The Gophers women's basketball team was 10-0 all-time against Northern Iowa.
Destiny Pitts, Kenisha Bell lead Gophers over Northern Iowa in WNIT
U improves to 11-0 all-time vs. Northern Iowa.
By STAFF REPORTS
March 23, 2019 at 5:51AM
Make that 11-0. Minnesota routed the Panthers 91-75 on Friday night in a first-round WNIT game at Williams Arena before an announced crowd of 2,549.
Destiny Pitts led the Gophers with 29 points — her eight straight game with 20 points or more; she was 5-for-10 on three-pointers. Also in double figures were teammates Kenisha Bell with 22 points plus a career-high 12 assists, Taiye Bello with 17 points and freshman guard Mercedes Staples, who got a rare start, with a career-high 14.
"We had a lot of players step up, especially Mercedes," Pitts said. "It was nice to see young players step up."
Shortly after the game ended, it was announced Minnesota (21-10) will play its second-round game at Cincinnati (22-10) at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Bearcats beat Youngstown State 76-62 on Thursday in their opening WNIT game.
"We'll enjoy this one for about 45 minutes, and then we'll move onto the next," Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said.
The Gophers led comfortably for most of the game — 30-11 after the first quarter, 52-28 at halftime — although the Panthers made it more interesting in the second half.
An 14-2 run got the Panthers within 76-69 with just under 4½ minutes to play. Bell's jumper in the lane and free throw gave Minnesota a 10-point lead.
The Gophers, whose largest lead was 27 points, shot 55.4 percent from the field (31-for-56), the Panthers 49.2 percent (29-for-59). Minnesota also made 10 of 23 three-point attempts.
"We have a lot of players that put a lot of time in, a lot of time shooting the ball," Whalen said.
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STAFF REPORTS
A former Gophers player, Taylor Landfair, helped the No. 2 Huskers hand No.16 Minnesota its third consecutive loss.
