Gophers Wrap Non-Conference Play vs. NJIT

The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team hosts NJIT in its final non-conference game of the season Friday night at Williams Arena. Game time for the non-conference finale is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
Scouting Minnesota
• The Gophers face the Highlanders with a 7-6 record on the season following their loss at Denver last Wednesday.
• Minnesota is 5-1 on the year when playing in the friendly confines of Williams Arena, outscoring its opponents by an average of 20.8 points per game.
• The Gophers’ only loss at the Barn came at the hands of No. 1/1 Baylor on Dec. 4.
• On the season, the Maroon and Gold has posted wins against Arkansas, Binghamton, North Dakota State, Virginia Tech, Air Force, Harvard and Alcorn State.
• The Gophers have three players averaging double-digit points on the year, which includes senior Kiara Buford’s 13.8 points per game, Rachel Banham’s  13.3 points per game and Katie Loberg’s 10.2 points per game.
• Loberg also leads Minnesota with 7.5 rebounds per game and 13 blocks.
 
Scouting NJIT
• The Highlanders make the trip to Minneapolis with a 5-5 overall record following a  66-59 overtime win vs. St. Peter’s Wednesday afternoon on their home court.
• The visitors are 1-1 when playing on the road this season, picking up a win at Delaware State, 65-49, before falling at Lehigh, 37-61.
• NJIT is averaging 6.2 blocks per game and are led by Nicole Maticka, who has 32 total blocks on the year.
• Uju Nwankwo paces the Highlanders in scoring with 104 points, and is the only player on the team averaging double-digits in points with 10.4 per game.
• Rayven Johnson enters the contest as NJIT’s top rebounder, averaging 6.8 per game.
 
Series History
• Friday’s contest vs. the Highlanders marks the first meeting between Minnesota and NJIT.
• The Gophers hold a 7-1 overall record vs. teams from the Great West Conference, which includes a 1-1 mark vs. North Dakota and a perfect 6-0 clip vs. South Dakota.
 
Up Next
• Minnesota opens Big Ten action at No. 20 Purdue on Dec. 30 at 6:00 p.m. CT.
• The Gophers trail the Boilermakers 17-37 in the all-time series.
• Minnesota holds a 5-21 record against Purdue when playing at Mackey Arena.
• Purdue holds an 8-3 record on the year, with its only losses coming against Duke, Notre Dame and Central Michigan.
• The Boilermakers currently lead the Big Ten with an average of 5.5 blocked shots per game, which includes a team-high 17 blocks by Chelsea Jones.
 
Last Time Out
• Minnesota came up short in its final non-conference road game of the season as it fell to host Denver, 73-62, Dec. 14 at Magness Arena.
• Rachel Banham led the Gophers in scoring for the sixth time this year with 14 points, which included a career-high four three-point baskets and five rebounds.
• Kiara Buford and Kionna Kellogg each added 13 points for the visitors, with Buford extending her double-digit scoring streak to a Big-Ten best 13 games.
• Banham and Buford were part of a trio of players that had five rebounds in the contest, while junior Katie Loberg paced the squad with nine rebounds to go along with six points, two assists and a block.
• Minnesota opened the game on a 10-4 run, getting three points from Banham and Leah Cotton during the stretch, and went on to lead by as many as 11 points, 20-9, with just over 13 minutes to play in the half.
• But, the Pioneers put together a 14-4 scoring stretch to take its first lead of the contest, 25-24, with 6:54 remaining and would go on to win the game.
• It marked the first time in Minnesota’s last four games that it trailed heading into intermission, holding leads vs. Air Force, Harvard and Alcorn State at the half in its previous three contests.
 
Breaking into the Record Books
• With 1,223 career points, senior Kiara Buford ranks No. 13 on Minnesota’s career scoring register.
• The spot was previously occupied by Angie Iverson, who totaled 1,162 points from 1994-98. 
• Buford needs 59 points to overtake the No. 12 spot from Ashley Ellis-Milan, who tallied 1,281 points from 2006-10.
• To break into Minnesota’s all-time top 10 for scoring, the senior needs 123 points.
• Marty Dahlen currently ranks 10th on the list with 1,345 points from 1978-82.
•Lindsay Whalen ranks first in scoring with 2,285 career points from 2000-04.
 
Double-Digits
• With 13-straight double-digit scoring performances in 2011-12, senior Kiara Buford has the longest streak among Big Ten players this season.
• Wisconsin’s Taylor Wurtz is two games behind Buford with 11-straight double-digit games.