After a resilient finish, the Gophers women's basketball team was able to take a deep breath and start the season's second phase on a positive note.
But disjointed play and poor shooting early in Minnesota's 74-60 win over Liberty on Saturday in the Subway Classic at Williams Arena served as a reminder that the road without Rachel Banham — the team's star guard and offensive glue — won't be easily paved.
"That's one of the leaders of the team," forward Shae Kelley said. "Coming in and seeing her not out there, of course that affects her and that affects us. But when you're on the court you just have to play for her and play for the team and just pick up some of her weight that she would carry when she was out there."
Eventually, the Gophers (10-1) did.
After shooting an anemic 34.5 percent from the field in the first half, the Gophers' offense rebounded in the second. Mikayla Bailey (11 points, seven rebounds) made three three-pointers and Minnesota shot 54.2 percent from the field as it held off a lingering Liberty squad that got within 10 twice in the second half.
"I just continue to work on my shot in practice," said Bailey, noting that her role has grown without Banham. "I definitely need to hit shots for us to win."
But in their first game since Banham tore her right ACL and partially tore her MCL at North Dakota on Dec. 10, the Gophers — who wore maroon T-shirts with "Buckets for Banham" in bold white lettering in shootaround — mostly made their baskets in the interior.
Minnesota, which led 34-28 at halftime, scored 30 points in the paint, eight on second chances and converted 23 of 30 from the free-throw line. Center Amanda Zahui B. (17 points, 13 rebounds) posted her seventh double-double in 11 games while forward Shae Kelley added 16 and eight.
"We're going to look inside a little more certainly," coach Marlene Stollings said. "But in terms of what we're doing, we're not really changing that up a lot. We still want to be a transition team, we still want to take open looks when we have them."
Banham had hit 32 of 79 three-pointers, good for 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Without her against Liberty (6-4), the Gophers' perimeter game initially looked lost.
The team went 1-for-6 from three-point range in the first half while turning over the ball 12 times.
"I think it was more just getting used to playing in an actual game without her in the first half," Stollings said. "She just brought so many things to the table — she could play three positions, the 1, 2 and 3 — for us. I think [we were] just feeling our way through that a little bit."
No. 1 South Carolina 80, Central Michigan 45: Tiffany Mitchell, despite a bloody nose and the tough assignment of guarding Crystal Bradford, scored 18 points and had five steals to help the top-ranked Gamecocks (11-0) beat the Chippewas (4-4) in the other game at Williams Arena.
The Gamecocks are off to the best start in program history, one win shy of tying the school record for consecutive wins in a season.
Associated Press