Minnesota earned an impressive first-round WNIT victory over Green Bay 73-65 on Thursday, but a 78-56 loss to South Dakota State on Sunday has officially ended its 2021-22 season.

Scalia’s big night leads Minnesota over Green Bay

The Gophers drew Green Bay in their first-round women’s NIT matchup. The Phoenix compiled a 19-7 record in the Horizon League earning themselves an opportunity to host this game, causing Minnesota to travel to its neighboring state.

It was a tightly contested game for 30 minutes. Green Bay led by as many as nine points, but the Gophers trailed by six heading into the final quarter of play.

Junior guard Sara Scalia’s dominant offensive performance helped Minnesota prevail in the fourth quarter. After outscoring Green Bay 27-13 in the final 10 minutes, the Gophers picked up the victory 73-65.

Scalia finished the game with 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while playing all 40 minutes for the Maroon & Gold. Kadi Sissoko was second on the team with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Slow third quarter costs Gophers against South Dakota State

In the second round, the Gophers traveled to Brookings, South Dakota, for a matchup with South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits entered with a 24-9 record competing in the Summit League.

It was another competitive first half of basketball. Led by a team-high eight points from Sara Scalia, the Gophers trailed 33-30 at halftime.

The Gophers’ post-play struggles came up again through 20 minutes of play. Trailing 18-6 in points scored in the paint and 21-14 in total rebounding, they had clear room for improvement in the second half.

Minnesota struggled to get anything going offensively in the third quarter, shooting 2-13 from the field as a team. South Dakota State took advantage, jumping out to a 19-point lead heading into the fourth.

The hole was too big for the Gophers to dig themselves out of, ultimately falling 78-56 to the Jackrabbits.

The Gophers shot 34% from the field as a team, trailed 45-30 in total rebounds and trailed 36-16 in points scored in the paint.

Minnesota finished the 2021-22 season with a 15-18 record and will now shift its focus to the offseason, with four graduate students and one senior on the roster.

Thirteen draft-eligible players from the Gophers 2021-22 roster, competed in the program’s Pro Day Wednesday, showcasing their skills and athleticism to NFL scouts.

A college program’s Pro Day is quite similar to the NFL’s Scouting Combine. The players often compete in the same drills and events, but it gives those who weren’t invited to the Combine an opportunity in front of NFL scouts, and gives those who were a second chance to improve their stock.

Ko Kieft, Sam Schlueter, Jack Gibbens, Coney Durr, Justus Harris, Micah Dew-Treadway, Nyles Pinckney, Phillip Howard and Bishop McDonald were all able to test in front of scouts for the first time in the draft process. Daniel Faalele, Blaise Andries, and Boye Mafe made their second appearance after participating in the Combine at the beginning of March. 

Defensive end Esezi Otomewo was still not able to compete, as he is still recovering from a late-season knee injury.

After all the participants complete a weigh-in, they first test their vertical jump. Mafe led the way with a remarkable jump of 41.5-inches, after weighing in at 257 pounds. Kieft at 32, Harris at 39.5 and Faalele at 29.5 -all impressive results for their size.

Next up was bench press. Micah Dew-Treadway led the way with 25 reps at 225 pounds, while Mafe, Kieft and Schlueter all completed 21 reps.

The broad jump was next, another jumping exercise that tests the player’s explosiveness. Kieft jumped an impressive 9-feet-3-inches, while Faalele recorded 7-feet-10-inches and McDonald 10-feet-3-inches.

The 40-yard hard dash times were recorded unofficially by hand. Coney Durr had an impressive time of 4.5 seconds, while Faalele ran 5.4 and Kieft 4.85.

After finishing their athletic testing, all of the prospects competed in position-specific drills on the field in front of the 30-plus NFL scouts in attendance.

The NFL Draft is still over one month away, beginning with the first round kicking off on April 28. Wednesday’s Pro Day was another opportunity for the Gophers players to showcase their talents in hopes of hearing their names called.

Four former Gophers were invited to the NFL’s annual scouting combine, hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Blaise Andries, Daniel Faalele, Esezi Otomewo and Boye Mafe were all able to showcase their potential to NFL scouts.

The scouting combine is an opportunity for NFL Draft eligible prospects to interview with teams, measure their physical traits, compete in on-field drills and test themselves in events like the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and broad jump.

The week started on Tuesday, March 1 for the former Gophers. Blaise Andries and Daniel Faalele checked into the event and interviews with teams and media on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday was the day for Andries and Faalele to show their physical traits. After measuring at 6-foot-8, 384 pounds, Faalele opted to only compete in the bench press event and totaled 24 reps at 225 pounds, as he was recovering from injury.

