The Gophers women's basketball team met for a film session before Wednesday's practice. It wasn't much fun watching the team's season-opening 69-66 loss to Jacksonville on Tuesday in Williams Arena.
Gophers women's basketball faces Arizona State, needing a quick reset
Minnesota lost its season opener against Jacksonville on Tuesday. "Everything we do, we have to do better. ... And we will be," coach Lindsay Whalen said.
November 11, 2021 at 11:11PM
What they saw:
A team that shot 34.5%. A team that committed 19 turnovers that Jacksonville turned into 26 points. Of those 19, eight came in the fourth quarter, during which it was outscored 24-16; turnovers ended its final two possessions.
In short, not the team coach Lindsay Whalen saw during a month's worth of training camp practices.
"Obviously it was a tough afternoon for us,'' Whalen said Wednesday. "I think a lot about what we talked about today in the coaches meeting was getting back to our standards, our values as a program. Everything we do, we have to do better. We have to be better, starting with me. And we will be.''
They'd better be. The Gophers play at Arizona State on Friday night.
Arizona State is coming off a 12-12 season, including a 6-9 mark in the rugged Pac-12. Key returners Taya Hanson and Jaddan Simmons have been joined by key transfers Ayzhiana Basallo, Mael Gilles and Jade Loville. A program with tradition, ASU was picked by many to finish in the top half of the conference.
Whalen wanted her team to see what went wrong, learn from it, then leave the game behind.
"We have to get back to the things we've seen in practice,'' Whalen said. "The steps we've taken. Obviously [the Jacksonville loss] was disappointing. If we learn from it and get better, that's what matters.''
The starting backcourt of Sara Scalia (25) and Jasmine Powell (15) combined for 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. But Scalia and Powell were two of three starters with four turnovers, the other being Kadi Sissoko.
Sissoko, limited to 23 minutes by foul trouble, scored just eight points, but had six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Still, the Gophers need more from their power forward. The same can be said for veteran Gadiva Hubbard, who scored just six points.
The Gophers bench was outscored 26-12, and grad transfer Deja Winters scored 11 of those points. Whalen decided to have center Klarke Sconiers come off the bench to add some offensive punch to the second unit, but she didn't take a shot in 17 minutes.
Aaron Huglen and wife Maddie are expecting their first baby right before the Gophers take aim at a sixth NCAA title.
