GOPHERS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
Minnesota at Indiana • 6 p.m. Friday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Streamed on BTN Plus • Radio: KFAN Plus (96.7-FM)
Preview: The Gophers (10-12, 3-7 Big Ten) will face No. 5 Indiana (14-3, 6-1) in their second game of the season against a top-five team, the first was an 88-58 loss to UConn in November. The Gophers have lost every game against ranked opponents this year, including 73-61 against Michigan, then No. 13 in December, 87-73 against No. 10 Maryland in January and 105-49 to No. 25 Iowa about two weeks ago.
About the Hoosiers: Indiana came off a three-game, two-week hiatus because of COVID-19 concerns and fell 65-50 to No. 6 Michigan this past Monday. The Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in points allowed per game (58.2) and opponent shooting percentage (37.7%). The team is without top scorer and rebounder Mackenzie Holmes, who had knee surgery in late January. But Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen mentioned Grace Berger, Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardano-Hillary as threats. Cardano-Hillary leads the team with 35 steals this season while Berger and Patberg have the most minutes on the team and average a combined 27 points per game.
Hubbard's impact: Sixth-year player Gadiva Hubbard stepped back into a starting role for Sunday's 57-55 victory against Wisconsin, just her eighth start of the season, after top point guard Jasmine Powell left the team midseason. Hubbard posted a career-high nine rebounds, as well as 10 points and seven assists. "The team actually has done a lot better than I thought would happen," Hubbard said of how the Gophers managed a game without Powell. "We're handling this well. On the court, I didn't see anybody get frazzled. I think Sara [Scalia is] doing a great job running the point guard position, and I know that's way out of her normal position, so I think she's doing great. Everybody's stepping up."
