MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – Sophomore guard Mara Neira led the Blue Hose with 17 points, but the Presbyterian College women's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish 1st quarter as they dropped an 82-48 decision to Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
FINAL SCORE: Minnesota 82, Presbyterian 48
LOCATION: Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (2-3) | Minnesota (3-1)
Scoring the Game
- Minnesota got out to a quick start on Sunday scoring the games first nine points over the first three and a half minutes to force an early Blue Hose timeout. The Golden Gophers kept the pressure on the Blue Hose with an 11-0 burst over the next three minutes before Mara Neira broke the run with a three-pointer before the hosts extended it to 24-3 late in the quarter. Nuria Cunill made a late jumper to make it 24-5 Minnesota after the first.
- The hosts got the first two baskets of the second before Neira got busy for the Blue Hose going on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to 30-15 with 5:35 to play in the half. The two teams traded three-point plays before Tilda Sjökvist and Neira helped cut the margin to 13, 35-22 on back-to-back baskets. The Golden Gophers pushed it to 17, 39-22 before two late free throws from Christina Kline made it a 39-24 Minnesota lead at the break.
- The Golden Gophers got the first five points of the second half before PC responded with an 8-0 burst to cut it to 44-32 with 6:11 to play in the third quarter forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Golden Gophers answered with an 8-0 run of its own over the next two minutes to make it 52-32 with 4:06 to go in the third forcing a Blue Hose timeout. Minnesota kept the pressure on PC throughout the remainder of the quarter pushing it to a 60-37 lead after three.
- The hosts opened with the first four points of the final quarter before each team went back and forth leading to a 69-43 score with 5:34 to play. The Golden Gophers went on an 11-3 burst over the next four minutes en route to an 82-48 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Players of the Game
- Mara Neira led the Blue Hose with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting while also adding three from beyond the arc. Dennaye Hinds pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Christina Kline added six boards in her second start in as many days. Ashley Carrillo led the way with three assists. Mallory Heyer led Minnesota with a double-double totaling 19 points and 10 rebounds as Alanna Micheaux also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Destinee Oberg pulled down 10 boards for the Golden Gophers on Sunday. Katie Borowicz and Amaya Battle each recorded five helpers in the contest.
Stats of the Game
- Presbyterian was held to 27.9% (19-of-68) from the field while Minnesota posted a 44.7% (34-of-76) performance in the game. The Blue Hose made six threes compared to just four from the hosts. Minnesota went 10-of-12 at the foul line, while PC was 4-of-7 at the charity stripe. The Golden Gophers controlled the glass on Sunday with a 55-38 edge including 19 offensive rebounds. Minnesota dished out 21 assists compared to 10 helpers by PC. PC had a 5-4 edge in blocks led by three from Bryanna Brady.
Notables
- Hinds pulled down a career-high seven rebounds which led the Blue Hose on the defensive end. Hinds also dished out her first two collegiate assists on Sunday against the Golden Gophers.
- Neira added her third double-figure scoring performance of the season with a team-high 17 points. She also had her second game with multiple steals as she recorded a pair of thefts.
- Sonia Sato matched her season-high at PC with six points off the bench.
- Brady tallied a team-high three blocks on Sunday as she now has blocks in four games thus far in the 22-23 season. She leads the team with 10 blocks thus far in five games.
Up Next
- The Blue Hose continue their road swing on November 26th with a visit to Morehead State to battle the Eagles at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
