Gophers Earn ESPN-W Midseason Honors

MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team received national recognition from espnW this week, as it was named the site’s Midseason Biggest Surprise for its play without senior guard Rachel Banham. It also honored Amanda Zahui B. as a member of its Midseason All-America Team. Along with the pair of honors, head coach Marlene Stollings was also nominated for Midseason Coach of the Year.   

Joining Zahui on the Midseason All-American team were Baylor’s Nina Davis, Notre Dame’s Jewell Loyd, South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell and UConn’s Breanna Stewart.

Since the loss of Banham to an ACL injury on Dec. 10 at North Dakota, the Gophers were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2006, making its way up to No. 21 last week, while also winning seven of their 10 games since her injury. Minnesota opened Big Ten play with a 5-1 record and was named the espnW Team of the Week after posting three-straight wins over Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin in its first three games of league play.

Zahui B. has played a large role in the team’s success, as she leads the team in scoring at 17.6 points per game, rebounding at 11.4 boards per game, blocks at 3.5 per game and field goal percentage with a .568 mark.

She earned espnW National Player of the Week accolades and has twice been named the Big Ten Player of the Week this season, while being named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll three different times.

Zahui set a Minnesota single-game program record with an 11-for-11 performance from the field against Purdue, before tallying a career-high 36 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals on the road at Rutgers.

The Gophers host Penn State Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Williams Arena.