Borton earns record victory as U holds on

Pam Borton said she didn't think about becoming the winningest coach in Gophers women's basketball history before Wednesday's game, even though she had to wait a week after failing to set the record in a Dec. 14 loss at Alabama A&M.

She doesn't have to dwell on it anymore. With an 82-74 victory over Northern Arizona, the ninth-year coach earned her 173rd victory to stand alone atop the record books.

"I think at the end of the year when the season's over I'll have a chance to enjoy it," Borton said. "That's probably the furthest thing from my mind."

That might be because the Gophers (8-5) nearly let their final nonconference game slip away before an announced crowd of 3,137 at Williams Arena. Borton spent much of the first half biting her lip as she watched her team cough up 10 turnovers in the first 11 minutes.

But the Gophers went on a 15-2 run to take a lead they would not relinquish, though the Lumberjacks (4-8) did close the gap to one twice in the second half and trailed by only four with 1 minute, 7 seconds to go.

"I think we needed that momentum. You always need that run," said guard Kiara Buford, who scored 16 points. "Those moments play an important role in how the end of the game turns out."

The Gophers' 22 turnovers were largely to blame for their inability to pull away (Northern Arizona had 13). But they did shoot 53.8 percent from the floor and dominated the rebounding battle 42-31 en route to the historic victory.

Two post players led the way for the Gophers. Katie Loberg, who had been battling an Achilles' tendon injury and had an exam three hours before the game, posted a career-high 20 points and nine rebounds in her first start since Dec. 2.

Kristen Dockery added her first career double-double, scoring 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting while grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. The two forwards helped the Gophers overcome the loss of Jackie Voigt, who injured her ankle in practice earlier this week.

The Gophers struggled to contain guard Amy Patton, but her 23 points weren't enough to carry the Lumberjacks to victory.

When it was all said and done, the night belonged to Borton. She entered Wednesday with 172 victories, tied with Ellen Mosher-Hanson, who coached 10 full seasons.

One reason Borton hadn't thought about the record was that she spent a couple of days last week doing "productive" recruiting in Sweden. When she flew back Monday, she went straight to practice.