Game 8: Gophers Host Drake (12-2-23)

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First WBB game I've attended and that was a blast! At one point we were shooting at or slightly under 40%. But they hung in there with gritty defense until the offense could get going.

Holloway may not have scored, but her defense was disruptive and lead to several steals/turnovers.

Braun was not going to lose. You could just see it, especially once it got to OT.

Drake shot the bejesus out of the 3. That is a very solid team.
 

Didn't get to watch the game but was following along online. So excited the Gophers were able to pull this one off...i think it will pay off in spades as far as grit and confidence go.

All Iowa Attack has been sending a lot of players to Drake and with that club's emphasis on shooting it isn't surprising that Drake has become such a great shooting team.
 

DarthGopher said:
First WBB game I've attended and that was a blast! At one point we were shooting at or slightly under 40%. But they hung in there with gritty defense until the offense could get going.

Holloway may not have scored, but her defense was disruptive and lead to several steals/turnovers.

Braun was not going to lose. You could just see it, especially once it got to OT.

Drake shot the bejesus out of the 3. That is a very solid team.
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Darth hope you come to a few more games!!
 

Gophers112233 said:
Darth hope you come to a few more games!!
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I believe we have tickets to a few more!

Fan of basketball that is played with good fundamentals and a high level of compete. They check all the boxes. Some occassional youth things crop up, but that is to be expected. A game like yesterday's against a good shooting team has a lot of teachable moments that will only help them improve.

Fun squad to watch and well coached.
 



This was one of the most exciting basketball games played in the Barn.

What we know now:
  • This team has much heart and competitive spirit.
  • They are improving with every game.
  • They have many weapons and options.
  • They are tough to play in the Barn.
  • They can easily beat mediocre mid-major teams.
  • They are as good or better than a good mid-major team.
What we don’t know is whether:
  • They can win away from the Barn.
  • They can match up well with tall, physical Big Ten teams.
  • They have enough bench strength to maintain their production.
  • They have a strong enough defense to control the Big Ten scorers.
  • They are good enough to climb into the upper division of the Big Ten.
 

The stat that is getting overlooked by all of us....we had 17 steals vs Drake!
Most all of those were just sound team defensive positioning and awareness. Attention to detail and ability to see ball and man as a team.
Holloway's quickness and footwork to deflect passes resulting in Gopher possessions was sweet.
The only "steal" that jumps out for my memory was Janay's at half court to force overtime. Many of the rest were just sound team defense...being in the right place....that how you guy's saw it?
 

walleye said:
This was one of the most exciting basketball games played in the Barn.

What we know now:
  • This team has much heart and competitive spirit.
  • They are improving with every game.
  • They have many weapons and options.
  • They are tough to play in the Barn.
  • They can easily beat mediocre mid-major teams.
  • They are as good or better than a good mid-major team.
What we don’t know is whether:
  • They can win away from the Barn.
  • They can match up well with tall, physical Big Ten teams.
  • They have enough bench strength to maintain their production.
  • They have a strong enough defense to control the Big Ten scorers.
  • They are good enough to climb into the upper division of the Big Ten.
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What we know additions:
Coach P can coach!
We play excellent team defense and have excellent rebounding awareness and positioning.
What we don't know:
Regarding depth...how we gonna fix it going forward? We don't have any scholarships available so we'll need some people to transfer to add transfer depth?
Developing it is a possibility but not sure how long that's going to take for the current freshmen.
OR: Are the incoming freshmen...McKenna Johnson and Tori McKinnon able to provide immediate impact at the guard spots? Still leaves us with post help needs.
I think we will have one more scholarship available but we were chasing a couple high school recruits with it, I think.
I'll bet we have a plan...I'm just unaware what it it is :)
 
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60's Guy said:
What we know additions:
Coach P can coach!
We play excellent defense and have excellent rebounding awareness and positioning.
What we don't know:
Regarding depth...how we gonna fix it going forward? We don't have any scholarships available so we'll need some people to transfer to add transfer depth.
Developing it is a possibility but not sure how long that's going to take for the current freshmen.
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Holloway and Czinano are contributing now. Holloway has a world of potential, as does A. Johnson. I have faith that our coaching staff will develop them in due time. Plus, Klick will be healthy eventually and we'll be adding two highly rated guards next season. Maybe someone will transfer, maybe not. But it seems a little early to be clamoring for people to transfer. These players all committed to play for the U, and I would hope that the U shows the same level of commitment and doesn't push anybody out the door unless it's their decision.
 

