The Gophers lost in overtime for the second time in conference play on Thursday. This time they fell at Indiana 80-77 in two OTs.

There were two obvious reasons for this loss, which I listened to on the radio (no TV).Emmy Fox got into foul trouble and scored only eight points, way below her average.

And, just as critical, was the Gophers’ poor free throw shooting. They were only 18 of 30 at the line and started the first OT 1-6 at the free throw line. There never should have been a second OT. Indiana was 17 of 24 at the line.

The other four starters arescored in doublefigures. Leslie Knight had 17, Brittany McCoy 14, Korinne Campbell and Ashley Ellis-Milan 13 apiece.Reserve Katie Ohm added 12.

The Gophers made five of seven three-pointers. Maybe in hindsight they should have attempted more of them. Indiana was 7 of 26 on threes.

Indiana also outrebounded the U 49-38. Whitney Thomas was the culprit there; she had 17 rebounds, plus 12 points.

Bottom line, this was a very winnable gamewhich got away. It will be a long plane ride home. Next up for the Gophers in a week is league-leading Ohio State, which escaped with a 43-42 home win over Illinois.

I’m sure Pam Borton reads this blog faithfully. What else could the Gophers have done better to win this game?

The Gophers and Indiana, their opponent at 6 p.m. tonight at Assembly Hall in Bloomingon, Ind., are two of only three Big Ten teams with two road wins in the conference. League leader Ohio State is the third.

Home teams in the Big Ten are 20-10 this season. Four conference teams have yet to win a conference game on the road.

This is the first time since 1996-97 that no Big Ten team has started out 3-0. That season Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue tied for first at 12-4. Could be another season like that.

The Gophers lead the all-time series with Indiana 27-24 after splitting with the Hoosiers last season. Each team won on its home floor.

Hopefully the Gophers are not looking past Indiana to Ohio State. The Gophers need to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble and making their free throws. What do you expect tonight?

Those darn schedule-makers. I had to be at the Gophers-Boston College women’s hockey game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. At the exact same time, the Gophers women’s team was playing Penn State across the street in the Barn.

Wish I could have seen both. But I did catch most of the U-PSU game on tape delay on the Big Ten Network on Monday afternoon. I stumbled on it.

And the Gophersproved once again if they get strong contributions from all five starters — and sometimes a bench player or two — they can contend for the Big Ten title.

Thisis not a strong league. The Lionsplayed 6-3 Janessa Wolff, a freshman from Park Rapids,a lotto try to get some boards. She’s going to be good, just not quite yet.

Good to see BrittanyMcCoy andKorinne Campbell hit at least one outside shotapiece for the U. Teams have been sagging off of them too much.

And Ashley Ellis-Milan was super. How she plays with that brace on her right shoulder is beyond me. But this was her first breakout gamesince injuringthat shoulderagainst Virginia Tech.

Hopefully, the U canwin at Indiana on Thursday. That would set up a huge game with Ohio State on Jan. 24. The first place Buckeyes lead the Gophersby one-half game now. Better check my calendar for conflicts. I’m sure Pam Borton could use my advice that night.

What do you think? How far can these Gophers go?

CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF WEEK PLAYED IN LOSS TO U

Jolene Anderson of Wisconsin was named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week. She had her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds on Monday of last week in a loss to the U.

But she really impressed the next game, scoring 42 points, a conference high this season and second best all-time,in an overtimeloss to Iowa. Those points gave her 2,006 for her career. She is the Badgers’ all-time leading scorer.

The other player earning the award was 6-4 freshman center Jantel Lavender who had two double-doubles for Ohio State as the Buckeyes beat Indiana and Northwestern.

The Gophers’ scouting report on the Illini for Thursday’s game probably had a page on Jenna Smith and a paragraph on Rebecca Harris.

Smith, of course, is the early front-runner for the Big Ten Player of the Year (sorry Emmy). The 6-3 forward from Bloomington Kennedy leads the conference in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 rpg). And she did her thing against the Gophers with 20 points and seven rebounds.

But the player who really killed the Gophers was Rebecca Harris, a 5-8 senior guard. She had a career-high 23 points, sinking four of six shots behind the arc, and three of five inside it. She also made five of six free throws, had six rebounds and guarded Fox most of the game.

Emily Fox led the Gophers with 16 points but she needed to take 18 shots to get there and was 0-for-3 on three-pointers.

Now back to Harris, in four previous Big Ten games she had scored 28 points — total, that is– and started only one game. Even with her big game against the U, she is averaging only 7.4 points.

She had 10 points vs. Northwestern, seven vs. Wisconsin, four vs. Penn State, seven vs. Indiana in her first conference start when she played only 22 minutes.

She played 37 minutes against the U in her sixth start of the season. It was a breakout game.

Maybe first-year Illini coach Jolette Law did not know what she had inHarris. Last season, she started only one game. She transferred to Illinois as a junior from well-known Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill. Sounds like a made-up name and town.

At Rend Lake, she averaged 23.6 points as a sophomore, making her the third-leading scorer among JC players. So the shooting touch was there. It was just well hidden.

The Illini are now 5-2 at home, Assembly Hall. Must have been quite an atmosphere there Thursday with a crowd of 936. Maybe the Gophers didn’t know when the game started, maybe that explains why they fell behind 40-22 in the first half before waking up.

What do you think?

The Gophers got the win they needed Monday night to stay in the thick of the Big Ten race.

