Gameday preview: Gophers women's basketball at Illinois
February 24, 2018 at 11:25PM
Gophers back to full strength
Preview: The Gophers close out the regular season looking for their fourth consecutive victory over Illinois. The Gophers (21-7, 10-5 Big Ten) are coming off an 82-70 loss at home to Indiana on Tuesday. The loss ended a four-game winning streak and was just the second in the past nine games. Illinois (9-20, 0-15) is coming off a 64-51 loss at Purdue on Wednesday. The loss was the 16th consecutive for the Illini. The teams met just once last year with the Gophers winning 78-50 at Williams Arena.
Players to watch: Carlie Wagner scored a season-high 34 on Tuesday but was just 2-for-10 on three-point field goals. Wagner is shooting 42 percent (83-for-198) on three-pointers. Kenisha Bell had 11 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals on Tuesday. Forward Alex Wittinger, a junior from Delano who was second-team All-Metro pick in 2015, leads the Illini in scoring (14.6) and rebounding (9.1).
Numbers: The Gophers are 8-5 in games away from Williams Arena this season, and 9-22 in Champaign all-time.
Injuries: Gophers sophomore guard Gadiva Hubbard missed Tuesday's game for medical reasons, but coach Marlene Stollings expects her to play Sunday. Freshman Destiny Pitts, who appeared to injure her knee against the Hoosiers, has practiced the rest of this week.
JOEL RIPPEL and Marcus Fuller
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Minnesota’s bench scored 50 points, including a team-leading 18 points from graduate transfer Annika Stewart, showcasing the depth that coach Dawn Plitzuweit promised.
