B1G Game 17: Gophers Host Nebraska (2-24-21)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Minnesota looks to backup their season’s biggest victory when they face Nebraska at Williams Arena. Entering the first Husker/Gopher match up in Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers were getting warm and fuzzy feelings about their season. They were 5-3 in the B1G and coming off wins over Michigan State and Ohio State. Just as notable, they had previously defeated two other ranked teams, Northwestern and Rutgers. A struggling Minnesota certainly didn’t (and doesn’)t have a single win that significant.

However, Minnesota left Lincoln making off with 76-71 victory and burglar bag stuffed with Big Red warm and fuzzies. Beating Nebraska allowed the Gophers to dream a bit even if our dreams are built on beating Penn State (twice), Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. Meanwhile, the Huskers slipped back to mediocrity losing to Penn State, Rutgers, Iowa and Maryland. Their victories came against Illinois, Wisconsin and, again, Northwestern (the Huskers felt a twinge of warm and fuzzies returning).

Nebraska’s second win over the Wildcats defies basketball logic. The Huskers, trying to give away the game, committed 28 turnovers to Northwestern’s 4. They weren’t dead ball turnovers either. The Wildcats had 21 steals and scored 26 points off Big Red gifts. Yes, 26 points off 21 steals seems a bit light and it points to a poor shooting night for Northwestern. The ‘Cats were 4-20 from three while Nebraska was 7-17. In a game that was 44-40 Northwestern entering the fourth quarter, that meant the Huskers had a chance. It was a chance they didn’t waste. During the game, Nebraska dominated Northwestern inside. Kate Cain was a perfect 8-8 from the field and 6-6 from the line for 22 points and 8 rebounds. Isabelle Bourne poured in 21 points and collected 17 rebounds. The last 12 Husker points were from the foul line including 6 of the final 8 from Kate Cain as she closed out a 71-64 Nebraska victory.

Today’s 87-72 victory over Penn State has the Huskers 9-8 in the B1G and dreaming again. It’s up to the Gophers to harsh their mellow. The Lady Lions tried; but the Huskers rallied late in the second quarter behind 8 straight points from Annika Stewart leading to a 40-34 half time lead. The Huskers shot 13-24 from behind the arc and received 22 points and 11 rebounds from Isabelle Bourne. (The announcers said Bourne has been playing on a tender ankle). Ashley Scoggin (4-6 from three) and Sam Haiby (4-5 from three) each scored 18. Kate Cain scored 11 while the other starter, Ruby Porter (starting in place of the injured Bella Cravens), did not score. Annika Stewart had an efficient 10 points in 7 minutes off the bench. Kendall Coley played 8 minutes and knocked down a three. They are ready for a Gopher/Husker show down.

Last Meeting

In Lincoln, Nebraska charged to a 20-10 first quarter lead. Minnesota responded with a high scoring second quarter closing the halftime gap 42-39 Huskers. Nebraska maintained a two point lead entering the fourth quarter. Then, Gadiva Hubbard took over. Gadiva (three treys and three free throws) out scored Nebraska 12 to 10 in the final quarter. Jasmine Powell’s four points plus Kayla Mershon’s free throw were enough to provide a 17-10 advantage in the fourth quarter and a 76-71 advantage for the game.

Sam Haiby led all scorers with 25 points and all rebounders with 12. Ashley Scoggin scored 16, Kate Cain finished with 7 points and 8 rebounds and Bella Cravens contributed 6 points and 8 rebounds. Hubbard led the Gophers with 18 points and 7 rebounds, Powell had 15 points and 5 assists and Scalia had 14 points. Inside, the Gophers got solid contributions from Sconiers with 10 points and Sissoko with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

If (the big IF) Scalia and Powell can play, then it’s pretty much going to be the same cast of characters deciding this contest. We can expect a dash of interest in possibly seeing high school seniors Kendall Coley and Katie Borowicz on the court together.




