Game 5: Gophers visit Kansas 11-19-25

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walleye said:
Terrible shooting: 34.4% FG% & 21.7%. Rebounds even (33), FT% about even (80%:82%) but Kansas shot 7 more free throws and made 6 more, and assists even (12). Minnesota had fewer turnovers (11 vs 19), more steals (9 vs 4), more points off turnovers (13 vs 9), and more fast break points (8 vs 2). I couldn't see the game. Did they force their outside shoots, rush, or not get good looks?
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All of the above. But the most shocking part is that both Hart and Tonga shot 25%
 

Braun dosen't appear to be 100% and that is going to be an issue early in the year or maybe all year if it is a nagging injury still.
Everybody assumes McKinney took Heyer's spot when in reality Heyer and McKinney should of both started to be more athletic.
Some resemblances to when Destiny Pitts left a few years back, we never recovered.
 


MNGirlsHoops said:
Braun dosen't appear to be 100% and that is going to be an issue early in the year or maybe all year if it is a nagging injury still.
Everybody assumes McKinney took Heyer's spot when in reality Heyer and McKinney should of both started to be more athletic.
Some resemblances to when Destiny Pitts left a few years back, we never recovered.
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She seemed to be moving fine, but we can’t run any offense to get her open so we have to settle for terrible 3s. She looked to be cramping again at the end.
 



Very similar roster construction compared to the Men's team. We will almost always be the least athletic team on the court but we make up for it with terrible shooting.
 

drewhaus7 said:
Kansas had no problem playing 8 players double digit minutes. I know we lost Heyer and Woodson, but if we are going to think 6 players can play heavy load during the good teams every time, I fear it will be difficult.
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I could tell things were amiss early with air balls and Hart unable to hold onto the ball. I think she went 1-10. Tried too hard to force it into the post without hitting from outside to draw out the defenders. I think Holloway should have played more as she is more athletic than Tonga. Where was Christian tonight? Maybe Klick as well. Hopefully the Bahamas will cure what ailed them tonight.
 




DietCokeFan said:
She seemed to be moving fine, but we can’t run any offense to get her open so we have to settle for terrible 3s. She looked to be cramping again at the end.
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I think Mara is a good player, but I think people thought because of her injuries that boy if we had Mara we would be really good. I don't think this years team looks any different than last years. I think Tori can drive to the basket better than anybody on this team. We need to get Mara open shots and same with GG. Both can make them when the offensive is moving. Battle is best moving and feeding others. But very little of that is happening. Need to have more people drive to the basket and feed others. Very poor offense can't throw up contested shots and feed the paint to a player who can't make a contested layup. Still early hope they work on their flaws and improve.
 

I try not to overreact at the first loss. I'm thinking that this loss in terms of the tournament resume will not be a killer, but that will be seen throughout the year.

The issues, however, are glaring.

-This, without a doubt, is where the planned small-ball of Woodson at the 5 would of been implemented. We needed quicker footspeed and strength to combat Meister and company. When I saw preseason practice, our best defensive five was Tori, Mara, Amaya, Glenn, & Woodson.

-Mara is cold. No other way around it. She is working herself back, but we need the 20 PPG Mara soon, not the 8-14 PPG Mara.

-I fully understand Dawn is a defensive coach first. But maybe we take a lesson from a team like duke... holding teams 60 and below is great...but that's only if you can score over 60 at the same time. Christian and Holloway needed to see more minutes. Sophie should not be over 20 (maybe 25) in a game to be the most effective, and Tonga clearly was struggling.

The next two games are no easier. There is no drop off in athleticism in USF or Harvard/Alabama. Going 0-2 and moving 4-3...yikes..
 


bball_craz_31 said:
I try not to overreact at the first loss. I'm thinking that this loss in terms of the tournament resume will not be a killer, but that will be seen throughout the year.

The issues, however, are glaring.

-This, without a doubt, is where the planned small-ball of Woodson at the 5 would of been implemented. We needed quicker footspeed and strength to combat Meister and company. When I saw preseason practice, our best defensive five was Tori, Mara, Amaya, Glenn, & Woodson.

-Mara is cold. No other way around it. She is working herself back, but we need the 20 PPG Mara soon, not the 8-14 PPG Mara.

-I fully understand Dawn is a defensive coach first. But maybe we take a lesson from a team like duke... holding teams 60 and below is great...but that's only if you can score over 60 at the same time. Christian and Holloway needed to see more minutes. Sophie should not be over 20 (maybe 25) in a game to be the most effective, and Tonga clearly was struggling.

