Game 9: Gophers Visit New Mexico (12/6/16)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Gophers visit New Mexico

In their first season under former Wright State head coach, Mike Bradbury, New Mexico is 3-4. Bradbury replaced Yvonne Sanchez who was dismissed after finishing 17-15 (9-9 in the Mountain West Conference) in her fifth season.

THUD! I still consider last season’s Gopher 72-53 loss to the Lobos at Williams Arena the ugliest of the season. Minnesota led 16-12 at the end of the first quarter and then cringed in the corners. The Gophers were out rebounded 48-36 and it felt worse. Khadijah Shumpert led the Lobos with 27 points. Banham and Wagner combined for 38 points on 12-43 shooting. Shumpert has moved on; but Cherise Beynon who scored 14 points for New Mexico remains. In Beynon’s most recent outing, she scored 32 versus SMU.

Of note: Bradbury has picked up some transfers. 6’5” Richelle van der Keijl (from the Netherlands) is a grad transfer from Wright State. Van der Keijl is the Lobos leading scoring. Two other transfers who must sit out this season are Tesha Buck (Red Wing) from UWGB and Erica Moore from Purdue.

It’s not a typo: the Lobos have played New Mexico State twice and they have height in the post.


Wins: Fairleigh Dickeson, 85-56; New Mexico State, 84-55; SMU, 64-49.

Losses: @ Texas Tech, 69-58; Tulsa, 67-64; St. Josephs, 79-67; @ New Mexico State, 77-70.


Probable Starters:

Richelle van der Keijl: 6’5” C Sr. (15.7 points per game)
Chrise Beynon: 5’10” G Jr. (13.9/g)
Kianna Keller: 6’4” F Sr (3.1/g) 8.6 rebounds/game
Mykiel Burlson: 5’11” G Fr (10.6/g)
Jayda Bovero: 5’11” G Jr


Others:

Jaisa Nunn: 6’3” So C (10.9/g)


Other Stats: The Lobos are terrible free throw shooters 91-161 (.565) and average 15.9 turnovers per game. From three point range they are 49-168 and their opponents are 40-143. The Lobos average 70 points per game while giving up 64.6.
 

I think we'll learn a lot about where this year's Gophers are. Although "The Pit" can be a difficult place to play, New Mexico is very beatable this year, even at home.
 

It's strange that a team New Mexico couldn't beat on the road, they destroyed at home. Something about "The Pit". Why is Stollings tempting fate?
 

My guess is that it was a home and home series where New Mexico wouldn't come up to Minnesota last year unless Gophers had a return trip this year. Personally I really hope the gophers have a chip on their shoulder about this game. The loss to this team last year very well could be pointed to what kept the Rachel Banham show out of the NCAA tournament. Frankly I don't care where people stand on Marlene as a coach or her style, because Banham deserved to be in the tournament last year. If New Mexico is the reason she was not, I hope Gophers take out all that frustration on them tonight.

Shades said:
It's strange that a team New Mexico couldn't beat on the road, they destroyed at home. Something about "The Pit". Why is Stollings tempting fate?
Click to expand...
 

https://www.abqjournal.com/902772/unm-women-not-quite-ready-to-run-with-gophers.html

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Like it or not, Mike Bradbury might have to rein in his University of New Mexico women’s basketball team a bit tonight.

The Lobos’ first-year coach much prefers a break-neck pace and high scoring, but those preferences may go out the window for tonight’s matchup against Minnesota at the Pit.

It’s not that UNM (3-4) will never look to run or take a quick shot against the Golden Gophers (5-3), but a full-scale horse race might tend to favor the visiting team. Minnesota averages 80.9 points per game, employs a deep bench and is coming off a 111-91 thumping of Detroit Mercy on Saturday.

“Maybe next year we’ll be ready to run with a team like that,” Bradbury said. “Not right now. They play fast, we’ll do all we can to slow the game down.”...


...“They’ll come hard after us because of last year,” said UNM senior Kianna Keller, a Waukesha, Wis., native. “I’m excited to play a good Midwestern team, though. We’ll come hard, too.”

Keller’s game has thrived in Bradbury’s system, which capitalizes on the 6-foot-4 forward’s mobility. She shoots infrequently (19 field goal attempts in seven games) but averages 8.6 rebounds and has consistently made her presence felt with hustle plays and defense.

