Nov. 9--It's all good as Gopher women grind out a win in Lindsay's debut

It's all good. Some 14,500 people came to Williams Arena to welcome Lindsay Whalen and the Lindsay Whalen era, and Lindsay's Gophers overcame some early jitters and played well enough to win by a comfortable margin (70-47) against an outmanned opponent (New Hampshire). I didn't say they played well, they played well enough. They let New Hampshire's 2-3 zone turn the game into a grinder for 3 periods in which the Gophers shot 39.5 percent and led 48-29. They picked up the pace in the 4th quarter with 22 points and 59 percent shooting for the final margin.

6-2 senior post Annalese Lamke scored a career high 21 points and junior forward Taiye Bello posted a double double at 14 and 14 with 5 blocked shots. But this is Kenisha Bell's team--well, hers and Lindsays. Bell didn't shoot great (6-of-16 FG, 4-of-8 FT) but had 8 assists and 4 steals to just 1 turnover. As Kenisha Bell goes, so go the Gophers, and Bell got better and better as the night went on.

So, it's all good. Well, almost all good. Specifically, the Gophers kept attacking the lane. They didn't shoot it very well but they had some good opportunities that just didn't fall, until the 4th quarter when Bell got in the lane to create 4 Annalese Lamke layups. Lamke showed up for her senior year in the best shape of her career, and she was very active in the lane. But, credit to Bell and also to guard Jasmine Brunson (6 assists) who got into the lane to break down the Wildcats defense.

Secondly, well, it would be too easy to knock the Gophers defense. They got beat early on some back cuts, some plain vanilla dribble drives and some ball screens, but they still held New Hampshire to 47 points and 33 percent shooting. They were also able to knock the ball loose a few times and so had a 17-6 edge in points of turnovers and a 11-4 edge on fast break points.

The most conspicuous shortcoming was on the boards, where they had a 34-30 edge after 3 and a final edge of 45-38. They gave up 5 offensive boards in the 1st period alone. Credit New Hampshire's scrappy play. When the Gophers grabbed a rebound, the Wildcats didn't stand around and mope about it. They attacked the rebounder on both ends of the court, knocking the ball loose a good many times after the Gophers appeared to have possession. I'm guessing they ended up with 6 or 8 boards that the Gophers had gotten a hand on first.

Taiye Bello was the Gophers MVP. She is not that big, not that quick, not that physical, but she is always around the ball and/or the rim and she just gets it done. She is very effective down low despite a relatively small frame.

Destiny Pitts had a tough night shooting 3-of-9/1-of-6 3s, but she is a tremendous athlete. Brunson had a nice overall game despite making just 2-of-6, with her 6 assists and 4 steals.

4 players had 9 to 12 minutes off the bench and shot just 3-of-12 among them. Palma Kaposi, a long 6-2 forward, got it together in the 2nd half for 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks but shot 0-for-3. Freshman guard Mercedes Staples is a shooter, mostly, not too quick, but went 0-for-4 from long range. Irene Perez is a smooth 6-1 3 who made her only shot. Barbara Tumancova was not too mobile in her 9 minutes. There's some upside off the bench but, still, the Gophers will need Gadiva Hubbard to come back from foot surgery on schedule (January).

The Gophers will need a healthy Hubbard, and they're going to have to improve their defense and rebounding in order to justify the media's 3rd place pick in their pre-season Big Ten poll. In all likelihood, that's a spot or two too high. Still, the Lindsay Whalen era is now off and running, and it got off on the right foot last night.

Player of the Day--Taiye Bello
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gophers
Coach of the Day--who else, but Lindsay Whalen