Gophers' role players make statement

Ashley Ellis-Milan scored a career-high 22 points and Brittany McCoy had 12 in a victory over the Lady Lions.

By DENNIS BRACKIN, Star Tribune

Last update: January 15, 2008 - 12:27 AM

Any scouting report about the Gophers women's basketball team is predicated on defending Emily Fox and Leslie Knight, who entered the weekend as the Big Ten's top two scorers.

On Sunday afternoon Ashley Ellis-Milan and Brittany McCoy took steps toward making existing scouting reports obsolete by leading the Gophers to a surprisingly easy 67-50 victory over Penn State.

Ellis-Milan had 16 first-half points on her way to a career-high 22, and McCoy hit five of six first-half shots in a superb all-around game that included 12 points, six assists, five steals and a mere two turnovers in 38 minutes. The Gophers improved to 13-5 and 4-2 in the Big Ten, a half-game behind first-place Ohio State (4-1).

"Emily Fox and Leslie Knight get a lot of the credit and a lot of the press, but you don't have the kind of record they have and the kind of season they have with just two players," first-year Lady Lions coach Coquese Washington said. "You have to have a very good set of complementary players that play their roles and step up when [Fox and Knight] are having a tough night."

Which is exactly what happened on Sunday. Knight picked up two charging fouls in the first three minutes, and Fox was held to five first-half points. No problem, even though in five previous Big Ten games the tandem was averaging 36.2 points -- accounting for more than half of their team's points.

With Ellis-Milan and McCoy combining to hit 11 of 15 first-half field-goal attempts, the Gophers took a 35-28 lead into halftime. Then they turned up the defensive pressure, limiting Penn State to 22 points in the final half.

"We were able to get back to Minnesota defense," Gophers coach Pam Borton said.

Ellis-Milan, a sophomore, is playing with a right shoulder so fragile that Borton calls her "day-to-day, game-to-game."

McCoy has also been fragile, although her state had more to do with confidence than anything physical. The sophomore point guard had a single field goal in three of her four previous games, going a combined 8-for-27 from the field.

"I've had a little more fun the last couple games,"McCoy said. "It's been a struggle at times, but I'm getting through it."

Ellis-Milan and McCoy are role players, and proud of it. Asked to describe their roles, Ellis-Milan talks of defense, rebounding and setting picks, and McCoy mentions defense, controlling tempo and making free throws and layups.

"We're not supposed to do stuff that isn't what we do best," McCoy said.

On Sunday, the pair didn't stick to either their personal or the opponent's scouting report.

"We went a little above and beyond our jobs today," Ellis-Milan said, smiling.