to add a post of her caliber or Janel McCarville's caliber. And, yes, I realize I'm dreaming. Or how about a Monica Czinano type?
Charlie Wagner and Kanesha Bell also played with Banham.
 

Question: What happens in your mind or from the coaches that causes you to have a complete outburst? What kick starts your run?

Mara Braun: I think it starts with defense for me. You saw I got a couple steals. That's really where I try to play my offensive game off defense. That's where I kind of got it going in the second half.

-----------------

Move over Paige Bueckers and LeBron James -- make room for Mara Braun in the spotlight too.

1670181408407.png
 


Yes, I think Katie's are primarily due to aggressiveness and a "make the ref make the call" mentality. I'm not sure much can be done about them except sit her from time to time.

Rose on the other hand needs to clean up the extra from behind shove and the frustration reach-in. And she can't sub in and pick up a foul 20 seconds later. I think Rose's fouls are fixable; but we've seen no progress this season.


I actually thought Rose had improved the amount she fouled this year but I had nothing to back that impression. I looked up the stats and in 2021-22 in 433 minutes she had 80 fouls (5.4 minutes of court time/foul) and so far this year in 232 minutes she has 31 fouls (7.5 minutes court time/foul). That is actually 28% fewer fouls per minutes of court time. Seems to me that is likely a significant improvement based on sample size but it is not B1G season so that I would expect to tighten things up some but I suspect it won't erase it. Time will tell though.
 

No they have not won all their close games, however they are not giving up late game leads like last years teams did. Instead they are making big plays to get them at least back into games. There is still a ways to go with this team, but I’m loving the growth!
 

Even though the Gophers had 26 turnovers to Penn State's 22, they scored 1 more point off of those turnovers than the Lions.

Also, even though the Lions had one more OR, the Gophers outscored the Lion 15-5 on second chance points.
 

Seems crazy to say that a team that gives up over 90 points is playing better defense, but they are. I also feel like they're doing a better job of rebounding, although a long way to go with that. As others here have said, if they can decrease the turnovers, they'll have a chance to beat some teams in the BIG. I'm hoping they'll get a lot better with TOs as the season goes along. Seems like they finally started to figure out the PSU press in the second half. PSU's Marisa is impressive. Huge FT's by Braun and Katie B when the game was on the line. Clutch field goals also. Battle, Braun, Heyer all show flashes of being very good college players. Hopefully we can look back at the end of the season and comment on the terrific progress they've made. That being said, looks like it's going to be both a fun and frustrating year and we're going to have to remain patient.
Well, it was "only" 76 in regulation.
 



I think Lindsay did a fantastic job of managing the team at the end of the 4th period and during the overtimes. Lindsay has been there many times before and I think her experience and calmness were impactful.
 


The turnovers this season have been so frustrating but with this young of a team, I'm hoping they take this year to gel as a team. These freshmen are legit, and with Holloway out with injury, this team is missing what could be a major piece offensively.
 

At half time of the game last night I went at chatted with a friend of mine and he made the comment that he thought the gophers were already better than last years team. Initially I was a little surprised at that but even though I was exceedingly frustrated with the turnovers up until that point, I had to agree. In the first half I was very impressed with the effort, rebounding, speed of play and defense. The turnovers, shot selection (this I feel accounted for the relatively poor overall FG%) and inability to break the press were disappointing. Battle and Katie were obviously very frustrated which just proved result in them throwing discipline and calmness out the window and resulted in their 8 & 4 turnovers respectively. Mara also had a maddening 7 TOs and I think that too was mostly in the press but I don't have as much memory as to her different TOs.
 




Lots of interesting Tweets on Twitter by UMN to read.

I liked that at the start of the 2nd half Amaya Battle came out with two strong scores showing confidence and resolve. We know what she can do. Just keep at it.

@battle_amaya against Penn St became the first @GopherWBB Freshman since 2011 (@rachelbanham_1) to earn 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 5+ Assists, and 3+ Steals in a single game @herhoopstats


 

Lots of interesting Tweets on Twitter by UMN to read.

I liked that at the start of the 2nd half Amaya Battle came out with two strong scores showing confidence and resolve. We know what she can do. Just keep at it.

@battle_amaya against Penn St became the first @GopherWBB Freshman since 2011 (@rachelbanham_1) to earn 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 5+ Assists, and 3+ Steals in a single game @herhoopstats


But did Rachel have 8 TOs in that game ;)
 


Still loving the defensive energy. Allowing 76 points in regulation may seem high - but not due to the defense as much as the turnovers. Allowing your opponent 20+ more possessions will skew your "points allowed" even if you have stops half of those times.
 




Top Bottom