Gameday preview: Gophers women's basketball at San Diego

Gophers cross three time zones

Preview: After playing on the East Coast on Thursday, the Gophers travel to the West Coast for their final road nonconference game. The Gophers (9-1) shot a season-best 52.6 percent from the field to earn a 73-63 victory at Georgetown on Thursday. San Diego (5-4), which opened the season with three consecutive victories, has lost three consecutive games. The Toreros lost at No. 25 California 89-64 on Thursday. This is just the second meeting between the schools. The Gophers won 52-50 on Nov. 23, 1999, in San Diego.

Players to watch: Gophers G Kenisha Bell leads the team in scoring (19.4 points per game) and is first in the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game. G Carlie Wagner had her fifth career 30-point game on Thursday (31). Toreros senior G Aubrey Ward-El is averaging 15.2 points per game. Junior G Alexandra Hagen is averaging 11.0 points and shooting 57 percent from the field. Graduate student Maya Hood, named to the preseason All-West Coast Conference team, is averaging 11.4 points per game.

Numbers: The Gophers have shot 50 percent or better from the field three times this season. In 2016-17, the Toreros had just their second losing season (14-16) in 12 years under coach Cindy Fisher. Fisher earned her 300th career victory on Nov. 27 against UC Santa Barbara.

Joel Rippel