After a nine-day layoff for Finals, Minnesota women’s basketball (1-3, 0-2 B1G) is back in action Wednesday at home against No. 19/18 Indiana (3-2, 1-0) at 1 p.m.
THE OPENING TIP-OFF
• The Gophers are 1-2 at home this season. Jasmine Powell leads the team with 19.7 points per game at Williams Arena, while Kadi Sissoko (15.3) and Gadiva Hubbard (13.3) are also in double figures. Hubbard is also tops on the team at home in free throw percentage (88.9) and 3-point percentage (44.4). Klarke Sconiers is averaging a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game at home and is shooting a team-best 56.3 percent from the floor.
• Jasmine Powell leads the Gophers with a scoring average of 18.5 points per game this season, including 21 points in the opener against Eastern Illinois and 22 more against Drake. She was the first Gopher since Carlie Wagner in 2016-17 to score at least 20 points in each of the first two games in a season. In addition to her scoring prowess, which is currently eighth in the Big Ten, Powell leads all Power 5 players and is fifth nationally in assists per game (7.0).
• In the season opener, Kadi Sissoko scored 24 points in her first game at Minnesota to tie a school record for points a debut (Kenisha Bell vs. VCU, 11/15/16). Her 24 points were also the most in a season opener by a Gopher since Carlie Wagner opened the 2016-17 campaign with 27 points against Harvard. Sissoko leads the Big Ten in offensive rebounds per game (4.2), is 11th in blocked shots per game (1.25) and ranks 20th in scoring (15.0).
• After scoring 6 points in the season opener, Gadiva Hubbard produced consecutive games with 17 points and four 3-pointers made versus Drake and Michigan State. Only twice last year did she combine for more than 34 points in back-to-back games (38 vs. Bryant (18) and Notre Dame (20); 35 vs. Iowa (18) and Purdue (17)). She’s shooting 42.4 percent (14-33) from the floor over the last three games and 40.9 percent (9-22) on 3’s.
• Sopohomore Klarke Sconiers has filled a big void in the frontcourt after Minnesota lost three post players from last year’s squad. Her scoring is up 4.0 points per game, while her rebound average is over 5.0. In addition, she’s playing nearly 13.0 more minutes per game; she’s already played more than half of her total minutes from a year ago.
FACING INDIANA
• Minnesota and Indiana will meet for the 71st time on Wednesday with the Gophers holding a 37-33 lead in the all-time series.
• The .529 win percentage for Minnesota against Indiana is its third best against all teams it has faced at least 20 times in its history, bettered only by its .544 mark (43-36) against Wisconsin and .538 percentage (35-30) against Michigan.
• The 37 wins are tied for the Gophers’ second most against one team along with Northwestern. The only team Minnesota has beaten more is Wisconsin (43).
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota leads the series 20-12. The .625 win percentage is its best against one team at home (min. 10 games), while the 20 wins are tied for the Gophers’ second most against one team at home along with Northwestern. The only team Minnesota has beaten more in Minneapolis is Wisconsin (21). Indiana has won the last two in Minneapolis, though.
• Indiana enters the game with a 3-2 record on the season and 1-0 in league play after an 81-45 win over Nebraska on Sunday. The Hoosiers opened the year with consecutive wins over Eastern Kentucky and Samford but lost in back-to-back games against then-No. 11 Kentucky and Tennessee before taking down the Huskers.
• Four Hoosiers are averaging double figures with Mackenzie Holmes leading the way at 15.4 points per game, while Grace Berger (13.2), Ali Patberg (12.6) and Aleksa Gulbe (10.4) are also in double figure range. Gulbe is also the team’s top rebounder at 8.6 boards per game.
• In addition to leading her team in scoring, Holmes also leads the conference and ranks seventh in the country with 3.4 blocked shots per game.
• Berger is one of three players in the country this year with a triple-double, recording 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the season opener against EKU.
• As a team, Indiana leads the Big Ten with 46.8 rebounds per game (24th in the country) and by holding opponents to 52.0 points per contest (13th). The Hoosiers are also second in the conference in fewest turnovers per game (10.8; 9th) and opponent field goal percentage (31.2; 11th).
WHALEN READY
Gopher head coach Lindsay Whalen talks about the layoff and how they worked hard to get better during that time:
(info, photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
