ESPN’s No. 98-ranked player in the class of 2021, Katie Borowicz, has graduated from Roseau High School early and has chosen to enroll at the University of Minnesota for the upcoming spring semester, the University announced Saturday.

In her career with the Roseau High School Rams, Borowicz, a 5-foot-6 guard, was a three time all-state honoree. Last season as a junior, she averaged 31.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 steals and 6.0 assists per game. She was a part of the varsity team since seventh grade, scoring over 2,000 points in her career and reaching 1,000 by her sophomore season.

Borowicz led Roseau to a state title in 2017, a runner-up finish the following season and a spot in the semifinals in 2019.

“I chose to enroll early because of the unique circumstances of this year,” Borowicz said in a statement. “Covid-19 has changed a lot of aspects of not only my life, but everyone’s lives. There were a lot of variables to consider but ultimately I knew it would give me the greatest chance to become a better basketball player.”

The Gophers current roster has plenty of talent at the guard position, with Jasmine Powell, Sara Scalia, Gadiva Hubbard and Alexia Smith all receiving consistent minutes. We will have to wait and see what kind of role Borowicz will have for the rest of the season.

“It was difficult to leave my high school career unfinished, but the uncertainty of this year is what helped me make my decision. I love the game of basketball and I’m very grateful for this opportunity. I’m going to take advantage of the extra time I get with this amazing team.”

Borowicz is expected to wear No. 23 for the Gophers, as they’re slated to travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“We know Katie has the ability to score and create assists at an elite level. We are looking forward to her providing depth in our backcourt,” Whalen said.

The Gophers women’s basketball team’s early season struggles continued Wednesday at the hands of a 75-54 defeat to the No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers.

Minnesota’s fifth opponent of the season, Indiana, was dubbed as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten conference. Deservedly so, as the Hoosiers brought back four starters from a team last season that went 24-8, setting a school record for wins. They’re led by a pair of veteran All-Conference guards, Grace Berger and Ali Patberg.

Indiana University head coach Teri Moren entered this matchup having led her team to a 3-2 record on the season. They have already been tested by some of the best competition in the country, proving to be a tough test for a struggling Gophers team.

Wednesday was Minnesota’s first game this season with a completely healthy roster. Head coach Lindsay Whalen received an early Christmas present Tuesday, as Nebraska-transfer Kayla Mershon was ruled eligible for the remaining 2020-21 season. The 6-foot-3 forward’s Gophers debut could’ve very well been what Minnesota needed, as they came ready to play, and Whalen was impressed with her performance.

“She came in and provided leadership, she has no quit in her,” Whalen said. “She took the challenge of guarding Mackenzie Holmes who is playing at an All-Conference level. I thought she did a lot of really positive things for us.”

The Gophers opened with their best first quarter of the season. After being outscored 97-54 in the previous four opening quarters combined, Minnesota found itself leading 16-15 after 10 minutes of play. Cornell graduate-transfer Laura Bagwell-Katalinch was active on both ends of the floor leading the Gophers with four points and three rebounds.

“At practice this last week, we were able to have some time where we focused on what we thought were our strongest attributes offensive and defensively,” Whalen said. “We took care of the ball, I was very pleased with that start as well.”

The second quarter was a different story, as the Hoosiers began with a 14-2 run, jumping out to an 11 point lead halfway through. Bagwell-Katalinich did her best to keep the Gophers in it, drawing her second charge of the game and continuing to scrap on both ends of the floor with six points and five rebounds.

Ultimately, Indiana found its rhythm making 57.1% of its second quarter shots compared to the Gophers’ 20%. The Indiana lead was 36-25 heading into the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Gophers ran into much of their same season-long problems. The third quarter saw six Minnesota turnovers resulting in 10 Indiana points. IU’s Mackenzie Holmes and Jaelynn Penn combined to score 14 of Indiana’s 19 third quarter points resulting in a 55-40 Hoosiers lead heading into the final quarter of play.

It seemed as if Minnesota did not have much in the tank, as Indiana continued to extend its lead into the fourth quarter. The Gophers’ shooting struggled continued at a 26.7% mark in the fourth, resulting in a 75-54 defeat.

Overall, the Gophers shot 19-of-59 from the field as a team, a mark that any team will have serious trouble overcoming.

“We’re not satisfied with the loss, but excited that our team came together and was able to put up a big fight against a team that was picked to win the conference,” Whalen said.

Minnesota will have 13 days off until it’s slated to travel to Iowa City, Iowa, for a Jan. 6 matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-1).

Turnovers and a slow start were the story again, as the Gophers women’s basketball team fell to 1-3 on the season following an 80-51 loss at Northwestern.

