Game 3: Gophers Host San Diego (11-17-18)

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From D’Artagnan to Diego: the Mustachioed Mascot Tour Continues

Last season’s hair pulling 72-69 loss to the Toreros (1-1) in San Diego was the heavy ball attached to Minnesota’s RPI chain. The Gophers (2-0) struggled to guard Sydney Williams who netted a career high 25 points including two late three pointers. The Toreros were 6-15 from three while Minnesota was 2-15. Three of the Gophers three point misses came in the closing 20 seconds as Wagner, Hubbard and Pitts desperately attempted to tie the game.

San Diego grabbed an early 7-5 lead and held it until Minnesota tied at 54 with about five minutes remaining. A Sydney Williams layup gave the Toreros a lead they never relinquished. Kenisha Bell led the Gophers with 20 points, Hubbard scored 19 and Taiye Bello grabbed 12 rebounds. Annalese Lamke scored 8 points in 13 minutes. Fernstrom and Edwards combined to play 20 minutes with 0 points and 2 rebounds. Pitts turned her ankle during her 15 minutes in one of Destiny’s few bad outings. The only 2018-19 Torero playing significant minutes in last season’s matchup was Myah Pace who in 27 minutes had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

San Diego finished last season 17-15 (8-10 (5th)) in the West Coast Conference). The Toreros won two games in the WCC tournament before dropping the title game 79-71 to Gonzaga. After five straight WNIT appearances, the Toreros did not make post season play. Former Nebraska assistant, Cindy Fisher is now in her 14th year as the Torero’s head coach.

This season’s club is again projected 5th in the WCC and is currently 1-1. The Toreros suffered a road defeat at Southern Utah 59-69 before winning their home opener versus Hawaii 58-50. They do not appear to be three point shooters 5-15 and do appear to be turnover prone: 22 versus Southern Utah and 17 versus Hawaii. Patricia Brossmann was their leading scorer in both games: 21 in the first and 12 in the second.


Wins: Hawaii 58-50

Losses: @ Southern Utah 59-69


Projected Starters:

6’0” F Jr Patricia Brossmann
6’0” G So Sydney Hunter
6’2” F So Kendall Bird
5’11” G So Myah Pace
5’11” G Sr Sydney Shepard

Others:

5’10” G Fr Kiera Oakry
6’1” G Jr Madison Pollock
6’1” C Jr Leticia Soares
 

Is the game televised on the Btn network?
 

Flash30 said:
Is the game televised on the Btn network?
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BTN+ (9.99/mo Gophers only, 14.99/mo all of Big Ten) or FloHoops (29.99/mo), which will include some of the holiday tournament packages, like Paradise Jam.
 

If you are thinking of subscribing to the BTN Plus/BTN To Go package, please know that the production standards may not be as good as you've grown accustomed to on BTN and some of the other sports networks. These games are produced by students and sometimes it shows. (Nothing against students, but the students at some of the schools are not receiving adequate instruction from BTN on how to produce these broadcasts, which has always been something that bothers me.) One of the things that has bothered me in the past about the Gopher broadcasts is that they will constantly run replays while there is action on the floor. You would think that BTN would use these broadcasts as a teaching opportunity or as an opportunity to develop future broadcasters. But with them, it seems to be all about the money. That being said, I still subscribe. It's a modest fee, and a U of M subscription includes an occasional Gopher men's game and a lot of Gopher volleyball games. And you can stop the subscription at any time. I keep it only for the women's basketball season and then I drop it.
 




Bello and Lamke are a combined 3-6 at the half.

Rest of team are 3-18.

What does that tell you?

Let's get the post game established.
 

San Diego plays tough defense. Never give anything easy.
If they ever get tired of playing defense, maybe that's when the Gophers can get rolling.
 

Bell needs to do a lot more of those wraparound passes to the posts instead of those crazy prayer shot drives.
 



I won't be watching the replay of that game anytime soon. Brutal. Random thoughts: Bell had a terrible shooting night, from the floor and from the line, but I'm glad she kept going to the hoop. She seemed to be the only Gopher who could create shots. Kudos to San Diego. They gave the Gophers very few open shots and defended very well. Seemed like they were well prepared for what the Gophers wanted to do offensively. Bello had another great rebounding night. She has a chance to be one of the top rebounders in the BIG. Lamke had trouble catching the ball tonight. Pitts still in a bit of a funk. Brunson finally become more aggressive in the final quarter; she needs to do that all the time to take some of the pressure off Bell. Did I see the Gophers in a zone defense...for one play? San Diego hit an open 15-footer and I never saw it again. Gophers played solid defense again tonight. Despite all the negatives, this was a gritty comeback for the Gophers in a game that looked like they were going to lose. Burn the tape and practice free throws...Arkansas-Pine Bluff here on Tuesday.
 


