STrib: Room to Grow in Year Two

[Ignatius L Hoops]

http://www.startribune.com/room-to-...nament-aspirations-for-her-gophers/564410462/

This, to start the season, is the Gophers’ starting lineup. All five could be better than they were a season ago:

Pitts: Last season she scored 16.3 points a game. But after being switched back to power forward when Whalen went with a small lineup after the slow Big Ten start, Pitts went off. She averaged 21.5 points in her final 12 games, including a string of eight straight with 20 or more points.

Brunson: Already a strong perimeter defender on defense and penetrator on offense, she has worked on her shot all summer and, Whalen believes, could become a three-point threat.

Staples: Ranked by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz as the 64th-ranked recruit in her class, she is healthy. Staples sprained her ankle in the team’s first practice last season, then four more times after that. Expect Staples — who will start at off guard — to be a key player.

Bello: A rebounding machine last season — she was ninth in the nation at 11.9 per game — averaged 9.7 points last season. This year Whalen expects a step-up in scoring.

Hubbard: She had eight 20-plus point games in 2017-18, 23 games with 10 or more points. She shot nearly 41% overall and 34.5% on three-pointers while averaging 13.6 points.

The bench could be deeper than last season. But that is yet to be seen. With center Annalese Lamke gone, the top backup big will be Bello’s sister, Kehinde. The top guards off the bench are all new: freshmen Jasmine Powell and Sara Scalia and junior college transfer Masha Adashchyk.

 

[Aesop70]

Again they fail to mention Sconiers. A 4 star recruit who should get some time given our lack of post players.

 

[thatjanelpick]

Again they fail to mention Sconiers. A 4 star recruit who should get some time given our lack of post players.

And shes from one of the most storied programs in girls' basketball!

 

[CutDownTheNet]

And shes from one of the most storied programs in girls' basketball!

Yeah, with alumni like Tina Charles, Sue Bird, Clamique Holdsclaw, Lamar Odom (well, that would be boys basketball, technically speaking).

Whay did mention her on the Sports Huddle podcast tho. In the same sentence as Powell and Scalia, as rookies likely to contribute. Masha had her own separate sentence.