Gopher Basketball
Once again, the Gophers used stifling defense in holding their 4th straight Big 10 opponent under 50 points. The 11th-ranked Gophers (14-2, 4-0) saw Purdue hit their 1st 7 field goals to grab a 16-6 lead before a large crowd of 9,110 in West Lafayette.
Things looked bleak for the Gophers when All-American post player McCarville was called for 2 early fouls and went to the bench for the remainder of the 1st half with 16:21 remaining.
Guard Shannon Schonrock scorched the Boilermakers for a career college high of 25 points, including 7 of 11 3-point field goals. Sophomore post Liz Podominick came off the bench to spark the Gophers with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Fellow soph Jamie Broback added 10 points and 8 rebounds, including 3 straight steals, 2 for baskets in a key 1st half run.
Shannon Bolden led a great team defense for the Gophers, holding Purdue’s Katie Gearlds (last year’s Big 10 Freshman of the Year) to just 3 points on 1 of 9 shooting from the field. Purdue’s leading scorer Erin Lawless, averaging over 15 points per game, was held to only 7 points.
Purdue made just 5 of its final 34 shots in shooting only 31.9 percent from the field for the game.
In winning at Purdue for the 1st time since 1985, the Gophers showed that they were the more physical of the 2 teams. McCarville had 1 of her patented bone-jarring (legal) screens very early in the game to send Purdue starter Sharika Webb crumbling to the floor and staggering to the bench. Webb played only 6 minutes in the game. Podominick and Broback repeatedly asserted their strength inside, as the Gophers outrebounded the Boilermakers, 40-27.
After Thursday’s game, the Gophers and Penn State remain the only 2 undefeated teams in the Big 10.
No. 9 Michigan State Next. The Gophers will look to complete a trifecta in games against nationally-ranked teams when they travel to East Lansing for a game Sunday with Michigan State. At 14-2 (3-0 in the Big 10), the Spartans are off to their best start in school history.
Unlike Purdue, Michigan State has a veteran team, and they should present a much tougher test for the Gophers. The Spartans have already beaten a number of ranked teams this year, with wins over Boston College, Notre Dame, Iowa, and Connecticut in a game at Hartford.
Michigan State will provide a more physical presence than Purdue did, with inside players 6’1″ Liz Shimek and 6’4″ Kelly Roehrig. The Spartans also have some good perimeter players, led by guard Lindsay Bowen.
Outlook. About 5 or 6 weeks ago, I’m not sure I would have thought the Gophers could win this road game. But, the Gophers defense has been outstanding as of late. Janel McCarville has not been a factor in the past 2 games, mostly because of foul trouble, but the other Gopher players have really stepped up their games. The Gophers will probably need McCarville to return to her normal self in order to beat Michigan State.
Michigan State is a team that’s been somewhat inconsistent this year and over the past 3 years. This year, they spanked UConn on the road and they beat a Notre Dame team that was ranked as high as No. 3 earlier in the season. Yet they have struggled against 2 below-average teams, beating Detroit only 73-64 and beating Wisconsin Thursday, 74-66. The Gophers trounced both of these teams.
If the Gophers can win this game, they could have a legitimate chance to win the Big 10 title. Sunday’s game will be televised live at noon on Fox Sports Network.
Notes and Observations:
- April Calhoun had a great defensive game against Purdue with a team-leading 5 steals. But, she also committed 8 turnovers.
- Turnover Queens. The Gopher-Purdue game was full of turnovers. The Gophers had 24; the Boilermakers had 23. Many of the Gophers turnovers were on errant passes and travelling calls. There’s no excuse for these. If the Gophers can ever get their turnover totals to a manageable level, they could be really tough to beat.
- Katie Ohm. Gopher signee Katie Ohm, a high school senior at Elgin-Millville, scored 41 points in her team’s 108-28 victory over Southland on Tuesday. She then became the leading scorer in Minnesota high school basketball history (boys and girls) with 25 points in a victory over Kingsland Thursday. Ohm currently has 3309 career points and surpassed the record of 3300 points by Roseau’s Megan Taylor in 1997. Taylor was 1 of the players that got away in an era before the Gophers program gained its current respectability. She starred for Iowa State after her high school career.
Ohm is now averaging over 24 points per game. She has been described by Gopher Coach Pam Borton as a female Larry Bird. I’m hoping this means she is a good shooter, a good passer, and has a high basketball IQ. Hopefully, Coach Borton is not referring to her jumping ability.
I saw Ohm in state tournament appearances on television, but it was when she was a freshman, I think. Even then, she was a very talented offensive player. People who have seen her play recently tell me that she should be successful at the college level, however she plays for a small high school against mostly small school competition, and it’s hard to tell how she’ll do as a college player. It’s important to note that current Gophers Shannon Schonrock, who played for Blue Earth Area High School, and Kelly Roysland, who played for Fosston, also played for small high schools, and these 2 players are doing fine as college players.
- Davis Ineligible. Gopher 1st year player Brittney Davis is academically ineligible for 2nd semester, which starts next week. Davis, a point guard from Oregon, has had a tough freshman year. She was unable to play early in the season with a bout of mononucleosis, she then missed practices and games in trying to catch up with school work. Davis, who played only 12 minutes in 3 games, will be able to practice with the team, but she won’t be able to play in games. She’s not eligible to be redshirted. Davis has been low in the pecking order for the current contingent of Gopher guards, which consists of Shannon Schonrock, April Calhoun, Kelly Roysland, and Katie Alsdurf. Three of these 4 guards will be seniors next year, with Roysland being the only junior. Hopefully, Davis will be able to get her academics and her health back on track. If not, the Gophers will be lean at the guard sport, as next year’s recruiting class includes only 1 guard, Emily Fox from Colorado.
- National Scene. One of the more intriguing national games Sunday will feature No. 4 Rutgers against No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus, OH. Within the past 2 weeks, Rutgers has defeated 3 teams in the Top Ten (Texas, Tennessee, and then No. 1-ranked LSU). In this 2-week span, Rutgers has climbed from No. 24 to No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. This is the largest 2-week jump in the history of the AP poll. If Rutgers wins this game, they could make a legitimate claim toward being the best team in the country.
Talk about the game on our Gopher Basketball message board.