Gophers Smother New Mexico; Play Purdue Next

For the 4th straight game, the Gophers held their opponent under 50 points in a blowout victory over New Mexico. The Lobos should only 25.5 percent (12 for 47) from the field, hounded by a Gopher defense that has become the trademark for this year’s team. The Gophers used full-court pressure and half-court traps at different times throughout the game. With Minnesota’s full-court pressure, the Lobos often didn’t make it to their frontcourt until 15 seconds of the shotclock had passed. (There’s no 10-second backcourt rule in women’s basketball like there is in men’s basketball.)

The Gophers’ offense continued to improve, scoring 75 points against the nation’s top Division I defense, which had been allowing only 46 points per game.

Jamie Broback led the Gophers in scoring with 14 and rebounds with 7. She also had an excellent “floor” game, diving numerous times for loose balls. Broback and Janel McCarville played only 18 minutes and 20 minutes respectively due to first half foul trouble. McCarville and April Calhoun finished with 9 points each; Shannon Schonrock, Kelly Roysland, and freshman Natasha Williams each finished with 8 points. On defense, Shannon Bolden held New Mexico’s leading scorer Lindsay Arndt to only 2 points.

Williams, a 6’3″ post player, continued to get more playing time, and showed that she can contribute. Williams finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in 13 minutes.

Purdue Next. The Gophers travel to West Lafayette, Indiana for a key matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday. Purdue is 10-4 overall, 3-1 in Big 10 Conference play.

The Boilermakers are still adjusting from the loss of all-conference performer Shereka Wright, who was a senior last year. Purdue is led offensively by two very good sophomores, 6’2″ forward Erin Lawless and 6’1″ Katie Gearlds. These 2 players account for about 45% of the Boilermakers’ scoring. The Boilermakers are also enjoying contributions from 2 first-year players: Lindsay Wisdom-Hilton is a 3rd team high school All-American from Naperville, IL., who had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks in a win Sunday over Michigan. Tye Jackson, the 2004 Texas Miss Basketball, is also playing significant minutes.

Look for this game to be a defensive battle. Purdue and Minnesota are 2 of the top defensive teams in the conference. For the Gophers offense, the magic number might be 60 points, as the Boilermakers are 7-0 when holding an opponent to under 60 points.

Purdue’s losses this year have all been to good teams. They lost at home to Houston (63-60), and on the road to Top 25 teams UCLA (70-64), Duke (66-48), and Ohio State (63-50).

The Gophers can expect to play before a large road crowd at Purdue, as the Boilermakers have sold 7500 season tickets for this season and they rank 6th in the nation in women’s basketball attendance. (The Gophers are 5th.)

Notes and Observations:

• Although Purdue should be a slight favorite because the game is on their home court, this is a game the Gophers could win. If the Gophers can play the defense they’ve played recently, and if they can muster enough offense against a solid Purdue defense, the Gophers could move to 4-0 in the conference. 1st team to 60 wins the game?
• Like the Gophers, Purdue is a team that has struggled with turnovers. The Boilermakers committed a school record low 13.1 turnovers per game last year, but, going into Sunday’s game against Michigan, they were averaging 21.3 points per game this year.
• I had a chance to see Gopher signee Ashley Ellis-Milan play last week. Although I’d seen film highlights of her games, this was the 1st time I saw her play in person. Although it’s probably not fair to judge a player in just one performance, I could see why the Gophers were interested. At 6’2″, she’s very strong, she has good hands and good footwork. She appears to be a good passer. In the game against Highland Park, she didn’t take any outside shots, but she didn’t have to take any outside shots in a game St. Paul Central won handily. It doesn’t look like she has a lot of vertical jumping ability. If this is true, this might be something she’ll have to work on. Also, in watching her in practice, she might have to work on her jump shot and a quicker release for her jump shot. Is she as strong as Janel McCarville? No chance, but who is? Is she as strong as Liz Podominick? Probably not, but she’s close.

  It will be interesting to see who emerges in the middle for the Gophers next year after McCarville’s departure. Podominick and Natasha Williams will probably battle for the starting spot, but Lauren Lacey and Ellis-Milan will also have a chance to earn minutes. Lacey, who has good offensive skills, might also see some time at the power forward position.

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