ESTERO, Fla. – The Gophers women's basketball team got a taste of a quality opponent on Friday, and the result was Marlene Stollings' first loss in five games as Minnesota coach.
The Gophers shot 26.2 percent from the field in a 71-54 loss to Vanderbilt in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Rachel Banham fouled out with just four points on 1-for-8 shooting. It was her first game in single digits since Feb. 20, 2014, against Purdue.
"I thought their physicality gave us trouble," Stollings said. "We didn't handle it well."
Sophomore center Amanda Zahui B. also fouled out for the Gophers, who were outrebounded 52-35. Minnesota missed 19 of 20 three-point attempts after making its first two of the game.
A Gophers victory would have meant a matchup with two-time defending national champion Connecticut on Saturday, but instead the Gophers will get College of Charleston, which lost to the Huskies later Friday. The Gophers will play a third game in three days on Sunday.
Vanderbilt redshirt freshman Rebekah Dahlman, Minnesota's Ms. Basketball in 2013 as a star player at Braham High School, had 17 points and 10 rebounds. She had 15 points in the second half — all in the final 11:13.
Dahlman's two best games this season have come against Big Ten teams. She had 18 points and nine rebounds against Wisconsin on Nov. 20.
Freshman Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau also had a double-double for Vanderbilt, with 21 points and 14 rebounds. She had seven of her team's 23 offensive rebounds.
