2019–20 Minnesota Gophers Women’s Basketball Season Preview

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had an up and down 2018–2019 campaign in Lindsay Whalen’s first season as head coach at her alma mater.

Their 21–11 record started with an 11–0 non-conference portion of the schedule that included an exciting 72–68 win in November over a then top 15 ranked Syracuse team that finished with 25 wins.

The Golden Gophers started Big Ten conference play 2–7, but reversed that and finished 7–2 before losing the opening game in the Big Ten Conference tournament to Indiana. That was followed by a second round exit from the WNIT tournament.

Coach Whalen mentioned in both the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Media Teleconference and in a local media availability that a goal for this season was to schedule tougher non-conference opponents to prepare for the Big Ten season. Last season, Syracuse was t the Gophers’ only non-conference opponent with a winning record. The average 2018–19 record of non-conference schedule opponents was 9–20 with a Simple RPI average of 262. This season, the average 2018–19 record of Minnesota’s non-conference opponents is 19–13 with a Simple RPI average of 137, highlighted by Notre Dame (35–4) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This may lead to fewer wins at the start of this season, but hopefully a better finish. See Her Hoop Stats’ Science of Scheduling story for a deep dive into NCAA coaching scheduling strategies.

The Gophers lose Kenisha Bell, who led the team last season in scoring, assists and steals, to graduation. However, there are still many reasons for Minnesota fans to be optimistic for the upcoming season.

Notable Returning Players
Junior Destiny Pitts was the second-leading scorer on the team last season at 16.2 points per game. She finished strong, at one point scoring over 20 points per game for 8 games straight. Pitts had 47% (243/520) of her points from beyond the 3-point arc and ranked third in the conference in 3-pointers made. After being named to the 2018–19 All-Big Ten team, This season Pitts landed a spot on the 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List for top shooting guard and on the 2019 Preseason All-Big Ten First Team.

Senior Taiye Bello had a breakout season in 2018–2019, averaging nearly a double-double (9.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game) after averaging 6 and 6 the previous season. At only 6–2, Bello was ninth in the nation in total rebounds and fourth in offensive boards. She had an amazing 11 games with over 15 rebounds and led the team in FG% at 53.5%. Bello was named to the 2019 Katrina McClain Award Preseason Watch List for top power forward.

Senior guard Jasmine Brunson was a big contributor last season, averaging 8.4 points and 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals and over 30 minutes per game.

Redshirt junior guard Gadiva Hubbard could be a difference maker this season after missing all of the previous one with a foot injury. In 2017–2018, she averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Hubbard is also a 3-point threat with 48% of her scoring coming from beyond the arc (207/435). On October 25 at the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Media Teleconference, Whalen said that they are limiting Hubbard in practices to save her for games, but they do expect her to play.

New Faces
Masha Adashchyk Senior guard transfer from Panola Junior College (Texas): Averaged 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per contest while shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 38.6 % on 3-pointers and 79.2 percent on free throws in two seasons at .

Grace Cumming Freshman forward: Averaged 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in her senior season at Roosevelt HS (Des Moines, IA).

Jasmine Powell Freshman guard: 23rd-ranked point guard according to ESPNAveraged 18.4 points, 8.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds as a senior at Country Day HS (Detroit, MI).

Justice Ross Freshman forward: Averaged 15.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in her senior season at Des Moines East HS.

Sara Scalia Freshman guard: Averaged 22.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals per contest while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from 3-point range and 86.8 percent on free throws in her senior season at Stillwater HS (Minnesota).

Klarke Sconiers Freshman center: ESPN No. 18-ranked post player. Averaged 11.7 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in her senior season at Christ The King HS (Queens, NY).

Preseason Rankings
The Gophers have consistently appeared in top 25 preseason rankings and were No. 15 in the Her Hoop Stats Top 25 rankings as the second-highest ranked Big Ten team behind Maryland. Minnesota was No. 17 in the ESPNW poll, also as the second-highest ranked Big Ten team. In the AP poll, the Gophers were ranked 23rd and the third-highest Big Ten team behind both Maryland and Michigan State. However, in the Big Ten Coaches and Media poll, Minnesota was picked fifth in the conference by the media and outside the top five by the coaches.

Last season, the Gophers responded well to Coach Whalen’s defensive emphasis, finishing third in the conference in opponent points per game (63.4). The tough non-conference schedule this season is designed to point out areas to work on early in the season and lead to a strong finish. If it goes well, it should be a big confidence-booster and lead to their stated goal of an NCAA Tournament bid in March.

If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year. All stats are from HerHoopStats.com and Gophersports.com.