60's Guy said:
What we know additions:
Coach P can coach!
We play excellent team defense and have excellent rebounding awareness and positioning.
What we don't know:
Regarding depth...how we gonna fix it going forward? We don't have any scholarships available so we'll need some people to transfer to add transfer depth?
Developing it is a possibility but not sure how long that's going to take for the current freshmen.
OR: Are the incoming freshmen...McKenna Johnson and Tori McKinnon able to provide immediate impact at the guard spots? Still leaves us with post help needs.
I think we will have one more scholarship available but we were chasing a couple high school recruits with it, I think.
I'll bet we have a plan...I'm just unaware what it it is :)
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We are at 13 scholarships now. I believe the women are allowed 15. Sanders will leave and im unsure if Zie has more eligibility. If she does not there's 2 schollies for 2024 and four total. Once again we would have 2 open schollies in 2025.
Many good high school players will be eligible the next few years
Transfers??? Unknown
 

Mnwhiteshoes said:
We are at 13 scholarships now. I believe the women are allowed 15. Sanders will leave and im unsure if Zie has more eligibility. If she does not there's 2 schollies for 2024 and four total. Once again we would have 2 open schollies in 2025.
Many good high school players will be eligible the next few years
Transfers??? Unknown
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I think we are saying the same thing?
We have two incoming freshmen guards coming that get us to 15 scholarships.
Janay will graduate leaving us with one open scholarship.
You are saying Zie could be two but she's listed as having eligibility with her injuries so a possibility but agree it's an unknown.
 

60's Guy said:
The stat that is getting overlooked by all of us....we had 17 steals vs Drake!
Most all of those were just sound team defensive positioning and awareness. Attention to detail and ability to see ball and man as a team.
Holloway's quickness and footwork to deflect passes resulting in Gopher possessions was sweet.
The only "steal" that jumps out for my memory was Janay's at half court to force overtime. Many of the rest were just sound team defense...being in the right place....that how you guy's saw it?
Click to expand...
Like I said, Holloway may not have scored, but she prevented easily 8 to 10 points that we also scored on.

They play great team defense. Drake however, got some really nice backdoor cuts which will be great teaching tools when they watch film.

Two of those turnovers were shot clock violations on a team that is full of shooters. That is commitment to defending by all 5 players.
 



we do have TWO players coming in next season.
60's Guy said:
I think we are saying the same thing?
We have two incoming freshmen guards coming that get us to 15 scholarships.
Janay will graduate leaving us with one open scholarship.
You are saying Zie could be two but she's listed as having eligibility with her injuries so a possibility but agree it's an unknown.
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we are adding TWO next fall

gophersports.com

Gophers Sign Johnson, McKinney for 2024-25 - University of Minnesota Athletics

Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit announced that McKenna Johnson and Tori McKinney have signed their National Letters of Intent to join the Minnesota ...
gophersports.com gophersports.com

Sanders will be gone as she was just a gradate player and I wouldn't be shocked if Zie left.
 

Johnson is ranked 61st in her class by ESPN….she is a scorer. I believe she will help. I also think McKinney and Klick could help with their nice length and ability to play defense. Lots to be excited for this year and the next few at least!
 

The team is better than last year, but next year is their year.

They still can't shoot well from the outside, they need more depth, and they need another big.

Braun's shooting hasn't improved, and that's concerning. She's an inefficient, volume scorer. However, her defense is much better.

This team will be an almost bubble team this year with a chance to be in the tournament next year.
 