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B1G Record: 9-8

B1G Wins: Illinois 78-72, Northwestern 65-63, Rutgers 53-50, @Michigan State 68-64, Ohio State 62-55, @ Illinois 57-53, Wisconsin 84-68, Northwestern 71-64, Penn State 87-72

B1G Losses: @ Indiana 45-91, @ Purdue 72-83, @ Michigan 62-64, Minnesota 71-76, @ Penn State 74-85, @ Rutgers 62-78, Iowa 81-88, Maryland 73-95



Sam Haiby Last Six Games

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Penn State1085343
Rutgers2043322
Iowa2843364
Maryland756321
Northwestern587354
Penn State1886341


Isabelle Bourne Last Six Games:

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Penn State993201
Rutgers563250
Iowa1652272
Maryland17105262
Northwestern21172373
Penn State22112312


Probable Starters (B1G Stats):

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
5’9”GJrSam Haiby34.617.66.8
6’2”FSoIsabelle Bourne31.715.28.5
6’5”CSrKate Cain29.710.26.2
5’7”GRSoAshley Scoggin30.87.92.5
5’10”GFrRuby Porter20.95.52.2


Bench (Big Stats):

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
6’3”FJrBella Cravens26.96.88.3
6’3”FFrAnnika Stewart13.94.92.8
5’8”GFrWhitney Brown16.83.81.4
5’9”GJrM’Cole Cayton13.02.50.8
6’2”G/FFrKendall Coley4.70.80.8
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Thanks Iggy, even tho the season has not gone the way we would have liked, I do look forward to your analysis of each game. Going into this season, I thought the Gophers would have the type of season Nebraska is having. Beating some teams they shouldn’t and perhaps losing to teams that they shouldn’t to being so young.
 

Katogopher said:
Thanks Iggy, even tho the season has not gone the way we would have liked, I do look forward to your analysis of each game. Going into this season, I thought the Gophers would have the type of season Nebraska is having. Beating some teams they shouldn’t and perhaps losing to teams that they shouldn’t to being so young.
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Thanks. Like you, I was thinking it would be a season similar to Nebraska's. And I certainly didn't think we'd suffer so many first half blowouts.
 

Katogopher said:
Thanks Iggy, even tho the season has not gone the way we would have liked, I do look forward to your analysis of each game. Going into this season, I thought the Gophers would have the type of season Nebraska is having. Beating some teams they shouldn’t and perhaps losing to teams that they shouldn’t to being so young.
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If my memory is right, there are only two games we had our full squad and healthy, Nebraska and Penn St. and we won both (and then beat Purdue w/o Diva) Other then that we have not had our full lineup and when your replacing a senior with a Freshman that is tough to overcome, hence our 2nd half falters. Don't forget we had a 6-2 juco player that might of even started, she left the team before we even had a game. That may have hurt our depth in the front line.
Its just not missing a starter, it causes rotations to be off, it causes kids to have to play positions they aren't familiar with, and it causes the chemistry to be off, which is very under-rated in basketball.
If we would of had our whole team from the beginning, we would be at least 9-9 coming down the stretch with possibility of .500 finish or better.
for us to take that next leap next year and finish above .500 and being in the conf top 4-5, we are going to need another contributor that we dont have on our team right now, more then likely a proven transfer.
 




bigten.org

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference
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Player of the Week
Isabelle Bourne, Nebraska
So. – F – Canberra, Australia – Australian Institute of Sport – Major: Undeclared
• Averaged 21.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game with two double-doubles last week, leading the Huskers to a pair of wins, including a road victory at No. 24/22 Northwestern
• Tallied 21 points and a career-high 17 points in the Feb. 17 win at NU, Nebraska’s fourth Top 25 victory this season
• Tied her career high with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Penn State
• Earns her first career Big Ten Player of the Week award
• Last Nebraska Player of the Week: Kate Cain (Jan. 18, 2021)
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Really interested to see what happens in this one. It feels like we missed a chance to really take a step forward by playing complete games against Illinois and Wiscy. It's not like we played horribly but we didn't hold the big lead against Illinois and didn't really pull away from Wiscy. That left us without any momentum going on the road against Rutgers and Maryland and it showed.

