Iowa’s starters in the Hawkeyes’ 68-66 victory all had betweem 16 and 10 points. Each made at least four baskets and took between seven and 14 shots.

That’s pretty good balance. AndIowa shot 51 percent because Minnesota had to be concerned about each of them.

Minnesota could not match that balance. What’s happened to Brittany McCoy, the promising sophomore point guard? She was 1 of 7 from the field and 0of 3 at the free throw line. A nightmarish game. One has to wonder why the ball went into her hands for the last shot in OT. Shooting has a lot to do with confidence and hers had to be low.

Emmy Fox was not at her best either, making only six of 17 shots. And she had to play 43 of 45 minutes. Zoey Harper was just 1 of 6.

There were good points to the game, too. Fox had four assists, four steals and three blocks. Fifteen of the Gophers’ points off 13 offensiverebounds. Katie Ohm hit three three-pointers off the bench. Only two turnovers in the secondhalf — we won’t mention the TOs in overtime or the two points scored.

This was a game, if the Gophers are serious about winning the Big Ten, they should have won. They didn’t. But they can make up for it on Monday by winning at the Kohl Center in Wisconsin. It won’t be easy.

What do you think? Can the Gophers contend for a conference title?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 12:10 am and is filed under All, Gophers women's basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.