TruthSeeker said:
The team is better than last year, but next year is their year.

They still can't shoot well from the outside, they need more depth, and they need another big.

Braun's shooting hasn't improved, and that's concerning. She's an inefficient, volume scorer. However, her defense is much better.

This team will be an almost bubble team this year with a chance to be in the tournament next year.
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I respectfully disagree, they are better shooters this year. Adding GG adds another legit 3 point shooter. Battle has improved her 3 point shot. Mara is just good. I believe they will make the tournament this year.
 

32% from three… not great. GG has to start making some three for the team to take the next step regarding three point shooting.. Braun is streaky but has the ability to knock down the big shot…
 

Roland Brooks said:
32% from three… not great. GG has to start making some three for the team to take the next step regarding three point shooting.. Braun is streaky but has the ability to knock down the big shot…
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8 games into her freshman season.. learning a new distance in college. she seems to have no problem going into the paint and below the arc.. GG is fine.. her shoot looks good most of the the time has a quick release.. just learning the college game..
 


TruthSeeker said:
The team is better than last year, but next year is their year.

They still can't shoot well from the outside, they need more depth, and they need another big.

Braun's shooting hasn't improved, and that's concerning. She's an inefficient, volume scorer. However, her defense is much better.

This team will be an almost bubble team this year with a chance to be in the tournament next year.
Click to expand...
I want to point out that every defense is targeting to stop Braun. They put their best defenders on her and send multiple defenders to her. She is opening up the offense for others and is a willing passer and takes care of the basketball and has few turnovers. IMO Braun has improved this year.
 


I watched the replay and have some random thoughts.
Unofficially I counted 20+ layups for Drake. Need to clean that up.
On Janay's steal you can see her edging up to make her move. Fantastic play!
Last year we got beat down the floor for easy layups. Drake tried, but our defense got back.
The basket by Drake in the 4th quarter that was ruled a shot clock violation was extremely close.
Grace made clutch 3 at the end, but overall her shooting was not good enough. Hoping for her to continue to get used to the speed of the game.
Mal is impressive how she seems to hustle and do all the little things to help the team.
Amaya has to learn how to dial it down when in foul trouble. She also left her feet and fouled with 1 second left in half to give Drake 3 from the line. That shouldn't happen.
Hart seemed like she was off to a slow start, but in 2nd half and in OT she made that left handed shot look easy and scored some big points for us.
Janay saved our bacon, but seems to fall a lot. The refs were not giving her the calls when she went down.
Bench went 7 deep in 2nd half. We could use someone else to step up.
Thanks for letting me get these ramblings out of my head. It was a great game to watch and I hope it makes more fans follow them.
 


Gophearl said:
I watched the replay and have some random thoughts.
Unofficially I counted 20+ layups for Drake. Need to clean that up.
On Janay's steal you can see her edging up to make her move. Fantastic play!
Last year we got beat down the floor for easy layups. Drake tried, but our defense got back.
The basket by Drake in the 4th quarter that was ruled a shot clock violation was extremely close.
Grace made clutch 3 at the end, but overall her shooting was not good enough. Hoping for her to continue to get used to the speed of the game.
Mal is impressive how she seems to hustle and do all the little things to help the team.
Amaya has to learn how to dial it down when in foul trouble. She also left her feet and fouled with 1 second left in half to give Drake 3 from the line. That shouldn't happen.
Hart seemed like she was off to a slow start, but in 2nd half and in OT she made that left handed shot look easy and scored some big points for us.
Janay saved our bacon, but seems to fall a lot. The refs were not giving her the calls when she went down.
Bench went 7 deep in 2nd half. We could use someone else to step up.
Thanks for letting me get these ramblings out of my head. It was a great game to watch and I hope it makes more fans follow them.
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Thanks for insights. Yea that reminded me of Drake players pouncing almost unattended into space at the hoop for an easy score. I'm not sure if that was a curl or what. Otherwise the Gophers played so hard.
 

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