Here's hoping they pleasantly surprise us by coming out sharp against Nebraska. It feels like our improvement leveled off and it would be a great sign to see them bounce back from the blowouts.
 



according to Kent.. Jazz is in a walking boot with a crutch..

I'd be shocked if we saw her again this season.. but also knowing Jazz she is itching to get back on the court.
 

Gophers112233 said:
according to Kent.. Jazz is in a walking boot with a crutch..

I'd be shocked if we saw her again this season.. but also knowing Jazz she is itching to get back on the court.
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Just really unfortunate that we're barely gonna get to see the full team play together this year.
 
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Wonder what has happened to our FT shooting, it was once the area that we could depend on. Hoping Sissoko calms down and can contribute in the second half.
 

Good half for Gophers! However, coaches need to get Strande and Borowicz more touches and shots in this game.
 



Haiby, Coley and Stewart are 5-8 from behind the arc. Smith has 1 shot in 19 minutes. I'm looking forward to Sissoko returning in the second half. We need to spice things up.
 


Smith looks lost. Terrible unforced turnover at 1:49.
 

Can't see the game (maybe luckily?) but this seems like another game where Nebraska's Cain isn't really in the mood?
 



Belzx009 said:
I disagree. I think the shot selection has been much better by the Gophers.
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Ehh. We're not finishing at the rim well again. Flinging up some shots hoping they go in when we should have gone stronger to the rim. Missing those shots keeps letting NEB back into the game. Looks like we'll win this one. But should have been over sooner.
 

Best defensive effort of the year, nice win against a team that was trying to get on the bubble.
 

Too many minutes for Smith. Scalia was lost on defense again.
 

Aesop is right, that was the best inbounds play of the season. Almost the only inbounds play of the season.
Sconiers had a strong night bridging Sissoko's bench time. Scalia had a hell of a good night.
 

Nice win. Good all around effort by the Gophers. Sconiers continues to improve, Kadi came alive in the second half, Smith with some contributions. LBK with some good energy, particularly in the first half. Scalia with a good all-around game with points, rebounds, assists, steals. The Minnesota ladies for the Huskers did well...Haiby with 22 points, first year player Stewart with 13 and "high school senior" Coley with 6. Interesting to note that Stewart and Coley both have older sisters who played for Bluder at Iowa. This team continues to show improvement, although still not ready to compete with the top teams in the conference.
 

This was a nice W without Powell. Replacing your team leading point guard is difficult for many teams. Agree it looked bad to see her in a boot.
 

Aesop70 said:
Ehh. We're not finishing at the rim well again. Flinging up some shots hoping they go in when we should have gone stronger to the rim. Missing those shots keeps letting NEB back into the game. Looks like we'll win this one. But should have been over sooner.
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You’re correct on the not finishing, but I more meant that they moved the ball around and didn’t take step back 3s and 1v4 driving into the lane and forcing up a bad shot or turnover.
 

32 paint points for Minnesota and 18 for Nebraska. And probably half of the Huskers points in the paint were by Haiby.
 


I didn't watch, but followed along with live stats. That's a nice win! Gophers held their 2nd & 3rd best scorers to 5-16 with no three-pointers from Bourne, and outrebounded Neb. On offense, no Powell, Kadi in foul trouble all night but comes up with big makes in the 4th, Scalia couldn't hit a shot all night and still win by 10. Kudo's to the non-stars for grinding FT shooting started rough, but closed out the game from the line really well.
 

Wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams meet in the BIG tourney as the 8/9 seeds. Evenly matched. Is Sissoko can find some consistency this team could be good next year.
 

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