Gophers women-No. 2 Connecticut game preview

This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2004 Final Four, and just the second game this season for Paige Bueckers and the Huskies.

November 20, 2021 at 1:23AM
Gophers guard Jasmine Powell (4) scored during Wednesday’s victory over American at Williams Arena, which improved Minnesota’s record to 3-1. (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

11 a.m. vs. No. 2 Connecticut • no TV (streamed on FloHoops.com, a subscription service) Radio: 96.7-FM

Gophers update: Minnesota (3-1) defeated American University 73-56 at home on Wednesday for its third consecutive win. The Gophers have allowed just 49 points per game in the three victories. .. Junior guard Sara Scalia leads the Gophers in scoring (14.5 points per game). ... The Gophers and Connecticut are meeting for the first time in 17 years and just the third time overall. Connecticut has won both meetings — 85-60 at Connecticut on Dec. 15, 1990, and 67-58 in the semifinals of the NCAA Final Four on April 4, 2004, in New Orleans.

Connecticut update: The Huskies are playing just their second game of the season. The Huskies, who were 28-2 last season and lost in the semifinals of the Final Four, opened their season Sunday with a 95-80 victory over Arkansas in Hartford. Paige Bueckers scored a career-high 34 points to pace UConn. ... The Huskies, who didn't start a senior last season, started three seniors Sunday (guards Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook and 6-5 forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa) and two sophomores (Bueckers and 6-3 forward Aaliyah Edwards).

Numbers: The eight-team field for the inaugural women's Battle 4 Atlantis tournament features three teams ranked in the top 10 — No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Connecticut and No. 9 Oregon. No. 23 South Florida, Buffalo, Oklahoma and Syracuse also are in the tournament.

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about the writer

Joel Rippel

News Assistant

Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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