Gopher Basketball
Gopher sophomore Jamie Broback did her impression of Janel McCarville in the win over Iowa. Broback had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists.
McCarville was saddled with early foul trouble, and had to sit out the final 9 minutes of the 1st half with 2 fouls. She returned to the lineup to start the 2nd half, and hit her 1st 6 shots. McCarville finished with 16 points.
Gopher point guard Shannon Schonrock provided the early firepower with 3 three-pointers. She finished with 14 points, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
The Gopher defense stifled Iowa’s offense, which was ranked 6th in the nation in field goal percentage going into the game at 48%. Iowa shot just 36% from the field in the loss to the Gophers.
Gopher sophomores Kelly Roysland and Liz Podominick both played well off the bench. Roysland had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. She also hit 3 of 3 free throws and has now made 25 consecutive charity shots. She’s now 1 short of the Gopher women’s record of 26. Podominick also contributed 7 points.
The Gophers pushed their record to 17-4 overall, 7-2 in the conference. Iowa, ranked 24th in the coaches’ poll, fell to 15-5 overall, 4-5 in the conference.
Michigan. On Sunday, the Gophers face a Michigan team that occupies the basement of the Big 10 standings. The Gophers defeated Michigan, 73-49, at Williams Arena on January 20.
Notes and Observations:
- The Gophers got the kind of performances they’d like to have consistently from their 3 sophomores–Broback, Podominick, and Roysland. Broback was very active defensively and on the boards. She scored inside and outside, and she’s developed an effective offensive chemistry with McCarville. Podominick has been more consistent of late. She’s a strong rebounder. Although she’s not yet a good finisher, she’s become a lot less tentative on offense. Roysland, who like Podominick, has sometimes been hampered by quick foul trouble, can provide the offensive punch the Gophers need off the bench. Defensive standouts April Calhoun and Shannon Bolden are not big scorers, so the Gophers would like to consistently get 9 to 11 points per game from Roysland. Roysland is also a guard who can rebound. She had 7 in the win over Iowa.
- The game against Iowa was poorly officiated, although the officiating didn’t appear to favor either team and had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder picked up a technical foul in the 2nd half. She was apparently disappointed that the officials were not willing to whistle the Gophers for their physical defensive play. Immediately after the officials called Bluder for a technical foul, they must have felt guilty, because they then called 5 quick fouls on the Gophers, many of them ticky-tack fouls. Bluder, who probably should have received a 2nd technical foul for another outburst soonafter, complained after the game that her team wasn’t able to run their offense, which had been averaging 71.3 points per game this season. Gopher Janel McCarville, who fouled out with about 5 minutes left in the game, mistakenly received a foul which should have been charged to Shannon Bolden.
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