The Minnesota women’s basketball team scored 41 points off of turnovers on the way to an 89-48 win over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils at home on Monday night at Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers improve to 1-0 on the season while the Blue Devils drop to 0-1.
Minnesota had three players score in double figures, led by Annika Stewart, who had 18 points. Mara Braun added 17 points, five assists and two steals and Taylor Woodson chipped in as well with 10 points and two steals off the bench.
Woodson pulled down four offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Minnesota, grabbing 18 boards and turning them into 16 second chance points.
Minnesota forced 26 Central Connecticut State turnovers while committing just nine themselves in Monday’s game. The Gophers turned those takeaways into 41 points on the other end of the floor. Niamya Holloway led the way individually with three steals.
How It Happened
Minnesota started out the scoring by going on a 10-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Mallory Heyer, to take an early lead with 5:57 left in the first quarter. The Gophers then added eight points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 24-6 advantage. Minnesota did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 12 of its 24 points close to the basket.
The Maroon and Gold used the second period to increase their lead and entered halftime with a 39-19 edge. Minnesota dominated in the paint, scoring 10 of its 15 points close to the basket.
The Gophers continued to preserve the halftime lead before going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a three from Amaya Battle, to expand their lead further to 45-22 with 7:48 to go in the third. Before the third period was over, Minnesota added four points to that lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 65-38 edge. The Maroon and Gold knocked down six three-pointers in the quarter to score 18 of its 26 total points.
Minnesota kept widening that lead, expanding it to 69-40 before going on a 10-0 run to grow the lead to 79-40 with 4:57 to go in the contest. The Gophers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 89-48 win. Minnesota took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 24 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» Minnesota lit it up from beyond the arc, knocking down 10 treys in the game.
» The Gophers held the Blue Devils to only 39.2 percent shooting from the field.
» The Maroon and Gold never trailed after taking a 24-6 first quarter lead.
» Minnesota tallied 20 total assists in the game.
» The Gophers’ bench came alive by scoring 50 points to its scoring output.
» Annika Stewart and Taylor Woodson came off the bench to score 18 and 10 points, respectively.
» The Gophers turned 26 turnovers into 41 points on the offensive end.
» The ‘U’ forced 26 Central Connecticut State turnovers while committing only nine on the other end.
» Minnesota had a 40-33 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Minnesota defense forced 26 turnovers.
» Minnesota turned the ball over nine times while dishing out 20 assists.
» Minnesota cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 18 offensive boards in the game.
» Annika Stewart led the Gophers with a game-high 18 points.
» Minnesota got a team-high seven rebounds from Amaya Battle.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