The Gophers’ women’s basketball team opened their 2020 road schedule Wednesday, in Evanston, Illinois, taking on the Wildcats of Northwestern University. Northwestern entered this matchup ranked No. 16 in all of the land, winning its only nonconference game against Eastern Illinois, a team that the Gophers defeated by 32 less points in their own matchup.

A struggling Minnesota team had a tough test ahead of itself against a Wildcat team that was voted to finish fourth in the conference. They are led by two preseason All-Big Ten conference players, Veronica Burton and Lindsey Pulliam. The latter of which was voted as the preseason player of the year in the conference.

Gophers’ head coach Lindsay Whalen began Wednesday’s game with some positive news, as Cornell graduate-transfer Laura Bagwell-Katalinich appeared in her first game as a Gopher, after missing the first three due to injury. The Ivy League graduate played 21 minutes recording three rebounds on 0-2 shooting from the field.

“She worked hard. It’s her first game with us. I will have to watch the video, but I thought she gave effort. I appreciated some things that I saw out there,” said the Gophers’ head coach.

As soon as the game tipped off, the Gophers were in a very familiar situation. Team turnovers were a struggle once again. After nine first quarter turnovers in their last matchup, the Gophers coughed up seven more today in the first 10 minutes of play. The sloppy play ultimately led to a Northwestern 25-14 first quarter lead. Minnesota has now been outscored 97- 54 in its four first quarters this season.

Whalen has focused on communication as something that needs to improve going forward, and this game was no different.

“I think communication is a constant thing. You have to be in constant communication with all five players on your team. It is something that you always have to be working on, or you’re not going to see results,” Whalen said.

The first half as a whole was largely a synopsis of all of Minnesota’s struggles this season. Three point defense and turnovers continued to loom large. Thirteen Gophers’ turnovers led to 16 Northwestern points, and the Wildcats’ 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc made it tough for Minnesota to find any rhythm defensively. On the offensive end, Jasmine Powell was not able to get much help if any at all, scoring 12 of the Gophers’ 28 first half points, ultimately leading to a 28-43 deficit going into the break.

It got much worse before it got any better for the Gophers. Northwestern outscored Minnesota 17-7 in the third quarter extending the Wildcats’ lead to 25. Burton was having her way all night. The All-Big Ten guard eventually finished 20 points and 10 assists, missing only two shots and recording only one turnover. Minnesota faced an insurmountable 60-35 deficit heading into the final quarter of play.

The Gophers did their best to make the box score look a lot closer in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get it done. Northwestern outscored the Gophers for a fourth consecutive quarter, 20-16. From the tip, Whalen’s team could not really get settled in, ultimately leading to a 80-51 defeat.

“Everybody needs to look at ways that they can help and improve the team. There is nothing magical I can tell them and it starts with me. The biggest thing that I told them was that we need to stick together, because we’re all that we have,” Whalen said.

Next on Minnesota’s schedule is a home game against preseason Big Ten favorite, Indiana, Dec. 23. at 1 p.m.

The Gophers started the Big Ten conference play on the wrong foot with an 81-68 loss to Michigan State.

The Spartans came into Wednesday’s matchup against the Gophers women’s basketball team 2-0 on the season with blowout wins over St. Francis PA and Detroit.

Fortunately for Gophers’ head coach Lindsay Whalen, her team is only getting healthier. Sophomore guard Sara Scalia suited up for the first time this season after averaging 10.8 points per contest last season as a freshman. Freshman guard Alexia Smith also appeared in her first game as a Gopher after failing to do so in the first two. Scalia finished with nine points compared to Smith’s six.

“They looked great. They did what they could, they both played almost 30 minutes. They were obviously knocking some rust off in their first game of the year. It’s tough, but it’s what we’re doing,” Whalen said.

Laura Bagwell-Katalinich remained the only eligible Gopher not in uniform after the team opened the season without four players.

“We’ll know more this weekend on Laura. We will see how the next few days go with her,” said the Gophers’ head coach.

Wednesday’s matchup saw the Gophers face early struggles for the third consecutive game. Michigan State finished the first quarter leading 20-11, while Minnesota seemed careless with the ball totaling nine turnovers in only the first 10 minutes of play. MSU’s Nia Clouden led all scorers with 14 first-quarter points. Minnesota has been outscored 42-70 in first quarters so far this season.

“We need to do our best to simulate those things in practice. I mean, who wants to play from behind in 90% of the minutes we’ve played. I think we’re all tired of it,” Whalen said.

