5:30 p.m. at Kent State • 88.5-FM
Gophers outlook: After a 2-0 start at home, the Gophers hit the road to play three games in five days. They have surpassed 90 points in each of their first two games, with their proficiency from three-point range playing a large part. The Gophers lead the nation with an average of 14.5 three-pointers per game, and their 43.3 shooting percentage behind the arc is eighth in the nation. G Rachel Banham needs 55 points to become the program's all-time leading scorer, and her next rebound will give her 500 for her career; only Laura Coenen, Carol Ann Shudlick and Lindsay Whalen have finished their Gophers careers with 2,000 points and 500 rebounds. Banham leads the Gophers with 26 points per game. G Shayne Mullaney had 10 assists in Friday's victory over Maine, giving her 422 for her career— fourth-most in Gophers history.
Golden Flashes outlook: Kent State won its season opener against Colgate but has gone 0-2 since, with losses to Wright State (73-68) and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (86-68). It finished 5-25 last season and was fifth in the MAC's East Division with a 3-15 record. Junior G Larissa Lurken, who played for Park of Cottage Grove, averaged 11.1 points per game last season and is the top returning scorer for a Kent State team with no seniors and six freshmen. Lurken is averaging 14 points per game this season, while redshirt freshman G Tyra James is scoring a team-high 15 per game. Danielle O'Banion, in her fourth season as head coach, is a former Gophers assistant (2002-07).
RACHEL BLOUNT
