Game 13: Gophers host Kent State (12-22-16)

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Kent State visits Williams Arena.

The Golden Flashes started their upper Midwest swing with a stop tonight in Iowa City. It started well for Kent; but the Hawkeyes went on a 44-12 run to lead 44-21 at the half. The main take away from watching the game was the difficulty Kent State had in stopping Megan Gustafson who posted 20 points. It didn't help that Kent State's 6'2" post, Jorden Korniek picked up two quick fouls early in the first quarter.


http://www.kentstatesports.com/news...all-kent-state-loses-on-the-road-at-iowa.aspx

Ali Poole and Larissa Lurken strung together eight points in a row in the third to cut into the deficit. They made back-to-back threes before Lurken grabbed Poole's rebound on another attempt from deep and put it back in. Lurken followed that by driving to the basket, getting fouled and making both her shots from the charity stripe. The duo accounted for 13 of the team's 19 points in the third quarter as Kent State cut into the deficit to trail 57-40 with one quarter remaining.

The final quarter mirrored the second as Iowa was able to add to its lead and take the 83-48 victory.

Kent State shot just 24.7 percent in the game while Iowa hit nearly half its shots. The Hawkeyes scored 42 points in the paint while the battle of the board was won by a closer margin, 50 to 48.

Lurken finished with a team-high 20 points while Jordan Korinek finished with 11 and Poole with ten. McKenna led the team with ten rebounds while adding in a block and a steal. Lurken had nine rebounds.


New Coach: The Golden Flashes are in the their first year under former Indiana assistant Todd Starky. Starky replaced former Gopher assistant Danielle O'Banion who has returned to Melissa McFerrin's Memphis Staff. Last season Kent was 6-23 (3-15 in the MAC). This year they are off to a 6-5 start and appear to be much improved. Their best player is senior Larissa Lurkin from Cottege Grove. Minnesota and Kent State have one common opponent, Detroit.

Last Year: The Gophers won at Kent State 85-73. Wagner scored 18 points, Hedstrom 11 and Edwards 10. Tinjum scored 6 points when Bradley played Kent.


Wins: Bradley, 77-52; Eastern Kentucky, 80-67; Florida Gulf Coast @Estero, FL, 77-64; Fort Wayne, 66-55; @ Wright State, 79-69, Youngstown State, 75-60.

Losses: Robert Morris, 68-65; @ Detroit, 73-52; Baylor (Estero, Fl.) 84-42; Western Kentucky (Estero, FL) 79-74 OT, Iowa , 83-48.

Probable Starters:

Larissa Lurkin: 5'9" G Sr (22.7 points per game) (24-60 from beyond the arc)
Jordan Korniek: 6'2" F Jr (11.9)
Naddiyah Cross: 5'6" G Jr
Stephens McKenna: 6'0" F Sr.
Alexa Golden: 5'9" G So.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Since fall semester is officially over today, is Fernstrom eligible tonight?

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Since fall semester is officially over today, is Fernstrom eligible tonight?

On Monday's coaches show, Fernstrom said her debut would be Ohio State. It seems kind of like last season when Starr didn't play until the Rutgers game even though the NJIT game occurred after the semester concluded. Maybe we'll be surprised.

 

[Shades]

I dunno... is it superstition or something? Not wanting to show your cards to the Big Ten? If she's technically ready to go, give her some real game experience. It's a different environment with a crowd. Kinda like to give Fernstrom a little re-assimalation before the conference games.

 

[bball_craz_31]

NCAA rules state she isn't available till semester officially ends. By NCAA rules that is when all final grades are in, since semester just ended today with finals being taken today, final grades deadline is December 26th at midnight (technically dec 27th) Gophers were hurt with last year and this year having a later start date to the semester but also a later end date this last two years.

Since fall semester is officially over today, is Fernstrom eligible tonight?

 

[Shades]

Is there no radio coverage for the game?

 

[Shades]

It kinda figures Hedstrom and Tinjum would be the leading scorers so far in this game.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

It's not "under the weather" it's mono for Hubbard!

While waiting for the Box Score posting I called up the BTN replay to find out why Hubbard didn't play. Corbu said, "under the weather". Hubbard was at the game on the sidelines during warmups and on the bench during the game.

One other minor note: during warmups, Fernstrom had the two middle fingers of her left hand taped together.

 

[tripledouble]

Not the best of tests going into the conference season. On the plus side, the Gophers did a good job of sharing the ball. Starr, Tinjum, Bell, and Hedstrom all had solid games. Kaposi, Lemke, K. Bello all got some PT. We might not see a lot of them on the floor in conference play. Seemed like Bell was the Gophers' best player tonight. On the negative side, besides Hubbard's mono, Gophers didn't rebound well and they shot free throws poorly. Early in the game, it looked like Wagner was going to have a good shooting game, but it seems she still continues to struggle with her shooting. Uncharacteristic missed free throws from her and also some misses near the bucket. Non-conference schedule is over....now we get to play against the "big girls". Tinjum started in Hubbard's absence tonight, as did Hedstrom. While Hubbard is out, I expect to see those two remain in the starting lineup. Although it wouldn't shock me to see Starr inserted into the starting lineup, I like her coming off the bench better.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Gophers win 92-62.