Beynon (13.9 points per game) and Richelle van der Keijl (15.7) have been the Lobos’ primary scorers, but Alex Lapeyrolerie’s expected return from a knee injury will give UNM five double-digit scorers for tonight’s game. Lapeyrolerie (11.6 points per game), Jaisa Nunn (10.9) and Mykiel Burleson (10.6) have carried some of the scoring load at times.
 


bball_craz_26 said:
My guess is that it was a home and home series where New Mexico wouldn't come up to Minnesota last year unless Gophers had a return trip this year. Personally I really hope the gophers have a chip on their shoulder about this game. The loss to this team last year very well could be pointed to what kept the Rachel Banham show out of the NCAA tournament. Frankly I don't care where people stand on Marlene as a coach or her style, because Banham deserved to be in the tournament last year. If New Mexico is the reason she was not, I hope Gophers take out all that frustration on them tonight.
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I suppose that's a possibility if Stollings plays up that angle. Only trouble is there are 9 newcomers, so they aren't really emotionally invested in that way. Of the few remaining that'll see court time, who is really thinking about how Banham got "cheated" out of NCAA tournament? This is more of a fan way of thinking than a player. I mean, Banham had so many blessings last year and turned out the #4 pick in the WNBA draft. It's tough for me to feel bad for her.

I would just happy if they were motivated by winning for themselves. Enough with the gimmicks and the Buckets for Banham. Win for yourself! Take pride in yourself!
 

Wow- ugly ending to game but Gophers pull out the W 69-65. We were leading by 12 with 1:20 left and committed multiple turnovers to keep it close. The Gophers shot almost 40% from field and 3 and upper 80% from the line. They had really balanced scoring.
 

Whew!

I started listing Carlie's string of second half misses. It went 3,2,2,3,3,2, travel, 3, 2. Barnes may have been a double digit minus in the first half. Starr really got things turned around in the first half. Bell and Hubbard were solid and I was ready to coast to the end and then a nervous game broke out.
 

Gophers win by 4 after holding a 11 point lead with 2 minutes left. This is a horrible basketball team. With horrible coaching . Bell and Wagner are ball hogs plain and simple.Watched the whole game on the Mountain West Network. Bell very undisciplined and Wagner can't finish shots. The good thing is, except for Maryland ,Ohio State, and Michigan, the B1G is really not very good.
 



http://archive.statbroadcast.com/144844.pdf

A let'em play game: Minnesota committed 7 fouls and New Mexico 10 (some of those were intentional late in the game). No reward for driving the lane. I think the Lobo announcers may have been right; the lack of foul calls began to wear the players down-especially the Lobos.

Minnesota was 9-23 from behind the arc and New Mexico 5-28.

Another solid night from Hubbard and a strong night from Edwards battling New Mexico's post players.

Starters:

Edwards
Hedstrom
Bell
Wagner
Hubbard


Minutes Played:

39 Wagner: 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 turnovers
34 Bell: 15 points, 5 assists, 7 turnovers and 3 steals
33 Hubbard: 18 points
30 Edwards: 9 rebounds and 4 blocks
29 Tinjum: 10 points and 7 rebounds (a very useful player tonight)
10 Hedstrom
9 Starr: 5 rebounds and 2 important steals
9 Barnes
6 Brunson
1 T Bello
 

Let's not forget that this was a road win in a tough place to win "The Pit". No one is harder on this team than I am, but with 9 newcomers I would consider this a rather impressive win despite the near collapse at the end!
 

I have to object to one of Wagner's turnovers if it was that wild full court pass that she couldn't handle.

Wagner's first double double? Funny how she was the leading rebounder. I guess the back end of the zone gives you more opportunities.

Hubbard is kinda like our version of Alston. Too bad Bell isn't our version of Mitchell.

Our time-killing game is really bad, especially with refs not calling fouls so a player can mug you and take the ball away. Probably would have been better just to play the normal offense. We're a lot better at scoring than killing time.

I wouldn't get too down on the Gophers. The Lobos rarely get beat at home. Aren't they like 80% victorious at home?
 

The New Mexico women's basketball team also enjoys the home court advantage of The Pit. The Lady Lobos reached national prominence under former head coach Don Flanagan (1995–2011), who compiled an overall record of 340–168 (.669), including 228–59 (.794) at The Pit, making him the winningest coach in New Mexico basketball history.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pit_(arena)
 



I thought Starr and Tinjum made good contributions, especially in the first half. It was nice to see a game for a change in which the officials let the players play. Gopher defense looked better, albeit against a not very good New Mexico team. The Gophers didn't shoot well. Too many turnovers for Bell and Wagner. Nevertheless, any win in The Pit is a nice road win.
 

Shades said:
I suppose that's a possibility if Stollings plays up that angle. Only trouble is there are 9 newcomers, so they aren't really emotionally invested in that way. Of the few remaining that'll see court time, who is really thinking about how Banham got "cheated" out of NCAA tournament? This is more of a fan way of thinking than a player. I mean, Banham had so many blessings last year and turned out the #4 pick in the WNBA draft. It's tough for me to feel bad for her.

