Gopher Women Beat Memphis in Basketball

Minneapolis, MN (Gophersports.com) - The Golden Gophers used a big third quarter to pull away with a 70-60 victory over Memphis. The Gophers started the second half on a 17-0 run and held the Tigers to eight points in the third quarter.

On a night in which she was honored for her school scoring record in a pregame ceremony that included Gopher great Lindsay Whalen, Rachel Banham scored the first two points of the game for the Gophers on a layup. Banham added 21 more and finished with 23 points on the night.
Banham has scored over 20 points in all of her team's games this season and is the only player in the country to have accomplished that feat. She added 10 rebounds to record her second straight double-double.

The other half of the nation's second-leading scoring duo, Carlie Wagner, added 21 points in the win. This was the fifth time in eight games this year that Wagner has recorded over 20 points.

Jessie Edwards came off the bench for the Gophers and scored 11 points while grabbing six rebounds. This was the fourth game in Edwards's career in which she scored double-digit points.

Joanna Hedstrom had seven points and six rebounds for the Gophers. Mikayla Bailey had eight rebounds and Shayne Mullaney led the team with six assists.

The Tigers led for most of the first half, but a big third quarter put the Gophers out front for good. Minnesota outscored Memphis 27-8 in the third. The eight points by the Tigers were the fewest allowed by the Gophers in a regulation quarter since the opening night win against Wofford.

The Gophers came into the night averaging 10.7 3-pointers, but only made three against the Tigers. The Gophers instead went low, scoring 48 points in the paint.

The Gophers' next game will be on Wednesday at noon against New Mexico at Williams Arena.