Gophers vs Duke For B1G/ACC Challenge

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's basketball team will face Duke on the road in the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge, the conferences announced Wednesday. The contest is set for Thursday, Dec. 3, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. Game time will be announced at a later date.

The Gophers posted an 82-75 victory over the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils to advance to the 2004 NCAA Final Four in the teams’ only previous meeting on March 30, 2004 in Norfolk, Va.

Minnesota returns three starters from a team that posted a 23-10 overall record and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2014, and will also welcome back 2014 Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Banham in 2015-16. The team’s record was its best in 10 years and its selection to the NCAA Tournament was the first since 2009. At the conclusion of the season, the Gophers set single-season program records with 2,514 points, 920 field goals, 214 three-point field goals, 582 assists and 195 blocks.

Duke finished the 2014-15 season with a 23-11 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six years and the 16th time in school history.

The Gophers are 4-4 overall in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which includes a 2-1 record on the road and a 2-3 record at Williams Arena.

The annual challenge is in its ninth edition and will feature 14 matchups for just the second time. In last year’s challenge, the Big Ten and the ACC tied at 7-7, with the Gophers, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan State and Northwestern, each claiming victories for the Big Ten.

The Big Ten and ACC conference offices determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2015 event will be referred to as the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences' Challenge agreement for men's basketball.

Game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date.

Wednesday, Dec. 2

Illinois at Miami (Fla.)
Georgia Tech at Indiana
Iowa at Virginia
Syracuse at Maryland
Northwestern at North Carolina
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Wisconsin at Wake Forest

Thursday, Dec. 3

Pittsburgh at Michigan
Louisville at Michigan State
Minnesota at Duke
North Carolina State at Nebraska
Virginia Tech at Penn State
Boston College at Purdue
Rutgers at Florida State

-UM-