The next two games are no easier. There is no drop off in athleticism in USF or Harvard/Alabama. Going 0-2 and moving 4-3...yikes..
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Good take, Mara needs to knock the rust off fast. She had flashes of her old self last night reminding us of what she can be
 

For this team to be competitive in the BIG Battle is going to have to score the ball. There is no reason she can't drive the floor and get to the line. Space the floor (like Kansas did) and drive to the basket. Being a senior she has to take over. She is doing great on the boards but we need scoring.

I am sure Hart and Tonga are wonderful women and teammates but that position is going to hurt us all year. The Iowa trio is going to run and score at will against us.

I REALLY want to see this program get to the next level but I think we are YEARS away. Yes, it's one game; but that game just shows how unathletic this team is currently. Coaching staff really needs to take a look at their recruiting and figure it out fast. Next years foot speed doesn't look to be any better. If you cant have an offense where you can get shooters open you HAVE to get faster.

I really hope this teams shows up over the next two games, shuts me up, and proves me wrong. It would make me happy.
 



Gopher Mac said:
I think Mara is a good player, but I think people thought because of her injuries that boy if we had Mara we would be really good. I don't think this years team looks any different than last years. I think Tori can drive to the basket better than anybody on this team. We need to get Mara open shots and same with GG. Both can make them when the offensive is moving. Battle is best moving and feeding others. But very little of that is happening. Need to have more people drive to the basket and feed others. Very poor offense can't throw up contested shots and feed the paint to a player who can't make a contested layup. Still early hope they work on their flaws and improve.
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Agree I put the ball in Mckinney’s hands more drive to the hoop finish or kick to GG and Braun…
 

Gopher Mac said:
I think Mara is a good player, but I think people thought because of her injuries that boy if we had Mara we would be really good. I don't think this years team looks any different than last years. I think Tori can drive to the basket better than anybody on this team. We need to get Mara open shots and same with GG. Both can make them when the offensive is moving. Battle is best moving and feeding others. But very little of that is happening. Need to have more people drive to the basket and feed others. Very poor offense can't throw up contested shots and feed the paint to a player who can't make a contested layup. Still early hope they work on their flaws and improve.
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Great insight!
 

I'm not as down on this team as others, but watching that game last night, it seems like they are going to have some struggles this season. Some of them are workable as the season progresses, and some of them might be more challenging to get around. I'm most concerned about the depth of the post players.

It seems like we were really hurt by the unexpected losses of both Heyer and Woodson and the expected loss of Stewart. There's just not a lot to do when Hart needs rest or may not be playing her best basketball on a given night. Tonga is gritty, but was clearly struggling against power conference level defenders, and she seems like she's going to struggle to defend well without fouling. I love Holloway's game. She is a great defender away from the basket, but there were several times last night that I saw her overreact trying to defend in the paint, which led to easy buckets for Kansas.

Maybe once Zoey Bershers is able to play, she can provide some good minutes to rest Hart and can stretch the floor with her ability to shoot, but I do worry about a freshman post player's ability to compete with Big Ten physicality.

Some clear challenges ahead for this team, but I'm still excited to see what they try differently to keep competing with the best teams!
 

Kansas is going to be in the tournament, not a bad loss by that standard but it was a bad loss to see where the team is in their development. Still can’t beat a good team on the road. Defense is sound but can’t match upper to elite teams scoring. I think the biggest frustration for me last night was the insistence of going inside to the posts that just wasn’t working and the lack of adjustments. Loved watching Kansas offense and wondering why after three years we can’t find offensive rhythm of our own against non cupcake competition.
 

Katogopher said:
Kansas is going to be in the tournament, not a bad loss by that standard but it was a bad loss to see where the team is in their development. Still can’t beat a good team on the road. Defense is sound but can’t match upper to elite teams scoring. I think the biggest frustration for me last night was the insistence of going inside to the posts that just wasn’t working and the lack of adjustments. Loved watching Kansas offense and wondering why after three years we can’t find offensive rhythm of our own against non cupcake competition.
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Well said!
 

Positive is even with the off night, ugly shooting and slow play, we were still in the game until the end and had a chance to get the W. After losing 1st quarter by 10, we actually won by 4 over the last 3 quarters. Maybe looking ahead into the Bahamas trip? Although struggled, it was good to see Braun want to get going a bit more and take more shots.

Need to use the next 3 games to figure

1) An offense besides throwing the ball down low with 4 guards on the perimeter standing still. Need to be able to create ways to get shooters open and options for Sophie to pass the ball to and not always leave her on an island to get double teamed and swamped.

2) Expand the depth. Can't ride 6 players all season again. Game is too physical. GG, Braun, and Battle all probably play and shoot better if they are more around the 30-33 minutes then over that.

