Winona State stuns Gophers in exhibition

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: November 5, 2009 - 7:50 AM

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WOMEN WINONA STATE 64, GOPHERS 62 (EXHIB.) Up next: 2 p.m. Sunday vs. Minnesota Duluth • Williams Arena

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Fortunately for the Gophers women's this was an exhibition game and they'll soon forget it..

Winona State might not. The Division II Warriors came to Williams Arena and found the new floor at The Barn to their liking. The baskets, too.

Winona State made 12 of 25 three-point attempts and stunned its Big Ten opponent 64-62 on Wednesday night before an announced crowd of 3,388.

This was not the script coach Pam Borton expected. In the past eight seasons, her teams had been 14-0 in exhibition games. The Gophers' closest margin of victory was 11 points.

Not this time. Natalie Gigler, a 6-foot forward, made a short, open baseline jumper with 1 second left to break a 62-62 tie. She finished with 10 points.

Winona State's Ana Wurtz, a 5-8 senior guard, was 6-for-12 behind the arc and had a game-high 20 points.

"I'm from the Cities," said Gigler, who played at Champlin Park High School. "This is a big deal. We gave it all we could."

Said Warriors coach Scott Ballard: "We are not going to be able to sneak up on anybody. I'm just sad it's an exhibition and didn't count."

Bright spots for the Gophers -- picked to finish third in the Big Ten in a preseason coaches poll:

• Again, this was an exhibition game.

• The Gophers had 21 offensive rebounds. In this case, that meant a lot of possessions on which they missed two, three shots and got zero points.

• Sophomore guard Kiara Buford scored 18 points and was 4-for-4 on threes. Her teammates were 3-for-19. Ouch.

• Three new Gophers got on the floor, including 5-3 junior China Antoine, who figures to be a crowd favorite. She hustles and has some ballhandling skills.

"This was probably the best thing that could have happened to us at this point in the season," Borton said. "We have to be ready to play any game, no matter who we are playing. We never woke up until there was about six minutes left in the game."

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