Just when I thought we couldn't see an uglier game than last season's San Diego/Minnesota match-up, they lowered the bar.

Our offense consisted of Bell drives and Taiye Bello put backs. Whalen has got to design Pitts into the flow. San Diego fronted and frustrated Destiny and we seemed unable to solve it. The current half court offense doesn't move quickly enough and was disrupted by the lightest defensive pressure. It didn't help that there was an outbreak of stone hands in the post.

The bench was a stat line of ZERO except in the turnover department. Staples' one turnover was simply a take away while she was dribbling.

23 turnovers for the Gophers-virtually all of them as ugly as the free throw shooting.

One thing that's different this season, since Whalen doesn't have a coaching history or a history with many other coaches, the pregame coaches hand shake is over pretty quick. At least that seems to be the case thus far.
 
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Shades said:
San Diego plays tough defense. Never give anything easy.
If they ever get tired of playing defense, maybe that's when the Gophers can get rolling.
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Perhaps the only couple of relatively positive spins you could put on this ugly game might be ...

(1) In spite of a slow start for Kenisha Bell, in the end she did pretty much put the team on her back to forge ahead for the lead (and we would have been dead-in-the-water without Bell; although a healthy Hubbard might have helped out some). Almost reminiscent of the manner in which Lindsay Whalen many times put the Lynx on her back in tough games.

(2) We also would have been dead-in-the-water without Bello's rebounding.

(3) After a time-out, it was a pretty slick pass-play that Lindsay drew up from Bell to Bello to get the run going that ended up giving us the lead.

(4) Compared to the first 3 quarters, the team upped it a notch in the 4th quarter, starting to look like a team that wanted to win.

(5) Although the free-throw shooting at the end was almost poor enough to evaporate our lead, at least we made enough free throws to sneak out the door with the W.

(6) Although San Diego played great D, the Gophers were able to hang in there by playing semi-great D. Who-da thunk we'd only be down by four points at the half, if I'd told ya we only scored 17 points in the first half.

It appears that in the San Diego game the Gophers may have tied their lowest first-half score in the last 8 years. That's all the further the data went back on the Gopher WBB historical box-scores site (details below). I didn't check to see whether NCAA had any older data. But I suppose that when you go back to the "ancient days" of women's basketball, there might have been some even lower scoring halves. Here's the historical data for half-dozen or so games, from lowest to higher half scores.

On Feb 26, 2012 in a game that they lost to Penn State, the Gophers scored 17 points in the first half. https://gophersports.com/news/2012/...s_Gophers_in_Loss_at_No_11_15_Penn_State.aspx

On March 22, 2013, the Gophers lost to Ball State 54-51 in the first round of the WNIT. They scored 17 points in the first half. Rachel Banham had a team-best eight points in the opening half, while Kellogg added five points and six rebounds. It was the fewest points scored by the Gophers in a first half that season. ... The Cardinals would take a 27-17 lead into halftime. https://gophersports.com/news/2013/3/22/Gophers_Upended_By_Ball_State_In_WNIT_First_Round.aspx

The Gophers beat North Dakota on Dec 8, 2013, scoring 18 points in first half. The final score was 46-44 (Rachel Banham didn't play due to injury, and Joanna Hedstrom made her first career start in place of her.

On Feb 20, 2014, the Gophers lost to Purdue 63-42. But the low-scoring half was the 2nd half in which they scored 19 points.

On Jan 14, 2014, the Gophers lost to MSU and scored 21 points in the first half

They lost to Creighton on Nov 16, 2013, while scoring 22 points in the first half.

On Jan 26, 2014, all 22 points of the first half were scored by Rachel Banham and Kayla Hirt. The Gophers lost 83-53 to Penn State.

In 2010-2011 there were two games (but no box scores available) - one Jan 9 that the Gophers lost to Wisconsin 42-47, and one Mar 3 that the Gophers lost to Northwestern 44-53 (but no way to tell what the half scores were). One or the other of the half scores might have been lower than 21/22, respectively, if the half scores were not equal.
 