Measuring at 6-foot-6, 308 pounds, Blaise Andries ran 5.17 seconds in the 40-yard dash, jumped 30.5 inches in the vertical jump, 106 in the broad jump, ran 7.84 seconds in the three-cone drill and 4.68 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle.

The defensive linemen faced a different schedule, Boye Mafe and Esezi Otomewo checked into the event Wednesday, March 2 and then faced interviews for the next three days.

Physical testing took place on Saturday for Otomewo and Mafe. Otomewo measured in at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds and opted to not do any testing, as he is still recovering from a late-season injury.

Mafe measured in at 6-foot-4, 261 pounds. He ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 38-inch vertical, 125-inch broad jump. He did not test the three-cone drill or 20-yard shuttle.

All four players will now look toward Minnesota’s pro-day on March 16, as another opportunity to showcase themselves to NFL teams.

The NFL Draft will take place from April 28 through April 30, as all four players hope to hear their name called.

The Gophers women’s basketball team was eliminated from the Big Ten Conference tournament on Thursday, but head coach Lindsay Whalen’s contract has now been extended one more season through 2024-25, pending Board of Regents approval.

Whalen has been the head coach of her alma mater Minnesota for four seasons. Her teams have accumulated a total record of 59-56 and a 28-44 record within the Big Ten.

After a 14-17 record in the 2021-22 season, the Gophers were eliminated by Northwestern in their first game of the Big Ten tournament, making a fourth consecutive season without a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Next season Minnesota will return leading scorer Sara Scalia. It will also welcome the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the country, highlighted by in-state Hopkins High School standout Amaya Battle.

According to Regents documents released Friday, Whalen is on course to make $547,000 in base salary next season before receiving an increase to $575,000 in 2023-24 and another raise in the 2024-25 season, where she will earn a base salary of $600,000.

The Gophers entered Thursday with the hopes of starting a magical March Madness run in the Big Ten Tournament, but a late comeback attempt against Northwestern came up short 65-60

20 days ago, the Gophers knocked off Northwestern 74-68 at Williams Arena. Fast-forward to Thursday night, No. 10 seeded Minnesota looked to find the same success against the No. 7 Wildcats in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

An opening-shot three-point make from Sara Scalia set the tone for the Gophers. After jumping out to a 9-6 lead, Minnesota conceded a 9-0 Northwestern run. Minnesota trailed 19-16 after 10 minutes of play.

Thanks to a hot second-quarter start from Kadi Sissoko offensively, the Gophers jumped out to a 28-21 lead. The Wildcats responded with a 7-1 run to close the second quarter and Minnesota led 29-28 heading into the locker room.

The Gophers led 23-19 in total rebounds at the half, an area in which they have struggled all season. Improved rebounding alongside 42% shooting as a team led to the halftime lead.

The third quarter was graduate student Deja Winters’ time to shine. The veteran guard totaled 10 points, highlighted by two pick threes. The Gophers weren’t able to get much other offensive production and carried a 49-48 deficit into the fourth quarter.

It looked like Northwestern had sealed the win, but six consecutive missed free throws opened the door for the Gophers.

Sara Scalia and Minnesota did all they could to get back into the game. They had the ball with 20 seconds left and were down by just three points, but ultimately came up short 65-60.

After both totaling 32 points in Sunday’s regular-season finale, Kadi Sissoko and Sara Scalia both finished with a team-high 18 points tonight and Deja Winters was the only other Minnesota player in double figures with 10.

Missed Northwestern free throws opened the door for the Gophers down the stretch, but 14 turnovers compared to Northwestern’s eight put them in too big of a hole to pull themselves out of.

The Gophers finished the regular season with a 14-17 record, but after tonight’s first-round exit from the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers’ hopes of a postseason tournament are likely over.

While the weather is still uncooperative outside, Minnesota moved into U.S. Bank for a home-opening 12-0 Tuesday win over St. Thomas, followed by a 7-5 defeat to South Dakota State on Wednesday.

After a 3-6 start to the season, the Gophers faced St. Thomas and South Dakota State in a pair of mid-week contests before at U.S. Bank Stadium hosting the 2022 Cambria College Classic over the weekend.

Gophers dominate in-state rival in home opener Tuesday

In a historic first meeting, Minnesota faced its first in-state opponent at the Division I level against St. Thomas Tuesday night.