Whalen’s squad was able to do some damage control in the second quarter. Turnovers and three-point defense continued to be a problem as Minnesota totaled 15 first-half turnovers and allowed Michigan State to shoot 6-14 from beyond the arc. The Gophers flipped a switch at the 3:17 mark and closed the half on a 15-5 run, trailing only 38-48 heading into the locker room.

The third quarter saw a lot happen. Jasmine Powell picked up her fourth foul about midway through the quarter; the Gophers were without their starting PG all the way until the start of the fourth. To make matters worse, Kadi Sissoko headed to the locker room with an apparent lower leg injury. The Gophers were able to survive without their two leading scorers, as the deficit only grew to 11 heading into the fourth trailing 57-68.

Powell and Sissoko both began the final quarter of play on the court, but Powell only lasted 15 seconds. The sophomore guard picked up her fifth foul on the first possession. The final 10 minutes of play was much of the same story. Minnesota continued to cough up turnovers and Michigan State continued to find success scoring on its extra opportunities, ending with 30 of the team’s 86 points off Minnesota turnovers.

“When we are driving at the basket they’re swiping at the ball. We need to be tougher with the ball flat out. They denied reversals and denied us at the elbows. We need to work on being better in those situations by being more in-sync,” Whalen said.

The Spartans’ backcourt of Alyza Winston and Clouden found success all night finishing with 45 of Michigan State’s 81 points. Ultimately, Michigan State pulled away and left Williams Arena with an 81-68 win.

The Gophers will travel to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern Dec. 14 at 8 p.m.

Drake University came into Williams Arena and handily defeated Minnesota’s young roster 99-66.

Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen remained shorthanded, but she did receive two reinforcements. Sara Scalia and Laura Bagwell Katalinich remained out due to injury or illness for the second consecutive game, but Alexia Smith and Caroline Strande partook in warmups. Strande was the only one to appear in the game, finishing with nine points, four rebounds and four steals.

“I liked her approach, I thought she was aggressive. She made a lot happen. It was her first game against the preseason No. 23 team in the country, so I thought she did really good,” Whalen said. “I was very impressed.”

The Drake Bulldogs were voted to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference and entered this matchup 1-2 on the season following a close loss to Iowa. Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk has led her team to six straight 20-win seasons, so the Gophers had their work cut out for themselves.

Whalen opted to stay with four of the same five starters. Powell, Hubbard, Hedman, and Sconiers remained, while she decided to replace Kadi Sissoko with Grace Cumming. Sissoko recorded 24 points in her Gophers debut, so the decision came by surprise. With even more surprise, Sissoko checked into the game for Cumming only 30 seconds into the contest. Whalen later stated it was just a miscommunication with the scorers table.

Drake began the day scorching hot, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Gophers quickly trailed 19-5 with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter. Gadiva Hubbard did her best to keep the Gophers in the ball game with three first quarter made threes, but Drake failed to cool off, leading 33-17 after the first quarter.

The Gophers failed to make any dent into the Bulldogs lead in the second quarter. In fact, Drake extended its lead to 22, 56-34. Minnesota struggled to slow down Drake’s high-powered offense, as the team shot 7-of-10 beyond the arc in the half. The Gophers struggled to find a rhythm of their own on the offensive end. Hubbard and Powell led with nine first half points each, while Drake’s Kierra Collier led all scorers with 13 at the break.

The second half truly could not have started much worse for the Gophers. Drake continued to find success on wide open threes and backdoor-cutting layups. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-1 run, and Minnesota looked completely outmatched. Drake led 81-43 heading into the fourth.

Minnesota ran into much of the same problems in the fourth quarter. Jasmine Powell began to find her rhythm shooting the ball, finishing with a team high of 22 points. But it didn’t change the end score of 99-66 and the Gophers fell to 1-1 on the season.

Overall, there was not one single reason for the Gophers’ disappointing performance. They didn’t get destroyed in the rebounding or turnover margin. Drake simply had more high-percentage shots and found great success in making said shots.

Heading into next week’s game, there is obviously a lot that needs to improve, but Whalen and the rest of the team believe communication on defense must be first.

“Transition defense and communication when we get tired. I think communicating when we get tired is big. We need to match up defensively,” Whalen said.

The Gophers will begin Big Ten conference play next week, when they host Michigan State Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.

The Gophers’ women’s basketball roster is already being hit with injuries and COVID-19 ahead of their matchup with Eastern Illinois Wednesday.

Similar to the Gophers’ football team, the women’s basketball team has opted not to specify what is keeping players out of the lineup due to privacy concerns.

Due to the unspecific designation, all we know is that sophomore guard Sara Scalia, five-star freshman Alexia Smith, transfer post player Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, and freshman guard Caroline Strande are all set to be out for Wednesday’s season opener due to injury or illness.