CutDownTheNet said:
In 2010-2011 there were two games (but no box scores available) - one Jan 9 that the Gophers lost to Wisconsin 42-47, and one Mar 3 that the Gophers lost to Northwestern 44-53 (but no way to tell what the half scores were). One or the other of the half scores might have been lower than 21/22, respectively, if the half scores were not equal.
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http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wis/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/boxvs.pdf

In the Badger game: Minnesota scored 14 first half points. The Gophers trailed 14-19 at the half. Both teams scored 28 in the second half. Minnesota, in the first half, was 4-24 from the floor, 1-5 from three and kept it close making 5-6 from the line.
 

https://gophersports.com/documents/2018/11/17//WBB_11_7_Transcription.pdf

Post-game quotes:

Minnesota Head Coach Lindsay Whalen

Opening Statement:

“Any time you can win a game shooting 32 percent from the field, we’ll take it. We know we have some
work to do, but in the fourth quarter we gutted it out and we did what we had to do to get the win. I’m
proud of how we played in that fourth. Obviously, we have a lot that we can watch and learn from this
game, as well.”

On the differences between the third and fourth quarters:

“To me it looked like we had a little more will about us. We had a couple kids that were either going to
get to the line, or rebound the ball, or get in the paint, and we just had a strong will about us in the
fourth.”

On what can be learned from the game:

“After watching video the last couple of days, watching how (San Diego) played and then watching how
we played down there last year, I figured this was going to be a good test for us. They play hard, they
play really tough defense, they’ve got a big kid inside, a guard that’s pretty shifty and can get in the
paint, so I thought this was going to be a pretty good test. We weren’t just going to be able to reverse
the ball easy. They were going to deny us, they were going to be in our cutters, and they weren’t just
going to let (Destiny) Pitts roam freely and get her shots up. So figured this would be a good test for us,
and we responded and in the fourth we got the win.”

On the defense:

“We guarded hard, we guarded really hard tonight. Just as hard as it was for us offensively, we made it
equally difficult for them. I’m proud of the way we defended all night.”

On Taiye Bello’s rebounding:

“I think she willed us at times, if not the whole fourth. You could kind of see her momentum was picking
up, offensively and defensively. I thought that the start of the fourth, we set the tone. We had three or
four cracks at it, and then Taiye finally it swung back around her and she made that nice post move. I
think that was our fourth attempt, so Taiye and AL (Annalese Lamke) were crashing the boards and
doing really good things for us.”


RS Senior Kenisha Bell

On staying positive despite struggling to get shots to fall:

“I knew that the game wasn’t over. I had to do different things in other areas that would help contribute
to the team, as well. Trying to get stops, still having that mindset where the game isn’t over, we could
do something different. I basically just had to look at it in a different perspective. Just keep being
aggressive and keep attacking, do what you do and it will eventually fall.”

On working through frustration:

“I’ve got my team and my coaches in my ear the whole time, saying ‘You’ve got it,’ helping me switch my
form up and telling me what I’m doing wrong to try to fix it the next time. Having them in my ear the
whole time and saying positive things just kept me going.”


Junior Taiye Bello

On her rebounding:

“I knew rebounding was really important. We talked about it in shoot‐around, we talked about it in
practice. Especially in the fourth quarter, if we wanted to make a run it was important that we were
getting rebounds and getting stops.”

On what drives her to get rebounds:

“It’s fun, I guess. It’s a really important part of the game that some people maybe don’t pay too much
attention to, but the details are really important. Especially today, in the fourth quarter.
 

It was an ugly game. San Diego was a tough match up with their defensive set giving the Gophers a lot of trouble establishing any rhythm at all.

It was truly a battle of wills with Taiye Bello refusing to relinquish victory by out rebounding. A win is a win.

There will plenty of lessons learned from this ugly game. I am sure there will be plenty of free throw practices among other things after watching film.
 
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Late in the first half Whalen put out a lineup of Kaposi, Bell, Brunson, Pitts and Staples with Kaposi playing the five. Bell and Kaposi ran a nice pick and roll which unfortunately ended with Kaposi dropping the ball out of bounds. Which got me to wondering how many of the 23 turnovers occurred on plays to posts in the paint. I counted eight. Here are the turnovers with post play/pass turnovers in bold:

1st Quarter:
7:35 Bell throws wide and out of bounds to a cutting and open Lamke
6:43 Brunson dribbles off foot
4:30 Pitts offensive foul as Destiny tried to fight through the defender on inbounds play
3:30 Bello commits an offensive foul on pick and roll pass from Bell
2:23 Perez travels
0:56 Kaposi throws an errant high low pass intended for Lamke

