Nov. 13, 2010
Box Score | Box Score 
Minnesota 79, Northern Illinois 58
Williams Arena | Minneapolis, Minn.
|
|
|
1st |
2nd |
Final |
Northern Illinois
|
30 |
28 |
58 |
| Minnesota |
42 |
37 |
79 |
|
|
|
| Player of the Game |
 |
Courtney Shelton
Points: 16
Rebounds: 1
Assists: 5
FG%: .600 (6-10)
3-FG%: .600 (3-5)
|
|
Team Stats
|
NIU |
OPP |
FG Percentage
|
36.8 |
60.5 |
| 3-Point FG Percentage |
33.3 |
53.8 |
| FT Percentage |
61.9 |
69.0 |
Offensive Rebounds
|
6 |
8 |
| Defensive Rebounds |
15 |
33 |
| Total Rebounds |
21 |
41 |
Assists
|
13 |
21
|
Turnovers
|
14 |
26 |
Blocks
|
1 |
7 |
Steals
|
11 |
8 |
Points in the Paint
|
28 |
32 |
Points off Turnovers
|
15 |
21 |
|
|
| |
MINNEAPOLIS - In Kathi Bennett's first game as head coach of the Northern Illinois women's basketball team, her team forced 26 turnovers utilizing Bennett's trademark pack defense, but fell 79-58 to Minnesota in the first round of the Best Buy Classic, Saturday at Williams Arena.
"Defense is what we want our identity to be, and to hang our hat on," Bennett said. "I felt like we fought and played hard the whole way, and I am proud of my team for that."
Junior Courtney Shelton scored a career-high 16 points to pace NIU, while newcomer Kim Davis added 14 points and five rebounds. The Huskies were within two points of the Gophers late in the second half. Shelton hit a three-pointer to get NIU within two at 32-30 with 1:45 left in the first. Minnesota answered with a 10-0 run that included five made free throws to extend the lead to 12 by halftime.
At the break, Huskie senior Ebony Ellis had played only nine minutes due to foul trouble, recording one shot and two turnovers. The All-Mid-American Conference center continued to be hampered by fouls in the second half, as officials called Ellis for her third foul just 14 seconds into the second half, and her fourth violation less than four minutes into the period.
While Ellis was ineffective in the first half due to foul trouble, Shelton picked up the slack for NIU. Shelton matched her career-high with 15 points in the period, going 6-of-9 from the field with a trio of three-pointers. Davis, who debuted for the Huskies after playing 2008-09 at Eastern Michigan and taking last season off from basketball, added six points and three boards in the first half.
The Huskies stayed within touching distance for much of the second. Northern Illinois trailed by just nine with 13:02 on the clock, before an 11-4 run by Minnesota upped the Gopher lead to 16.
"I credit my team with fighting the whole way," Bennett said. "I think the (final score) looks a little bit more than (lead) was most of the game."
NIU trailed 73-58 before the Gophers connected on back-to-back three pointers to widen the gap to the final margin of 21 points.
Davis was one of several newcomers for the Huskies to play significant time. In addition to Davis' 27 minutes, freshman Danielle Pulliam led the team with 33 minutes of court time. Fellow freshmen Alicia Johnson and Ashley Sneed added 12 minutes a-piece.
The Huskies committed only 14 turnovers, while dishing out 13 assists and totaling 11 steals. The biggest difference in the game came on the boards, where Minnesota used a significant size advantage to bully its way to a 41-21 rebounding advantage. The Gophers have nine players on their roster listed at 6-foot-1 or taller, while features only Ellis at 6-foot-3 and sophomore Shaakira Haywood at 6-foot-2.
The 26 turnovers committed by Minnesota were the most by an NIU opponent since Western Michigan had 26 in a January 19, 2007 match-up in DeKalb.