I would just happy if they were motivated by winning for themselves. Enough with the gimmicks and the Buckets for Banham. Win for yourself! Take pride in yourself!
Click to expand...

I'm confused what she was "blessed with". this is a kid (like Wagner) who didn't have to stay home. she showed loyalty. that for one deserves respect, especially with the massive amount of kids who left the state. Secondly, the year we have the best team around her, she goes down with Torn ACL, Yeah I feel bad for the kid. Then lastly, she did everything humanly possible last year at times to win games. So Yeah I felt bad for her. But moving on....


To the people who say Wagner and Bell are Ball-hogs, I'm going to ask the same question I asked last year when people said Wagner and Banham were ball-hogs....who would you rather have taking the shots? Right now our scoring is from the 3-guards of Hubbard, Wagner, and Bell. Those three should have the most attempts on the game. Plus I repeat, who else would you rather have shooting? do you want Hedstrom shooting 10-15 shoots per game, Edwards? Barnes? Starr? No you want your best scorers taking those shots.

To the comment that "you wish Bell was more like Mitchell" ummm so you want her to shoot 25-30 shots per game, hardly ever pass, usually go 1-4 in traffic, and if you watched the OSU game vs. Miami, a player who costs her team often in big games. No thanks, not a fan of her game. she is highly overrated if you ask me.

While I agree that Wagner and Bell's turnovers at times can be a problem, I look at two main factors. One, Bell is still knocking off rust. she had to sit out a year and is getting used to a brand new team. I feel that will calm down as the season goes on as she gets more and more comfortable with her new teammates. Plus adding a 6'5 big target in Fernstrom in the middle might help as well. With Wagner, I think its still her growing into her role of go-to player. She has the ball in her hands more this year and with that is more opportunities to lose the ball. I'm not overly concerned with their turnover numbers at this point.

Frankly, outside of the South Carolina game and first two conference games, I feel gophers could win out the next few weeks. Yes they still need to work on Defense and rebounding but compared to last year, at least I see an improvement, I don't know if anyone else is seeing it.
 

One of the most misunderstood talents in Basketball is the willingness to take shots and risk missing them. It doesn't do a team any good to have players whole are not able to take big shots because they are afraid to miss. Believe me, it really messes with ones confidence psychologically if you miss. So, I applaud players like Wagner and Banham who are willing to take those shots when other players are unwilling. Hubbard looks like another player willing to take those shots. Hopefully they don't shy away from doing so!!
 

Playing at this level most of the ladies coming out of HS were scorer's. I don't have a problem with Bell and Wagner taking the shots, but when you're throwing up bricks get the other players involved. We do very little down low. Several times yesterday Edwards had position down low and Bell ignored her instead swinging the ball to Wagner.This team is very one dimensional.
 

Shades said:
Hubbard is kinda like our version of Alston. Too bad Bell isn't our version of Mitchell.
Click to expand...

Actually, I think Hubbard will be better than Alston. As to Bell, for fun I took a quick look at her stats compared to Mitchell's this season. Bell has played 8 games and Mitchell 9. And count me among those thinking Bell will be what the Gophers need in a point guard. Especially if Bell and Wagner can stop that comedy routine where Carlie runs to the corner just as Kenisha throws the pass to the spot Carlie vacated. There were at least two of those last night.

Minutes played: Mitchell 35/game and Bell 31.5/game

Scoring: Mitchell 23.9/g and Bell 17/g.

Assists: Mitchell 31 and Bell 49.
Turnovers: Mitchell 31 and Bell 40.

Steals: Mitchell 8 and Bell 18.

Rebounds: Mitchell 2.9/g and Bell 3.8.

Three Point Shooting (there's only one Kelsey Mitchell): Mitchell 34-84 and Bell 4-15.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Playing at this level most of the ladies coming out of HS were scorer's. I don't have a problem with Bell and Wagner taking the shots, but when you're throwing up bricks get the other players involved. We do very little down low. Several times yesterday Edwards had position down low and Bell ignored her instead swinging the ball to Wagner.This team is very one dimensional.
Click to expand...

To me part of that is the rust I mentioned before for Bell and secondly, part of that is none of our current post players are go to players. IMO that changes once Fernstrom is down there. call my crazy but I'm actually fine with Edwards/Barnes having limited touches. Both are too soft around the basket. I liked in the Detroit game when Edwards really got after the offensive glass and got put backs. I feel if she wants more touches, GO AND GET THEM! its been stated how many misses the guards are doing, there are plenty of opportunities for the post players to get their hands on the ball and get shots. Now, if Fernstrom is not getting touches once she is available, then I will think there is a problem. She is a proven low post threat and will balance out the high scoring guard trio nicely I feel.
 

