Gophers women’s basketball opens Big Ten Tournament play Thursday vs. Northwestern

Lindsay Whalen and the Minnesota Gophers will open up play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday vs. Northwestern. The Gophers beat the Wildcats in February, 74-68.

“It’s tournament time. We played them two and a half weeks ago and they present a lot of challenges for sure,” said Whalen.

***Click the video box above to hear from Whalen, Deja Winters, and Scalia***

One of the players Whalen will be leaning on for scoring is junior guard Sara Scalia. She’s their leading scorer and is second in the country in three-pointers made.

“Her hard work pays off. She’s always working on her game. We’ll need her and the rest of our team if we’re going to advance,” Whalen added.

Said Scalia: “I definitely worked on being more than a three-point shooter. I’m trying to get to the rim more, drawing contact, and working on my mid-range shot has improved a lot as well.”

Scalia is eager to play in this year’s Big Ten Tournament since last year she was sidelined with an injury.