The Gophers will get a close-up look Sunday at Brittney Griner, the talk of women's college basketball.
Minnesota plays Baylor and Griner, the Bears' 6-8 sophomore center, in a Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge game in Waco, Texas.
Last season, Griner led the Bears to a 27-10 record and the Final Four. She had 223 blocks, an average of 6.5 per game. Both of those statistics are NCAA records. She also dunked four times.
"I didn't see Wilt Chamberlain play, but I've heard he was that kind of -- what's the word -- revolutionary," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was quoted as saying last month. "I'm talking about [Griner's] body, her structure, her ability to play above the rim. We've never seen the likes of her before."
The No. 2 Bears are 8-1, losing only on the road to No. 1 Connecticut 65-64 on Nov. 16. Griner had 19 points, seven rebounds and nine blocks against the Huskies. Two UConn players fouled out trying to guard her.
"Brittney Griner is a player you won't play against again for the rest of the year -- just her athleticism, her ability to control the paint with her length, her shot-blocking ability," Gophers coach Pam Borton said.
Griner is averaging 23 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.4 blocks.
Baylor will be a great challenge, Borton said, but "we are going to go in believing we can win the basketball game."
