Golden effort
Gophers win 79-70; Bison scare nation's No. 12 team
The Broback Express ran over the hopes that NDSU had in upsetting No. 12 Minnesota Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Jamie Broback, the 6-foot-3-inch guard for the Gophers, scored 33 points, grabbed nine rebounds and stole the ball five times in a 79-70 victory over the Bison.
“ She (Broback) took the team on her back,” NDSU head coach Amy Ruley said.
The nine-point loss was not indicative of how the events unfolded prior to the final horn.
The score was tied at halftime, and until a late surge by the Gophers, the Bison remained well within striking distance.
“ I thought we made the Gophers work for the win,” Ruley said.
Scoring 70 points was above the season average to date for NDSU— 69.1 prior to Thursday — which angered Minnesota’s head coach Pam Borton, saying the Gophers squeaked by with a win.
“ For us to give up 70 points to any team, I think we had a breakdown,” Borton said.
Ali Sonstelie’s first-half contribution enabled NDSU to keep pace with the Gophers, despite a quiet scoring start from key contributors Katie Lorenz and Lisa Bue.
Sonstelie had nine points in the first half, including a three-pointer.
“ They have a lot of balance on the team,” Borton said. “We got caught grabbing jerseys.”
Bue found a way to score in the second half after being guarded by one of the Big Ten’s best defenders for 20 minutes and finished with eight points.
She also capped the Bison’s final run making a jumper with less than nine minutes to play, cutting the deficit to three points.
That is when Broback took over, scoring eight of the Gophers’ next 10 points.
Extended ball pressure forced the Bison into several turnovers and sealed the game.
“ You have to work for everything you get,” Lorenz said. “Too many turnovers I guess.”
NDSU recovered from an unplanned beginning to the game with center Brandee Gibbs picking up two quick fouls.
The 6-foot-4-inch transfer from Ohio State University was valuable to the Bison going into the game because of her height advantage and her experience with the Big Ten.
Suddenly, the Bison were down 12-2.
“ We were our own worst enemy,” Ruley said. “The game plan went out the door and we had to regroup.”
At halftime, the rebounding margin was predictably in favor of the Gophers.
Unpredictably, it was only by one.