The Gophers opted to deploy redshirt junior LHP Jack Liffrig to the mound for his first start of the 2022 season, who had entered with a 19.80 ERA on the season.

Liffrig had his best outing of the season. He did not allow a single hit until the top of the fifth inning. He got serious run support with an explosion of 10 runs before the Tommies even got on base.

In the first inning, senior catcher Chase Stanke got the party started with a two-run home run. He added a three-run shot in the second inning, moving him into the Big Ten lead with five home runs on the season.

On top of Stanke’s five RBIs, redshirt seniors Easton Betrand and Ronald Sweeney blasted solo home runs, sophomore infielder Boston Merila added a two-run double, and sophomore shortstop Joe Houser got home on a past ball all before the fifth inning began.

Liffrig’s night on the mound ended with 7.2 innings pitched. He had one strikeout, but only allowed three hits after facing 25 total batters.

Thanks to a two-run home run from Kyle Bork in the bottom of the eighth inning, Minnesota would ultimately come out on top 12-0.

Early struggles cost Gophers against South Dakota State

Minnesota’s final tune-up game before this weekend’s Cambia College Classic came against 1-6 South Dakota State.

Longtime head coach John Anderson opted to bring senior RHP Richie Holetz to the mound for his first start of the season.

The Edina, Minnesota native struggled mightily allowing four hits, and six earned runs in only one inning of work, and the Gophers trailed 5-0.

Minnesota’s bats did their best to chip away at the Jackrabbits’ lead. Five total runs, highlighted by a solo home run from Ronald Sweeney, were not enough at the end of the day. The Gophers lost 7-5.

The Gophers will now focus on the weekend’s 2022 Cambria College Classic with a matchup with West Virginia on Friday, Kansas on Saturday and Notre Dame on Sunday all being played at U.S. Bank Stadium.

In the regular season finale, the Gophers took down Penn State 94-83, picking up consecutive Big Ten victories for the first time this season.

After a dominant 87-54 Senior Night victory against Illinois on Thursday, the Gophers had one last regular season opportunity to pick up a win against Penn State before the Big Ten tipping off on Wednesday, March 2.

After several games coming off the bench, head coach Lindsay Whalen placed veteran forward Kadi Sissoko back into the starting lineup.

Whalen’s decision paid off early. Sissoko added six points in the first quarter, but a game-high 10 points from Laura Bagwell-Katalinich proved to go a long way in Minnesota jumping out to a 22-16 lead after 10 minutes.

The Gophers offense continued to find success in the second quarter. Sara Scalia led the way with eight points in the quarter, while Bagwell-Katalinich finished with 14 points and six rebounds in just 20 minutes of play.

Penn State shot 46% compared to Minnesota’s 39% in the first half, but after committing only five first-half turnovers the Gophers were able to take a 38-28 lead into the break.

Kadi Sissoko took over the game in the third quarter. She netted 14 points and reeled in seven rebounds. Scalia added eight more points and the Gophers extended their lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter.

Scalia and Sissoko ended the game with a bang. Totaling 13 and 10 points respectively in the final quarter, both players finished the game with 32 points.

The final 10 minutes was the only quarter that Penn State outscored Minnesota, but the Maroon & Gold came out on top 94-83.

Sissoko finished the game with 32 points on 12 of 22 shooting from the field while reeling in 14 rebounds. Scalia sank eight threes while totaling eight rebounds en-route to her 32-point performance.

Minnesota dominated the rebounding margin for the second straight game, topping the Nittany Lions 47-30 in that area.

After finishing the regular season 14-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play, the Gophers will play their first Big Ten Tournament game on Thursday, March 3.

Senior guard Gadiva Hubbard led Gophers with 22 points in her final game at Williams Arena, en-route to an 87-54 victory.

In the season’s final home game at Williams Arena, the Gophers honored five seniors. Gadiva Hubbard, Deja Winters, Laura Bagwell-Kalatinich, Bailey Helgren and Kayla Mershon were honored on Thursday’s senior night.

Head coach Lindsay Whalen opted to start four of the five seniors with Sara Scalia resuming her typical role and Mershon remained on the bench. Minnesota looked to get back into the win column against 6-17 Illinois.

After falling down 3-2, the Gophers proceeded to go on a 13-0 run, quickly taking a firm hold of the game. Scalia led the way with nine points and Minnesota led 20-7 after 10 minutes of play.

It was a balanced attack in quarter number two for the Maroon & Gold. Four different players scored four or more points, extending their lead to 40-23 heading into halftime.