Rah!
 

bball_craz_31 said:
. . .

-Mara is cold. No other way around it. She is working herself back, but we need the 20 PPG Mara soon, not the 8-14 PPG Mara. . . .
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Gopher Ally said:
Good take, Mara needs to knock the rust off fast. She had flashes of her old self last night reminding us of what she can be
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The good moments from Mara are so good that it makes you want more of that. But she is a puzzle. Not sure Mara is cold. Her old self has always been a puzzlingly inefficient scorer.

In conference play her sophomore year, before her first season-ending injury, she shot
30.7% from 2 and 32.8% from 3. Last year in 5 knock-off-the-rust games against weak competition, she shot 45.9% from 2, and 29% from 3. This year in 5 comeback games, including 2 solid opponents, she is shooting 48% from 2 and 28% from 3.

Combined from the field, Mara has yet to shoot 40% from the field for a season. I do think Mara is making strides from 2, and that she should shoot more 2s, and less 3s. For this team to get where they want to go in the BIG, Mara (and Amaya) need to shoot it better, and Tori and GG need to continue their efficient scoring.
 

Gopher Ally said:
Good take, Mara needs to knock the rust off fast. She had flashes of her old self last night reminding us of what she can be
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When your shooting poorly from the outside, you have to drive the basket or shoot more mid-range shots. Hart's issues last night were not just only athleticism, she has to be quicker in the thought process, either take the shot up, or kick out no damn dilly dally in between stuff like last night and allowing the double or triples on defense. They should have had Grace and Battle shoot more last night. Some times when the team needs offense those two, Grace and Amaya, the coaches should have shoot more. I know Braun knocking rust off but she wasn't making shots last night. Grace and Battle should have been given more shots, as they both like to defer to their teammates. This team is at it's best when Mckinney playing point forward and distributing the ball. I thought there were times the ball should have been kicked to GG or Amaya. Feed them more, and let Tori create. Mckinney is agressive but she has to be more selective in the fouls she takes, she is the Gophers best player on the court. Tonga can help us but she has to be able to be physical without such quick fouls. The team was a little tentative in attacking last night. This team is better than last year, and better when they attack. Braun has a shooter's mentality but she is cold right now. Played defense last night at times but sagged off the three a little too much. It was their gym and Kansas got some fluff fouls at times. A lot of whistles last night. I think the Gophers will get better from last night's game. They don't call the ticky tack stuff in Big 10 play, league play a different style of play.
 
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Roland Brooks said:
Braun limping…
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I wonder about the cramping. This is the 2nd game where she is cramping on the same leg as the foot injury. Is she either consciously or unconsciously protecting the foot... causing other muscles to compensate? Maybe this compensation is causing her to plant her foot differently when shooting.
 

Katogopher said:
Kansas is going to be in the tournament, not a bad loss by that standard but it was a bad loss to see where the team is in their development. Still can’t beat a good team on the road. Defense is sound but can’t match upper to elite teams scoring. I think the biggest frustration for me last night was the insistence of going inside to the posts that just wasn’t working and the lack of adjustments. Loved watching Kansas offense and wondering why after three years we can’t find offensive rhythm of our own against non cupcake competition.
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Not a good loss..Kansas was missing 17ppg
 

AllEars said:
I wonder about the cramping. This is the 2nd game where she is cramping on the same leg as the foot injury. Is she either consciously or unconsciously protecting the foot... causing other muscles to compensate? Maybe this compensation is causing her to plant her foot differently when shooting.
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I didn't really interpret the limping as related to cramps or anything serious. She was limping at the end of the game after she had fallen when she was trying to contest a shot. It didn't look like a true lasting injury, but that she had just gotten scuffed up when she fell. There wasn't enough game time left to tell, but I thought she was just walking it off as if it was just a normal everyday tumble.
 


MaroonMagic said:
I didn't really interpret the limping as related to cramps or anything serious. She was limping at the end of the game after she had fallen when she was trying to contest a shot. It didn't look like a true lasting injury, but that she had just gotten scuffed up when she fell. There wasn't enough game time left to tell, but I thought she was just walking it off as if it was just a normal everyday tumble.
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She Braun got kneed pretty hard in the shin or thigh on a defensive play where she got called for the foul. think a lot of us would be limping after that drive and getting clocked in the leg.
 

Roland Brooks said:
Not a good loss..Kansas was missing 17ppg
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And it's a blown oppurtunity as you prove you are a tournament team mainly by beating other tournmanet teams and doing more non-conference gives you more margin-of-error for conference play in case of struggling to beat any of the top Big Ten teams again.
 

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