Their parents were in the stands. Siblings. Grandparents.
Gophers women's basketball sends off seniors in style with 87-54 win over Illinois
Thursday's Gophers' victory, which came in the last home game of the season, was dotted with standout performances from the team's five seniors.
February 25, 2022 at 4:46AM
Five players played their final home game for the Gophers women's basketball team in Wednesday's one-sided, nearly from start-to-finish, 87-54 victory over Illinois at Williams Arena on Thursday night. And they were honored after it was over:
Gadiva Hubbard, Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Kayla Mershon, Deja Winters and Bailey Helgren.
Hubbard spent her entire college career here. Mershon and Bagwell-Katalinich played two seasons here after transferring in. Helgren and Winters played here one season.
Each of them had their senior moments Thursday in a game none of them could have scripted better.
"That's what we talked about today,'' Helgren said. "There was a lot of emotion throughout the day. We said, we deserve this. There are five of us. For all 40 minutes we dominated. It was fun.''
The domination was complete against the last-place Illini (6-18, 1-12 Big Ten). The Gophers scored 20 or more points in all four quarters. They shot 50.7% overall, made 12 of 28 three-pointers. They led by 13 after a quarter, by 17 at half, by as much as 36 in the fourth quarter.
But what made it fun was that, on senior night, every senior played well.
Hubbard made six of 12 threes and scored a season-high 22 points. Bagwell-Katalinich (11 points) and Deja Winters (12) were both in double figures. Helgren had three blocks, six points, a game-high five assists. Merson had a four points and eight boards.
Junior Sara Scalia (17) points scored in double figures for the 19th straight game, and Kadi Sissoko, another junior, had 13. Illinois was led by Adalia McKenzie and Aaliyah Nye, who scored 14 points each.
But Thursday it was about the Gophers seniors.
"We talked about this being their last regular-season home game, how this chapter of their career … how we wanted it to go,'' Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said. "They just went and took their moment. All of them.''
Pick a player: Hubbard hitting her final four three-point attempts in the fourth quarter. Winter's steal and score. Helgren's deft passing, Mershon's four offensive rebounds.
Whether the Gophers get a first-round bye in next week's Big Ten Conference tournament will be decided Sunday. The bottom four teams play on Wednesday, the first day of the tournament. The Gophers (13-16 overall) are in 10th place at 6-11 in the Big Ten, a game ahead of Penn State. But the Gophers finish the regular season at Penn State on Sunday in the only game between the two teams this season. So the winner will get the first-round bye.
It will, Whalen said, be a playoff-like game, almost certain to have more drama than Wednesday's victory.
But that's OK. Senior night is supposed to be fun. It was this time. There was a point when all five seniors were on the floor together in the fourth quarter. Whalen called a play that ended with a Hubbard three.
"It felt good to have a good game for my senior night,'' said Hubbard. "As the clock wound down it was like, 'Gosh, this is about to be the last one.' We talked about it before the game. We wanted to have a relaxed senior game. It felt good.''
Most senior nights feature players who have played their college careers together. This class, ultimately assembled during the COVID-19 age, was a little different.
"I think about all of us coming together this season,'' Winters said. "All of us have different backgrounds, different places we come from. Playing with this group of girls, the energy is always good.''
The Gophers jumped out to a 22-point lead after one quarter and never eased off against the Grizzlies.