Scalia and Bagwell-Katalinich were both expected to be starters for head coach Lindsay Whalen this season. Scalia was the third-highest returning scorer for the Gophers and Bagwell-Katalinich averaged 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds last season at Cornell.

Whalen’s starting lineup for Wednesday is expected to include sophomore Jasmine Powell, redshirt-senior Gadiva Hubbard and redshirt-sophomore Kadi Sissoko, who has not played since the 2018-19 season. They will lean on freshman Erin Hedman and either redshirt-freshman Grace Cumming or sophomore Klarke Sconiers as the remaining starters.

The only reserves available will be redshirt-freshman forward Justice Ross and either Cumming or Sconiers.

The Gophers have also reportedly decided to apply for a waiver for Kayla Mershon, a 6-foot-3 center transfer from Nebraska. With serious uncertainty day-by-day, another body would go a long way, especially one with two years of Big Ten playing experience.

Minnesota is set to tip off against Eastern Illinois Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Williams Arena.

Gophers’ head coach Lindsay Whalen lost nearly 50% of her team’s scoring from a season ago, so she knew that she had to get creative in finding new pieces for her team in 2020. Lucky for her, there was a pair of native Minnesotans in the transfer portal that had grown up dreaming of playing for the Gophers.

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whalen’s recruitment did not slow down as she added one transfer commitment in March and one in April. On March 18, the school announced the addition of Cornell graduate transfer Laura Bagwell Katalinich; on April 15, the school announced the addition of Nebraska transfer Kayla Mershon.

Bagwell Katalinich, an Academy of Holy Angels graduate, knew that the University of Minnesota was always somewhere that she wanted to end up.

“I wanted to go to a place where I could play competitive basketball and push myself athletically but also compliment the degree that I already earned at Cornell,” she said.

The 6-foot forward is planning to pursue the University’s one-year masters program in sports management. Although this will be Bagwell Katalinich’s first year with the Gophers, she will be one of only two senior players on the roster.

“I think it would be a waste for me not to take on some leadership role,” she said. “Something that I have always tried to do is make people’s lives easier by sharing what I have learned and seen.”

Making the jump from a midmajor conference like the Ivy League all the way to Big Ten conference competition can be challenging for some, but the former first-team All-Ivy League member is up for the challenge.

“I am 6 feet tall, and there are girls that are easily 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 in the Big Ten,” Bagwell Katalinich said. “I am not going to grow and be 6-foot-4 this season, so just being smart with my footwork and shot selection to balance out that height and strength disadvantage is something I worked on a lot this offseason.”

Bagwell Katalinich is immediately eligible to play this season as a graduate transfer. With so much roster turnover, the 6-foot forward could be in store for a big role with the Gophers in 2020 after averaging 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds a season ago with Cornell.

Mershon, a graduate of Minnetonka High School, knew that the University of Minnesota felt like home when she faced the Gophers at Williams Arena last season with Nebraska.

“When I came to play at Minnesota last season [with Nebraska], there were 30 of my friends and family at the game, and I just felt loved,” she said. “I knew that this place felt like home.”

Mershon just completed her second season at Nebraska, averaging 1.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. She will not be eligible to play for the Gophers this season as she sits out one season due to NCAA transfer rules. She sees the year off from games as an opportunity to grow her own game and take her skills to the next level.

“I really want to work on my scoring mentality. At Nebraska, they saw me more as a defensive threat, while the coaches here want me to be more of an overall player,” Mershon said. “I think working on my offensive game and connections with my teammates will make the transition that much easier next year.”

Standing at 6-foot-3, Mershon has all the intangibles to be a very effective post player in the Big Ten for the Gophers in 2021.

The Gophers are set to begin their 2020 campaign on Dec. 2 when they host Eastern Illinois. Big Ten Conference play is set to begin on Dec. 9.

Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen announced Oct. 30 that redshirt sophomore Barbora Tomancova and junior Daja Woodard were no longer with the program.

Tomancova, a Brno, Czech Republic native, appeared in 24 games over the past two seasons for the Gophers. She averaged 1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in her career. The 6-foot-2 post player very well could’ve had an expanded role with the team this season with so much scoring departing from a season ago at her position.

She has reportedly entered her name into the NCAA’s transfer portal with no definitive reason behind the move.

“We wish Barbora well moving forward and thank her for contributions while being in our program,” Whalen said in a statement.

This all but confirms that redshirt sophomore Kadi Sissoko, sophomore Klarke Sconiers, and junior transfer from Nebraska Kayla Mershon will likely control the majority of minutes from the power forward and center positions this season.