I disagree with the "ballhogs" comment. Shooters need to continue to take shots, as long as those shots fall within the offense...and the situation. One thing that differentiates this coaching staff from the previous staff is that players are not afraid to take shots. Most of the Bell's turnovers have been a result of her trying to dish to teammates and some of these turnovers will go away as she becomes more familiar with her teammates and as soon as she and Wagner are able to get on the same page. It's been a long, long time since we've had a multi-dimensional PG like Bell. And the entire team should change offensively and defensively with the addition of Fernstrom. I don't think she'll be a huge scorer, but she'll add an offensive and defensive presence that should help this team a lot. And Hubbard, as a first year player, has been very good. She doesn't seem to be intimidated by playing at this level and she seems to want to play defense. The comparison to Alston is a good one, I think.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Actually, I think Hubbard will be better than Alston. As to Bell, for fun I took a quick look at her stats compared to Mitchell's this season. Bell has played 8 games and Mitchell 9. And count me among those thinking Bell will be what the Gophers need in a point guard. Especially if Bell and Wagner can stop that comedy routine where Carlie runs to the corner just as Kenisha throws the pass to the spot Carlie vacated. There were at least two of those last night.

Minutes played: Mitchell 35/game and Bell 31.5/game

Scoring: Mitchell 23.9/g and Bell 17/g.

Assists: Mitchell 31 and Bell 49.
Turnovers: Mitchell 31 and Bell 40.

Steals: Mitchell 8 and Bell 18.

Rebounds: Mitchell 2.9/g and Bell 3.8.

Three Point Shooting (there's only one Kelsey Mitchell): Mitchell 34-84 and Bell 4-15.
Click to expand...

I know you're all about the stats, but I wasn't even looking at the stats when making the comparison.
Hubbard has a very similar build to Alston and the same easy-going natural baller playing style that makes you not even really notice her while she's quietly putting up the numbers. This was the basis of my comparison. Alston was definitely a good player living under Mitchell's shadow. Of course, she wasn't WNBA good-enough.

I never seen anybody in the woman's game who could move with the ball like Mitchell. She moves like a great male guard is how I would describe it. Trust me, unless Mitchell falls off a cliff, she's gonna be a lottery pick no matter which draft she decides to join. She'll need some polishing at the next level, but she has all the tools to be a great pro player.

In your statistical comp, I noticed you avoided talking about Bell's poor shooting overall or her high turnovers (40). [Edit: Oops, I guess you did post the turnovers] For Minn, Bell is no doubt the PG and she's a poor shooter, so she should be getting the ball to the better shooters or (heaven forbid) the post players more often. Ohio St's situation is a little trickier. Mitchell is the best perimeter shooter/scorer, so is or should facilitating be her main focus? Shouldn't she be playing off the ball more? So even though Mitchell has the highest amount of assists on the team (faint praise on this team), maybe it's Doss who is the defacto PG while Mitchell has more like combo duties.

Another thing to look at is the level of competition. Ohio St has already played SC, Syracuse, Baylor, and Miami, all great teams and most great defensive teams who have the scout on Mitchell and she is the focus of the defense. Does anybody think Bell is in scouting reports yet? What would be the scout, let her shoot from the three and when she drives the lane, converge on her because she's not going to try to find a wide open teammate at the three point line?

When you finished with "there's only one Kelsey Mitchell" that's the main point. 102 efficient pts from three as compared to 12 not so efficient pts. That's the difference between elite and table scraps at this point.

But I didn't mean to turn this into a Bell-bashing session. Mitchell is too high of a bar to set for any one. The whole team just needs to get used to playing real games together and to learn each other's habits and where everybody likes to be on the court and such. It's a little disappointing because "rust" really shouldn't be a factor since Bell was practicing with the team the whole time she was sitting out. So hopefully "rust" isn't a factor for Fernstrom either. Hopefully Fernstrom is eager to get out on the court, and hopefully the coaching staff will have some set plays for Fernstrom and get her involved in the offense. All they have Edwards doing is mopping up the boards and put backs.
 

Shades, regarding Hubbard, I'm with you on the "easy going natural baller playing style" comment. I don't think she'll be playing in anyone's shadow.

Perhaps, you took the Mitchell/Bell stat comparison a little too seriously. I love watching Mitchell play. Bell's a Big Ten point guard who can score in the paint and hopefully keep opposition defenses honest from outside (that, however, remains to be seen).
 

I added the shadow part, because I thought maybe you didn't realize that Alston was good. Saying Hubbard is better might be discounting Alston's value.

I often address other posters' points in one post instead of directly, like the person who considered Mitchell overrated.
 

Mitchell must have read this thread :p

She had 23 pts, 8 ast, and only one turnover in last night's game against Southern University
 

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