Minnesota Hosts Indiana in Big Ten Home Opener

The Minnesota women’s basketball team is set to ring in the New Year by hosting its Big Ten Conference home-opener Monday vs. Indiana at Williams Arena. Tip-off for the league-event is set for 2:00 p.m.  
   
Scouting Minnesota
• The Gophers ring in the New Year with its Big Ten Conference home-opener vs. Indiana at Williams Arena with an 8-7 overall record and a 0-1 Big Ten clip.
• Minnesota dropped its conference opener at No. 20/21 Purdue Friday night, 57-53, despite holding the lead over the Boilermakers for a majority of the contest.
• Freshman Rachel Banham edged senior Kiara Buford for the team-lead in scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game.
• Buford is a close second in points per game with 13.3, while Katie Loberg is averging 10.1 points per contest.
• Loberg leads the Gophers in rebounding with an average of 7.9 boards per game, while the junior also paces the squad in blocks with 1.1 per contest.
 
Scouting Indiana
• The Hoosiers enter Monday’s contest with a 5-9 record on the season and a 0-1 Big Ten mark after falling to Michigan State, 63-49, Friday night in their league-opener.
• This season, Indiana has claimed wins vs. Murray State, Belmont, IUPUI, Colorado State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
• Jasmine McGhee is the Hoosiers leading scorer with a scoring average of 14.4 points per game.
• Georgie Jones leads Indiana on the glass with an average of 8.2 rebounds per game, while Andrea Newbauer leads in both assists, with 3.6 per game,  and steals, with 1.4 per game.
• The Hoosiers are second in league standings in blocks per game, averaging 5.3 per contest, led by Quaneisha McCurty’s team-high 1.5 blocks per game average.
 
Series History
• The Gophers lead the Hoosiers in the all-time series, 31-26, after splitting a home-and-home series last season.
• Indiana claimed the first victory of 2010-11 at Williams Arena, 79-80, in overtime exactly one year ago on Jan. 2, before the Gophers bounced back to claim a 65-59 win on the road on Feb. 3.
• The last time Minnesota defeated the Hoosiers at Williams Arena was on Jan. 8, 2009, to snap the visitor’s nine-game winning streak.
• In that contest, Ashley Ellis Milan scored a season-high 18 points and hit a double-double with 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers.
 
In Big Ten Home Openers
• In Big Ten home-openers, the Maroon and Gold is 13-16 all-time, which includes a 7-2 record under Pam Borton.
• Monday’s meeting will be the fourth between Minnesota and Indiana in the Gophers’ home opener.
• The Maroon and Gold is 0-3 in the three previous meetings.
 
Up Next
• Minnesota is back on the road Jan. 5 as it is set to take on Northwestern at 7:00 p.m.
• The Gophers trail the Wildcats, 28-33, in the all-time series, which includes a 10-17 record on the road.
• Northwestern ended Minnesota’s season last year in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the Gophers, 53-44.
• China Antoine scored a team-high 18 points in the loss to lead the Maroon and Gold.
• In the regular-season series, Minnesota won the first game at Williams Arena, 63-58, before falling to the Wildcats, 62-55, on the road in the second game.
 
Last Time Out
• Minnesota fell just short against No. 20/21 Purdue, 57-53, Friday night in its Big Ten Conference-opener at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
• The Gophers, who led the Boilermakers for most of the contest, were led in scoring by Rachel Banham, who posted a game-high 15 points in her Big Ten debut.
• Leah Cotton also scored in double-figures for the visitors with 11 points, which included a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line, to go along with four assists and a steal.
• Katie Loberg matched her career-high with 13 rebounds to lead all players, and added eight points and a block.
• Brianna Mastey posted a season-best with eight points and matched her career-high with seven rebounds off of the bench. Senior Kiara Buford chipped in seven points, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
• As a team, the Gophers held Purdue to .304 shooting, but sent the Boilermakers to the free throw line 28 times, with the home squad scoring 20 of its 57 total points from the line.
• Minnesota held the advantage on the glass, 50-37, and shot .635 from three-point range, connecting successfully on its first five attempts.
 
Beyond the Arch
• The Gophers finished Friday’s game at Purdue with a season-high .625 shooting percentage from three-point range, making five of their eight attempts.
• Minnesota started the game a flawless 5-for-5 from beyond the arch.
• Rachel Banham led the way with two three pointers, both in the second half.
 
Mastey Stepping Up
• Senior Brianna Mastey stepped up when the Gophers needed her the most Friday night at Purdue.
• The guard played a season-high 37 minutes for the Maroon and Gold, scoring a season-high eight points and matching her career-best with seven rebounds.
 
Foul Trouble
• The reason Brianna Mastey was given the opportunity to shine in the Big Ten opener was due to the Gopher’s foul trouple.
• Minnesota finished the contest with 25 personal fouls, which included three by guard Rachel Banham midway through the first half and three by fellow guard Leah Cotton with just second remaining in the opening stanza.
• The Maroon and Gold’s foul trouble sent Purdue to the free throw line 28 times, where they connected to score 20 points.
 
.400 is the Magic Number
• The Golden Gophers are a flawless 7-0 when shooting .400 or better this season.
• In those contests, Minnesota averaged a .458 (193-421) shooting percentage, which included a season-high .533 mark vs. Harvard.
• The Maroon and Gold outscored its opponents, 519-357, and held its opposition to a .332 shooting percentage.