Woodard, a Mobile, Alabama native, transferred into the Gophers’ program in April from Jones College, a public community college in Ellisville, Mississippi. The 6-foot-3 forward had never appeared in a game for Minnesota, and she would’ve likely had to compete for the same minutes as Tomancova in the post.

The junior college product was known for her elite athleticism as well as for her ability to dunk from time to time, something quite rare on the women’s basketball scene. Video of her doing so is widely available online.

“Daja informed me [Oct. 29] she would no longer be a member of our team,” Whalen said in a statement. “We wish her all the best.”

The departures come as the 2020-21 season is expected to begin on Nov. 25. However, the Gophers are still yet to officially confirm a single game for the season.

The Gophers’ women’s basketball team will be without 49.1% of its scoring from a season ago. Head coach Lindsay Whalen will have to rely on a large portion of her team’s youth, with very few upperclassmen returning from last year’s squad.

Keep an eye out for sophomore guard Jasmine Powell to have a much-expanded role this season. As a freshman, Powell led the team with 375 points and 96 assists and was second in points per game behind Destiny Pitts who transferred. Powell averaged 12.1 points per game, while only playing 26.1 minutes per game.

Jasmine Powell, better known as “Jazz,” is a 5-foot-6 guard from Detroit, Michigan. She came to the Twin Cities as a four-star recruit, the No. 78 overall player and No. 23 ranked point guard in the class of 2019. She led her high school, Detroit Country Day, to back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018. Powell averaged 18.4 points, 8.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds in her senior season.

When choosing the University of Minnesota, Powell had her long-term future in mind, and she saw the opportunities Whalen and the Gophers presented.

“It mainly had to do with my personal goals, which are to win an NCAA championship and eventually go to the WNBA,” Powell told Gopher Sports last season. “I just felt like Coach Lindsay was the person that could do that for me, especially with her background of playing in the WNBA and since I’m a point guard. I just felt like that connection would be there, as well.”

Powell found immediate success in her Gophers career, as she put together one of the most successful freshman campaigns in Gophers history. She was voted as a 2020 Consensus All-Big Ten Honorable Mention as well as a consensus member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

The Detroit native ranks fourth all-time among Minnesota freshmen in free throws made, 99, and assists, 96. She also led all Big Ten freshmen with 12.1 points per game as well as free throw percentage, shooting 75.6% from the line.

She even led Big Ten freshmen in scoring in conference games, 13.1, while becoming the first freshman in program history to lead the team in assists.

Moving into this upcoming season, the sophomore guard has one goal in mind: improvement.

“I think it started with conditioning because I want to be able to impact the game on both ends of the court whenever my team needs me. And lately it has been the whole game, so I want to be in shape,” Powell said.

When looking at the aspects of her game on the court specifically, the right-handed guard wanted to become a more rounded player.

“I have been working on my pull-up [jump shot], ultimately going left as well, so I can be stronger on both sides of the floor. Last year I went right a lot, so I am looking to incorporate going left as well.”

With COVID-19 impacting the season so much already, Powell has not been able to have a traditional offseason to prepare for her expanded role. The Gophers have yet to officially confirm a single date for a game, with the season less than a month away. The only date currently set in stone is that the 2020-21 season will officially begin on Nov. 25.

Powell will likely have fellow sophomore guard Sara Scalia right by her side all season, as she too is likely to play a large role this season. Whalen couldn’t be happier to have both players on her team.

“You’re proud as a coach,” Whalen said. “You’re happy they’re on your team.”

On Saturday, ESPN announced that it will bring back College GameDay to the University of Minnesota for the Gophers season opener against Michigan.

To open the 2020 football season, No. 24 Minnesota is scheduled to welcome No. 19 Michigan to TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 24. Before the game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on ABC, the Gophers’ football program will once again be in the national spotlight.

ESPN’s College GameDay is a weekly college football preview show that travels across the country, broadcasting the show from where they believe to be the week’s top matchup. Next week’s show will air from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. GameDay visited Minnesota for the first time ever in last year’s regular-season finale, a 38-17 loss to Wisconsin.

This year’s College GameDay program has a much different feel. Last November when Minnesota hosted Wisconsin, Gophers fans packed the Northrop Mall on campus to see Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and guest picker Eric Decker break down the matchup.

This year, no fans are present and Corso makes his mascot headgear selection from his Florida home, where the rest of the on-air crew will be seated at their typical desk setting inside the stadium to maintain social distancing.

No fans is quite a change from the show’s typical atmosphere, but fans can participate virtually through their website, www.collegegameday.com.