Minnesota took control in the first quarter 24-2. Stollings played everyone except Fernstrom and Hubbard. The Gophers, outside of a couple of sloppy periods, eased it home. Despite Minnesota scoring 46 points in the paint, the Gophers still tied Kent State with 50 rebounds apiece. One other negative: Minnesota was 12-24 from the foul line (Carlie was 0-4).

Kent States Todd Starkey got teed up in the first half by Tina Napier. He finally wore down Napier's patience. Another oddity, T Bello was called for back to back moving screens in the second half. T Bello and K Bello were on the court together toward the end of the second quarter.

Starters:

Tinjum
Edwards
Hedstrom
Wagner
Bell


Minutes Played:

29 Bell: 20 points, 7 assists, 3 turnovers (not all her fault), 4 steals
29 Hedstrom: 17 points
26 Starr: 13 points
24 Wagner: 13 points (Carlie had to work hard not to score twenty-Carlie did sit out much of the 2nd quarter with 2 fouls)
23 Tinjum: 18 points and 9 rebounds
21 Edwards: 8 rebounds and Jessie fouled out
13 Brunson
12 T Bello
10 Barnes
6 Lamke
5 Kaposi
2 K Bello

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...o_pdf/2016-17/box_score/stats_20161223aaa.pdf

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Highlights

 

[ruppertflywheel]

Key and Kaposi were recruited to play right away . What gives??

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Like Tripledouble, I expect Hedstrom and Tinjum to get the starts-especially if they continue knocking down threes. They will need Joanna and Whitney versus Ohio State. Plus Whitney can get to the hoop. She needs to keep out of foul trouble. Using both of them adds some useful height on the perimeter.

And yes we really need the return of the 20 points a game Carlie.

 

[Shades]

I only listened to this game, so couldn't see anything. Wagner started out hot (7 pts in 7 min) but had two fouls in those 7 min, so Stollings sat Wagner for the rest of the half. Wagner cooled off while Tinjum and Hedstrom heated up. What were the nature of those two fouls? It's not like Wagner to pick up quick fouls like that. A new agressiveness on defense, or offensive fouls?

Brunson seems to have fallen out of favor since the start of the season as has Bello. With Hubbard out, that's gotta be disappointing to Brunson that she can't get a starting role. As far as Bello goes, I'm cool with that. Had too many freshmen starting for my taste, and she wasn't doing a lot.

According to the ratings, this game was supposed to be the biggest creme puff on the schedule, but I got a little nervous when Ignatius said we only beat them by 12 last year. Not sure how much we should judge by this game. Hopefully the good shooting will continue for the next game.

Defensively it sounded like they were trying to be more disruptive by cutting off passing lanes and such. Doesn't sound like the typical sit back defense they usually employ, so that sounds promising.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

I only listened to this game, so couldn't see anything. Wagner started out hot (7 pts in 7 min) but had two fouls in those 7 min, so Stollings sat Wagner for the rest of the half. Wagner cooled off while Tinjum and Hedstrom heated up. What were the nature of those two fouls? It's not like Wagner to pick up quick fouls like that. A new agressiveness on defense, or offensive fouls?

First foul at 5:44 : Carlie got the ball on the left wing, started a drive to baseline, lowered her shoulder and knocked Lurken out of the way for a charge.

Second foul at 1:33: Carlie and Allina trapped Lurken along the sideline in front of the Gopher bench. Lurken tried to get around Wagner. Carlie bumped her out of bounds.

Speaking of Lurken, the Gophers really didn't give her room to breathe. She was obviously the defensive focus.

 

[tripledouble]

T. Bello was charged (correctly) with illegal screens on consecutive offensive possessions. I still think she's going to be a solid player, but probably not much of a factor this year, as Stollings is opting for the more experienced Tinjum and Hedstrom (and Starr). Hopefully, Bello can still continue to get some playing time, even if it's not during crunch time. She's very active in going for rebounds, something I wish both Barnes and Edwards were better at. I also think Brunson can be a good player. She'll continue to back up Bell at the PG spot and should continue to get minutes in conference play. With Destiny Pitts coming in next year, Brunson will have to step up her game between now and next season or it will be difficult for her to have a chance to crack next year's starting lineup. We haven't seen much of Kaposi, as she was a late signee and didn't have the benefit of working out with the team this summer. In the few times I've seen her on the court, my initial thought is that she's going to have to get a lot stronger to play at the BIG level. I empathize with Hubbard. The time she's going to miss will probably set her back some. Even if she is back in 3 weeks, it will take her some time after that to get her legs back. At least the Gophers don't have the depth problems that Nebraska has. I watched bits of their game against UConn earlier in the week and I think I recall that they had only 6 players available to play that night. Maybe it was 8. Either way, that's a difficult situation for a team to be in.

 

[Shades]

According to the roster, the Gophers next year lose Barnes, Hedstrom, Tinjum, and Starr (isn't Starr eligible for another year?). If Pitts is truly a 6'er, she can take over the Tinjum/Hedstrom role. Will it be off the bench? I suppose she could be the starting PF if she's better than Bello and Kaposi. Stollings seems to like a four guard system anyway, even if they lose with it.

Only a year and half left of Wagner, Edwards, and Fernstrom. That's gonna be tough. Haven't seen Fernstrom play yet and I'm already missing her. After they're gone, won't be much Minnesota pride left. Just Bell?