2nd Quarter:
8:28 Staples has ball stolen at mid-court
7:49 Brunson throws errant inbounds pass
7:41 Bell loses ball on fast break
6:33 Pitts travels at foul line on intended pass to Lamke
4:52 Pitts travels
3:24 Bello, again, charges after receiving pick and roll pass from Bell
2:48 Kaposi drops ball out of bounds after receiving pick and roll pass from Bell

3rd Quarter

6:27 Perez has lazy pass to Pitts stolen
6:08 Lamke has ball stolen an top of the arc
5:00 Pitts commits offensive foul
3:56 Lamke loses high low pass from Kaposi
2:43 Brunson has lazy pass to Pitts stolen
0:44 Brunson travels
0:02 Bell throws ball away on pick and roll pass to Bello

4th Quarter

6:07 Bello called for travel after diving for the ball
2:47 Lamke sets illegal screen
2:24 Pitts makes a bad pass to Brunson on a fast break
 

One other note: Hubbard was wearing a boot; but not using crutches at the game. She could, slowly, get up and down to and from the court.
 

Interesting note, Iggy, on the 8 turnovers on plays to the post. Heard Whalen on the radio this morning and it seems she thought this game was going to be a tough test for the Gophers...much tougher apparently than I thought it was going to be. She credited Bell and Bello for their fourth quarter play and thought it was a good win, despite the obvious shortfalls. She had extremely high praise for Bello's efforts and her rebounding. And, yes, this team really misses Hubbard. Haven't heard anything re: when she could return. Good to see she no longer needs the crutches. I've always heard that the timetables on basketball foot injuries are a bit iffy and I'm thinking that the coaching staff may not have a good indication when Gadiva will be back. They'll certainly be glad to have her back whenever that happens. In viewing the first three games, I'm not sure this is currently a top 25 team.
 

For this team to have any success in the Big Ten, it is imperative that they get Hubbard back!! They need her shooting desperately!!
 

They've got to dial in post plays and turnovers. Those mistakes will cost a few Big Ten wins.

They are learning a new defensive minded scheme involving the post players more. They are learning a new hybrid system and I realize there are growing pains. They have a lot of moving parts to synchronize.

Hopefully, by the time they get into conference play they'd have developed by then a new confidence as a team.
 

samloupete said:
For this team to have any success in the Big Ten, it is imperative that they get Hubbard back!! They need her shooting desperately!!
Click to expand...
That and would be nice if they could get a grad transfer in to start next semester . They could really use a depth post player to give some fouls, back up Bello and Lamke. Probably not possible but would be nice to add a big.

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
That and would be nice if they could get a grad transfer in to start next semester . They could really use a depth post player to give some fouls, back up Bello and Lamke. Probably not possible but would be nice to add a big.
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It’s already a forward-heavy team. A bit thin at agile guards without Hubbard.
Tomancova is supposed to be Lamke’s backup. She’s not great but she’s a freshie.
TBello is probably the most desirable backup for Lamke, which means they play small ball when TBello is playing center because Byrne and KBello don’t seem up to the task. I think Kaposi gets the nod at PF before either KBello or Byrne.
Perez is supposed to be a forward, but she’s more of a backup guard now.
Pitts can play from SG to PF, but hasn’t really been the same player as last year.
Staples, more hype than substance so far. Hard to believe she has PG skills. Too plodding for me.
 

From the Gopher WBB News page ...

Bello Named to Big Ten Honor Roll

https://gophersports.com/news/2018/11/19/womens-basketball-bello-named-to-big-ten-honor-roll.aspx

Junior Taiye Bello was named to the Big Ten Honor Roll Monday after posting consecutive double-doubles as No. 23 Minnesota (3-0) went 2-0 last week.

Bello, who was named to the Honor Roll for the first time in her career, now has double-doubles in all three games this season and seven in her career. Minnesota is 7-0 in those games.

In a 78-53 win at Xavier Wednesday, Bello had 11 points and 16 rebounds, which tied a career high at the time. She actually had her double-double by the intermission, pouring in 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Saturday night, Bello helped Minnesota rally for a 53-48 win over San Diego. Bello finished with 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. She did most of her damage in the pivotal fourth quarter, tallying eight points and 11 rebounds in the final frame.

The 18 rebounds were the most by a Gopher since Amanda Zahui B. had 22 against DePaul in the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2015. In addition, Bello is the first Minnesota player to have three straight double-doubles since Zahui B. ended the 2014-15 season with four in a row.

Through Sunday's games, she was leading the country in rebounds per game (16.0) and offensive rebounds per game (7.0). She was also leading the Big Ten with three double-doubles (fifth nationally) and 9.0 defensive rebounds per game (15th nationally).
 
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