804746 093-108.qxp:Season in Review 1/14/09 3:56 PM Page 93 Gopher Women’s Basketball 2008-09 2007-08 Season Review [ 93 ] Minnesota Basketball 2008-09 804746 093-108.qxp:Season in Review 1/14/09 3:56 PM Page 94 Gopher Women’s Basketball 2008-09 2007-08 Season Review MINNESOTA RETURNS TO NCAA TOURNEY IN 2008 Fox is the ninth junior to capture team MVP honors in The Golden Gopher booster club, the Fast Break Club, Minnesota completed the 2007-08 season with a 20-12 Gopher history and the first since Lindsay Whalen collected gives out two awards at the annual banquet each season. record and advanced to the Golden Gophers’ sixth NCAA her third career MVP as a junior in 2003. The Fast Break Club Award recipient was Leslie Knight, Tournament in seven seasons. The Gophers, the No. 9 Senior Leslie Knight was honored with the Coaches’ while Katie Ohm received the For the Love of the Game seed, were defeated by No. 8 Texas, 72-55, in first-round Award, an award selected by the coaching staff in recogni- Award. action of the New Orleans Region played in Bridgeport, tion of a player’s impact on her team, her leadership quali- The banquet concluded with Pam Borton being recog- Conn. ties and work ethic. Knight culminated her Gopher career nized with a game ball commemorating her 200th career by earning All-Big Ten Second Team acclaim. The 6-1 for- coaching victory and the annual tradition of debuting the THIRD PLACE IN BIG TEN AMONG GOLDEN ward finished fifth in the Big Ten in scoring during the season highlight video. GOPHERS’ TOP FINISHES Conference season averaging 16.4 points a game, 2.5 Minnesota finished third in the Big Ten campaign with a 11- points better than her overall scoring average on the sea- GODLEN GOPHERS LAND THREE PLAYERS ON ALL- 7 record in the first season of an 18-game Conference son (13.9). Knight enjoyed a Gopher career highlighted by BIG TEN HONOR SQUADS schedule. The Golden Gophers’ third-place finish in the Big the prolific improvement in her final two seasons. In her first Minnesota landed three players – Emily Fox, Leslie Knight Ten in 2007-08 ties the second-best placing for Minnesota two seasons at Minnesota, Knight played just 52 minutes in and Ashley Ellis-Milan – on the Big Ten Conference honor under head coach Pam Borton. Minnesota tied for second 19 games scoring 15 points. In her last two seasons, she squads for the 2007-08 season. The accomplishment in 2003, Borton’s first season, and tied for third in 2005. started 65 consecutive games and scored 697 points. marks the fourth time in Minnesota women’s basketball his- Knight, a two-time Academic All-District honoree, was tory, and first since 2005, that Minnesota celebrated three GOPHERS MADE SEVENTH NCAA APPEARANCE also honored with the Gophers’ Scholar-Athlete Award. She all-conference honorees. Minnesota made its seventh NCAA Tournament appear- maintained a 3.8 grade point average as a communications “It’s nice to see our players receive well-deserved recog- ance and the Golden Gophers’ fifth in six years under head major and earned two semesters of a perfect 4.0 GPA. nition on the All-Big Ten teams,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. Minnesota had a streak of five consec- The Gophers’ Most Improved Player Award recipient coach Pam Borton. “We always knew that Emmy (Fox) was utive Tournament appearances (2002-06) snapped in 2007. was sophomore Katie Ohm. Ohm earned a starting position simply one of the best players in the Conference. Leslie The Gophers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance was in in the last 13 games of the season and averaged 7.6 points (Knight) was spectacular in her senior season. And Ashley 1994. Overall, Minnesota is 10-7 in NCAA Tournament play. per game in 2007-08. She quickly became known for her (Ellis-Milan) is developing into one of the toughest post adept long-range shooting, finishing the season as the Big defenders and rebounders in the Big Ten. These honors are 2008 TEAM AWARDS Ten’s leading three-point shooter connecting on 46.2 per- a reward for their hard work and dedication throughout the Junior Emily Fox was honored with the Golden Gophers’ cent of her attempts. In addition to nearly tripling her three- year, not just during the season. I’m extremely proud of Most Valuable Player Award as the Minnesota women’s point field goal total from 21 as a freshman to 61 as a soph- them.” basketball program announced its postseason awards at omore, Ohm also made vast improvements in her defensive Fox, a 5-9 guard from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was an