Banham, Wagner lead Gophers past Kent State
Published 4:36 am Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The Minnesota women’s basketball team scored 22 points in the paint in the fourth quarter to power past Kent State 85-73 and improve to 3-0 on the season Tuesday at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio, according to a press release.
Rachel Banham scored 24 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter. She is 31 points shy of setting a new Minnesota career scoring record, at 2,255 total after Tuesday night’s game. Banham was 9 for 10 from the free throw line.
Carlie Wagner poured in 18 points, while Joanna Hedstrom notched a career-high 11 points off the bench. Shayne Mullaney had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Jessie Edwards also had 10 points.
Minnesota took a 29-16 lead by going 6 of 8 from 3-point land in the first quarter. Mikayla Bailey and Wagner each made a pair of triples in the opening frame.
The Golden Flashes gained ground in the second quarter to narrow the Gophers’ halftime lead to 42-41. Wagner’s 11 points and 3 for 3 long-range shooting led Minnesota at the break. The Gophers shot 51.5 percent from the field in the first half.
After taking a 47-42 lead early in the third, Kent State held the lead for the rest of the quarter. A Mullaney basket tied it at 56 early in the fourth and the teams continued to go back and forth. Banham’s 17 fourth-quarter points and Edwards’ six helped the Gophers pull away late in the game.
Banham passed the career 500-rebound mark, joining the program’s other 2,000-point scorers — Lindsay Whalen, Carol Ann Shudlick and Laura Coenen — at that milestone.
Mullaney’s double-double was her second overall, and the first of the points/rebounds variety. A different Gopher has recorded a double-double in each game this season. Bailey and Edwards have one apiece.
Next, the Gophers will travel to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout. Their games will be at 3:45 p.m. Friday against Stetson and 6 p.m. Saturday against Auburn.