U women's gameday
8 P.M. VS. wisconsin • williams ARENA • btn, 1500-AM
Gophers at a glance: Minnesota (12-7, 1-4 Big Ten) is coming off a pair of heartbreaking overtime losses on the road, losing to Nebraska 88-85 and Indiana 83-78. It desperately needs a victory against Wisconsin, with a road game at No. 13 Penn State looming Sunday. ... Junior guard Rachel Banham leads the Big Ten in scoring in conference games (27.0 ppg) and is tied for the lead in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5-to-1). ... Freshman center Amanda Zahui B. made 10 of 11 field-goal attempts against Indiana, tying her season high with 25 points. ... The Gophers appear closer to finding scoring options behind Banham and Zahui B.; sophomore forward Kayla Hirt is averaging 10.0 points her past three games, and senior guard Sari Noga has 14 three-pointers in the past four games, during which she's averaged 12.5 points. ... The Gophers are second nationally in three-point percentage (.430).
Badgers at a glance: Wisconsin (9-8, 2-3) needs only one more conference victory to equal last season's win total (3-13). Michala Johnson, a 6-3 junior forward, leads the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and had 32 points in a 74-58 loss at Northwestern last Saturday. Johnson has five double-doubles. ... Wisconsin has three players averaging in double figures, with senior guards Taylor Wurtz (13.2) and Morgan Paige (13.1) joining Johnson. Those three players also led the Badgers in scoring last season. Senior Cassie Rochel (Lakeville North) has elected to redshirt because of lingering back problems. She averaged 7.0 points and 9.1 rebounds while leading the Big Ten in blocks (2.67) last season. ... A pair of former Minnesota high school stars, AnnMarie Brown (St. Peter) and Tessa Cichy (Hill-Murray), are among the Badgers' top reserves.
dennis brackin
