MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota (0-0, 0-0 B1G) used a dominant defensive effort to take care of Minnesota Crookston (0-0) 78-33 in an exhibition matchup on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena. Sixth-year senior Gadiva Hubbard led the way offensively with 17 points and five threes.
In total three Gophers reached double figures in the exhibition win with Kadi Sissoko (13) and Sara Scalia (13) joining Hubbard (17). Sissoko and Hubbard did a majority of their work in the first half with 11 points each while all of junior guard Jasmine Powell’s nine points came in the first half.
“After last year without fans, today was a good opportunity for us to go through a game day and have all of those experiences with shoot around and having fans back,” head coach Lindsay Whalen said. “I thought defensively we were really good in the second and third quarters. We shot well in stretches and obviously [Gadiva Hubbard] was feeling good and [Kadi Sissoko] set the tone early offensively. A lot to work on but overall I was impressed with today’s efforts.”
Minnesota’s offense got off to a great start in the opening quarter thanks to Hubbard who nailed two of her five threes in the opening 10 minutes. Minnesota scored a game-high 25 points in the first quarter by shooting 56.3 percent from the floor.
The second quarter is where Minnesota separated itself from Minnesota Crookston. The Golden Gophers used a 25-2 run that extended from the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter to take a commanding lead. Defensively the Maroon and Gold didn’t allow a field goal in the second quarter until 2:22 remaining in the half and took a 41-19 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was more of the same, but better on the defensive end. Minnesota allowed just two points in the third quarter and finished the frame with a 25-2 advantage. Minnesota forced seven turnovers in the quarter that led to 11 points. Hubbard also knocked down another pair of triples in the quarter and finished the game with five, matching her season-high from the shortened 2020-21 season.
The final quarter saw many firsts for the Golden Gophers. After scoring her first bucket in the third quarter, Deja Winters continued to play well in the fourth and racked up a stat line of nine points, five steals while shooting 4-of-7 from the floor. Also scoring for the first time in front of the Minnesota faithful was Alanna ‘Rose’ Micheaux.
Minnesota plays its first official game of the 2021-22 season on Nov. 9, against Jacksonville (0-0). The game is set for a 12 p.m. tip at Williams Arena with the game being streamed on BTN+.
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GAME NOTES
The exhibition win for the Golden Gophers was the first since Oct. 29, 2013, when Minnesota defeated Winona State 82-44; Sunday’s contest was the first time fans could watch a women’s basketball student-athlete at the University of Minnesota wear the No. 13 with Gadiva Hubbard scoring 17 points and hitting five threes and adding five rebounds in just over 21 minutes on the floor; Minnesota held the rebound advantage over the Golden Eagles 54-33 and collected 19 offensive rebounds in the exhibition win.
Credit Source: University of Minnesota Athletics
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