The Gophers’ first half defense was stifling, holding Illinois to only eight made field goals, but they were also sucsesfull in the paint, outshooting the Fighting Illini 18-8 in that area and outrebounding them 26-19.

Minnesota’s offense looked like it was going to cool off considerably in the third quarter, but Illinois was not able to take advantage. Six points from Deja Winters helped extend her team’s lead to 61-41.

Holding a big lead, the Gophers did not coast in the fourth quarter, they made a statement, outsourcing Illinois 26-13 in the final 10 minutes, completing an 87-54 victory.

In her final career game at Williams Arena, senior guard Gadiva Hubbard sank four threes in the final quarter bringing her game-total to a game-high 22 points.

Scalia, Bagwell-Katalinich, Winters and Kadi Sissoko all joined Hubbard in double figures, making for a dominant offensive performance.

Minnesota will wrap up its regular season campaign this Sunday, February 27 at 1:00 p.m. against Penn State on the road, with the Big Ten Tournament looming on the horizon.

Minnesota ran into a red-hot Nebraska team Sunday, and could not keep up offensively falling 93-70.

After a disappointing offensive performance and 79-61 loss to Rutgers on Thursday night, the Gophers traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the pesky 19-7 Cornhuskers in a mid-afternoon Big Ten tilt.

After sending out the same starting lineup for the fifth consecutive game, Minnesota started slow out of the gate.

Thanks to 8-15 shooting (53%) and an 11-6 rebounding advantage Nebraska jumped out to a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Gophers responded in quarter number two led by eight points from veteran guard Sara Scalia. After scoring eight in the first quarter, her 16 total in the first half were a game-high. The bounceback half still resulted in a 41-34 deficit heading into halftime

Nebraska came out of the locker room and fired, leaving the Gophers behind, outscoring them 11-0 in fastbreak points. An 11-17 (64.7%) performance shooting the ball in the third quarter extended the Cornhuskers’ lead by 17 to 71-47.

It was too little too late for Minnesota, as the hole they dug themselves into through three quarters was too much in the final 10 minutes, ultimately losing 93-70.

Scalia’s 22 points were about the only offensive production the Gophers could find, as one of only two players on the team to score more than 10 points. Kadi Sissoko’s seven points in the fourth quarter brought her total to 14.

Nebraska’s scoring was balanced with four different players scoring 14 or more points, while freshman guard Allison Weidner led the way with 23 of her own.

The Gophers’ season-long theme of struggling in the post continued, getting out-rebounded 39-28 and outscored 44-38 in total points scored in the paint.

With only two games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota will host Illinois on Thursday, Feb. 24 in its final home game of the season.

The Gophers’ offense struggled all night against the Big Ten’s last-place team Rutgers, falling 79-61. A sub-30% night from the field was simply too much to overcome.

Fresh off a 74-68 victory over Northwestern, the Gophers faced an opportunity against Rutgers to pick up a second consecutive victory, something they haven’t done since Nov. 26 and 28.

Against the Scarlet Knights, Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen opted to deploy the same starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game.

Points were scarce in quarter number one. Both teams combined to shoot 10-29 (34%) from the field, but a late flurry from Minnesota, led by a pair of Deja Winters’ threes, resulted in a 15-12 lead after 10 minutes.

The second quarter continued to be a struggle offensively, but this time it was only for the Gophers. With Minnesota shooting 2-14 (14.3%) from the field, Rutgers took advantage and closed the quarter on a 14-0 run and took a 33-22 lead into halftime.

Minnesota season-long rebounding struggles were a theme in the first half, trailing 25-14 in that category. Its 7-29 shooting (24.1%) was ultimately what resulted in the double-digit deficit.

The third quarter was much of the same story, as the Gophers offense struggled to find consistency. With only four points scored off the bench, the vast difference in rebounding margin helped Rutgers extend its lead to 55-40.

Rutgers continued to take advantage of Minnesota’s weakness in the post in the fourth quarter. A 44-28 difference in rebounding and 28-8 difference in points scored in the paint would tell the story of the Gophers’ 79-61 loss.

Sara Scalia and Deja Winters were the only two Minnesota players to find any consistent success on the offensive end, scoring 35 of its 61 points.

It is a tall task for any team in the country to pull out a win while shooting 29.6% and the Gophers have just two days to regroup before their next game.

Minnesota will face a tough conference opponent on Sunday, playing host to top-10 nationally ranked Maryland at 2:00 p.m.