Iowa Pulls Away From The Gophers 92-76

IOWA CITY, Iowa (GopherSports.com) –The University of Minnesota (22-8, 11-7) women’s basketball team got a combined 51 points and 33 rebounds from Shae Kelley and Amanda Zahui B. in a 92-76 regular-season finale loss at No. 17/16 Iowa (23-6, 14-4) Sunday afternoon at Carver Hawkeye Arena. The Gophers earned the No. 6 seed for the Big Ten Tournament next week in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and will face the winner of No. 11 seed Wisconsin and No. 14 seed Purdue Thursday night at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT.

Kelley led the Maroon and Gold with 29 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season, while Amanda Zahui B. finished the contest with her third 20-20 game of the year and 21st double-double with 22 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks. Shayne Mullaney notched her sixth double-digit assist performance of the season with 11 assists to go along with eight points.

Minnesota out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 48-34, which included a 21-12 advantage on the offensive glass, but Iowa connected on 13 three-point field goals to just four for the Gophers, who finished with a .437 (31-71) field goal percentage.    

The home team started the game hot, putting the Gophers behind by 13 points, 15-2, just five minutes into the start of action. Minnesota used a 10-0 run, which included five points from Kelley, to cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to just three points, 15-12, before a 14-10 run by the Gophers, capped by a three-point play by Mullaney, gave the visitors their first lead of the contest, 26-25, with 7:24 remaining in the half.

A layup from Kelley extended Minnesota’s lead to three points, but Iowa used a 17-9 run to take a 42-37 advantage into halftime.

Kelley and Zahui B. combined to score 22 points in the paint for the Maroon and Gold with Kelley finishing the half with 14 points and seven rebounds and Zahui B. adding eight points and 11 rebounds. The Gophers shot .395 (15-38) from the field, but only connected on two three-pointers compared to six treys for Iowa.   

Minnesota kept it close in the opening minutes of the second half, as they cut Iowa’s lead to just two points, 46-44, following a three-point play from Kelley, but the Hawkeyes used a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 12 points, 56-44, with 12:50 remaining in the game.

The Gophers closed the gap to five points at the 10:53 mark, but would not be able to come any closer as time expired.

Gopher WBB Earns No. 6 Seed in B1G Tournament

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) –The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team earned the No. 6 seed for the 2015 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament with an 11-7 league record and will play the winner of No. 11-seed Wisconsin and No. 14-seed Purdue in the second round, the conference office announced Sunday night.

The Gophers earned a first-round bye and will play Thursday night at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The contest will tip off 25 minutes after the Illinois vs. Nebraska game, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. CT.

The Gophers finish as the No. 6 seed for the second-straight season, while also earning the No. 6 seed in 2004 and 2007.

The squad owns a 7-20 record all-time in the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the championship game once in 2005.

BTN will carry 10 games of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while Wednesday’s opening games will appear on BTN Plus. The championship game will be televised by ESPN.

Entering the 2015 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, seven teams have been crowned champion. Nebraska is the most recent team to earn a title, claiming the program’s first title in 2014. Purdue leads the way with nine tournament titles, while Ohio State owns four tournament championships. Iowa and Penn State have each had two, while Indiana and Michigan State each have one title in program history.