Minnesota Ready for Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship

Upcoming Events

Schedule

Nov 26

3:00 PM

Women's Basketball

vs Alabama

Dec 1

7:00 PM

Women's Basketball

vs Samford

Dec 7

3:00 PM

Women's Basketball

vs Maryland

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's basketball team (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) heads to the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship this week. The Golden Gophers open the tournament Monday against South Florida (3-2, 0-0 AAC). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and will stream live on FloSports. Fans can listen on KFAN+, with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

Minnesota (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. South Florida (3-1, 0-0 AAC)
Stream: Flo Sports
Tip Time: 3 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN+ 96.7 FM and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)
Location: Nassau, Bahamas

STARTING FIVE

The Gophers hit the road for two neutral-site games this week. Minnesota will face South Florida on Monday and then Harvard or Alabama on Wednesday in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Hoops Championship.
Minnesota suffered its first loss of the year when it traveled to Lawrence, Kan., on Wednesday and fell to Kansas, 63-57. Despite trailing 29-27 at the half, the Gophers went on a 6-0 run in the third quarter to tie the game at 49-49. But they couldn't turn their rally into a victory, as the Jayhawks outscored them 14-8 the rest of the way to hand Minnesota the loss.
Against Kansas, three Gophers scored in double figures, led by Tori McKinney with 14 points. Mara Braun added 13, and Grace Grocholski contributed 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Amaya Battle led Minnesota in rebounds for the fourth time this season, grabbing nine. The guard also recorded a season-high five steals in 38 minutes.
Minnesota ranks second in the nation and in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (103/43) and is No. 12 nationally and fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 12. In addition, the Gophers' defense ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in the conference in points allowed, giving up an average of 46.4.

SERIES HISTORY

Monday's game is the first meeting between the Gophers and Bulls since 2011. South Florida defeated Minnesota 60-52 on Nov. 13, 2011, in Daytona Beach, Fla., at the WBI Tip Off.
The Gophers lead the series 2-1, which dates back to 1971. Minnesota picked up wins in 1971 and 1998, both on the road.
The Maroon and Gold are 15-4 against American Athletic Conference opponents.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

USF enters the tournament with a 3-2 overall record. The Bulls opened the season with wins over FIU, 81-56, and LIU, 79-72. After falling to Fairfield, 80-72, and No. 3 UCLA, 94-61, the Bulls defeated Duke, 85-72, on Thursday night.
Head coach Michele Woods-Baxter is in her first season after spending 17 years as an assistant under Jose Fernandez, who took over as head coach of the WNBA's Dallas Wings in October.
South Florida was selected as the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference for the sixth straight year. Senior forward Carla Brito was named the American's Preseason Player of the Year and earned a unanimous spot on the Preseason All-Conference First Team. Graduate forward L'or Mputu also earned a spot on the first team.
Through five games, Edyn Battle leads the Bulls with 16.0 points per game. She scored a season-high 23 points against LIU.

ABOUT BAHA MAR HOOPS PINK FLAMINGO CHAMPIONSHIP

Baha Mar annually plays host to one of the largest regular-season events in the sport of college basketball. Each November around the Thanksgiving holiday, 20 NCAA Division I men's and women's teams visit the stunning resort to compete in various basketball tournaments. In total, 20 games will be played over an 11-day span.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Grace Grocholski

Tori McKinney