the annual team banquet, held at the McNamara Alumni game. All-Big Ten First Team selection by both the Conference Center on April 13. Junior transfer Kay Sylva made enough of an impact on coaches and media. The Gopher standout finished her jun- Fox claimed the team’s top honor after recording one of the Gophers in her first season in the program to earn the ior campaign ranked among the Big Ten’s leaders in sever- the finest all-around seasons in Gopher history. The 5-9 squad’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. Sylva, a 5-6 al statistical categories. Fox was fourth in the league in guard earned All-Big Ten First Team accord averaging 17.2 guard, earned playing minutes off the bench with her hard- scoring at 17.2 points per game, second in steals grabbing points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 2007-08 nosed, defensive pressure and her endless hustle on the 2.89 thefts per contest and third in assists dishing out 4.50 and leading the Gophers to a 20-win season, a third-place court. assists per league outing. Fox is the first Golden Gopher to Big Ten finish and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Each year, the Gophers honor a recipient in or connect- earn first-team accord since Janel McCarville in 2005. Logging a team-high 36.4 minutes per game, Fox posted ed with the program with the Sixth Player Award. Connie Knight, a 6-1 forward from Minnetonka, Minn., was single-season statistic totals ranking among the top 10 in Bakken, a significant contributor to the Gopher program rewarded for an outstanding senior season by being named Minnesota history in points (549 – eighth), assists (133 – and its recent locker room renovation, was selected for the to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the coaches and media. seventh) and steals (81 – eighth). 2008 award. The award is Knight’s first postseason accolade of her col- [ 94 ] Minnesota Basketball 2008-09 804746 093-108.qxp:Season in Review 1/14/09 3:56 PM Page 95 Gopher Women’s Basketball 2008-09 2007-08 Season Review Emily Fox Ashley Ellis-Milan Brittany McCoy legiate career. Knight scored in double figures in 17 of 18 BORTON HITS 200-WIN MILESTONE GOPHER GUARD TANDEM POSTS CENTURY REPEAT Big Ten games to finish with a scoring average of 16.4 Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton captured the 200th In 2006-07, Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy became just the points per Conference game, good for fifth among the victory of her coaching career in Minnesota’s victory over second duo in school history to each record over 100 league’s leading scorers. Her 56.6 percent field goal per- Indiana on Feb. 28. Borton recorded her 100th win on Dec. assists in a season (the other was Janel McCarville and centage ranked second in the Big Ten. Knight was also 10, 2005, in an 83-57 victory over Washington State. April Calhoun in 2004-05). Fox and McCoy now own a named Minnesota’s recipient of the Big Ten’s repeat performance of this feat as McCoy (131) and Fox Sportsmanship Award. THE MAGICAL 20TH WIN DELIVERED (133) own triple digit assist totals. McCoy is the first player Ellis-Milan, a 6-2 sophomore center from St. Paul, was The Gophers captured that magical 20th victory of the sea- in Gopher history to collect 100 or more assists in the first named to the media’s All-Big Ten Honorable Mention squad. son in a 63-48 win at Michigan in the last game of the reg- two years of a career. Ellis-Milan averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per ular season. The last time Minnesota won 20 or more Conference game. games in a season was in the 2004-05 season. Minnesota FOX AND MCCOY CONTINUE TO MOVE UP SINGLE- Joining Fox on the All-Big Ten First Team (both coaches won 19 games in 2005-06 and 17 games in 2006-07. Pam SEASON ASSIST LIST and media) was Jenna Smith (Illinois), Jantel Lavender Borton is also the first coach in Minnesota women’s basket- The Golden Gophers’ starting backcourt of Emily Fox and (Ohio State) and Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin). Iowa’s Kristi ball history to post four career 20-win seasons. Brittany McCoy added their names to the Minnesota single- Smith was a coaches’ first-team selection, while Michigan season assist totals list. Fox’s season with 133 is the sev- State’s Allyssa DeHaan was tabbed a first teamer by the THE MCCOY “X” FACTOR THEORY ACCURATE IN THE enth best, while Brittany McCoy’s 131 assists ties for the media. Lavender was named the Big Ten Player of the Year 2007-08 CAMPAIGN eighth-highest single season tally.