After a disappointing OT loss to Iowa, the U went to the Kohl Center and knocked off Wisconsin 81-73 on Monday. The victory gives them a conference-leading 3-1 record and more importantly, means the Gophers have beaten two of the three preseason favorites on the road.

And they didn’t play that well. The Gophers had a whopping 25 turnovers and gave up 30 offensive rebounds.

How do you win doing that? Shoot well, force turnovers and put the ball in the hands of Emily Fox when you need a basket.

Minnesota did all those things, shooting 54 percent from the field. Fox was spectacular at times in the second half, several times hitting 12 footers and threes as the shot clock ticked down.

She had 29 points, 24 in the second half. And she made 10 of 14 shots from the field, including three of four beyond the arc. She also was six of eight at the free throw line and had several nice assists on fastbreaks.

After a below averageshooting game against Iowa, Fox is back.

Fox also caught an elbow in the mouth fighting for the basketball and shook it off.

Brittany McCoy, the other guard, bounced back from a 1-for-7 effort against Iowa by scoring 14 points to tie a season high. She was 5 of 9 on field goals.All were layups. And coach Pam Borton made sure McCoy got into the game early. On the U’s first possession, McCoy was fouled driving to the basket. That’s what she did all night and also made several fastbreak layups. She had six turnovers, though. Too many.

The third Gopher in double figures was senior Leslie Knight. She kept traveling and had seven turnovers. Yikes. But she also scored 20 points, had seven rebounds and a team-high six steals and three blocks.

Knight made several big baskets when the game was tight in the second half.

Korinne Campbell also had a solid game if you overlook seven turnovers. She only scored four points but she had 12 rebounds and guarded Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin’s top scorer most of the game.

Anderson, after a slow start, finished with 16 points but she was only 6 of 17 from the field.

The fifth starter, Ashley Ellis-Milan, reinjured her right shoulder which she had separated earlier this season. She went into the locker room, but came back out on the court and went back into the game.

This was a big win for the U, probably the biggest yet in conference play because the Gophers were coming off such a tough loss.

Next they play at Illinois on Thursday. This win has to give them a lot of confidence against the Illini led by Bloomington Kennedy’s Jenna Smith. If McCoy gets going early again and if Ashley Ellis-Milan is OK, and if they cut down their turnovers, they can win there, too.

Big questions after Monday. Is Fox the best player in the conference?

The U shut down Jolene Anderson, the preseason pick as the Big Ten Player of the Year, while Fox would not let the Gophers lose.

Fox has to be in Player of the Year talk so far.

Iowa’s starters in the Hawkeyes’ 68-66 victory all had betweem 16 and 10 points. Each made at least four baskets and took between seven and 14 shots.

That’s pretty good balance. AndIowa shot 51 percent because Minnesota had to be concerned about each of them.

Minnesota could not match that balance. What’s happened to Brittany McCoy, the promising sophomore point guard? She was 1 of 7 from the field and 0of 3 at the free throw line. A nightmarish game. One has to wonder why the ball went into her hands for the last shot in OT. Shooting has a lot to do with confidence and hers had to be low.

Emmy Fox was not at her best either, making only six of 17 shots. And she had to play 43 of 45 minutes. Zoey Harper was just 1 of 6.

There were good points to the game, too. Fox had four assists, four steals and three blocks. Fifteen of the Gophers’ points off 13 offensiverebounds. Katie Ohm hit three three-pointers off the bench. Only two turnovers in the secondhalf — we won’t mention the TOs in overtime or the two points scored.

This was a game, if the Gophers are serious about winning the Big Ten, they should have won. They didn’t. But they can make up for it on Monday by winning at the Kohl Center in Wisconsin. It won’t be easy.

What do you think? Can the Gophers contend for a conference title?

Pam Borton and the Gophers, in general, are doing a good job of recruiting in Minnesota. Last November, the U signed four in-state kids, none from elsewhere.

But two of the most dynamic players in recent years got away. Illinois 6-3 sophomore Jenna Smith, who led Bloomington Kennedy to a Class 4A state title title, is leading the conference in scoring and is also one of the top rebounders.

She would look good in maroon and gold. The Illini, going into Thursday’s games, are also 2-1 in conference play after a 49-48 loss to Penn State on Wednesday. The Gophers are alone in first place at 2-0.

Another Minnesotan making a quick impact in the Big Ten is freshman guard Alyssa Karel. At Cretin-Derham Hall she filled up the stats book quickly, with points, assists and steals.

Unforturnately, the U had just one scholarship for ‘07 graduates, so Karel went to Wisconsin.

Wednesday night she had 19 points and made eight of 11 shots as the Badgers bear Michigan State 84-71 at the Kohl Center.

Karel’s previous career high was nine points, so this could have been her breakout game.

“Our game plan was run, run, run and that is my personality so it fit real well,” Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said. I thought both [Karel] and Rae Lin together on the court were very nice. It was anice combo and it got [Karel] to transition and that is fun to watch and fun to see. It kept our turnovers down and got some people involved offensively. Alyssa gave us some scoring when we needed it.”

A lot of people still underestimate the talent coming out of Minnesota. Smith, Karel and Leslie Knight of the Gophers should raise the respect for Minnesota high school basketball during the current Big Ten season.

The Gophers play Karel and the Badgers at 7 p.m. Monday at the Kohl Center. The game is on the Big Ten Network. Hope you get BTN, I do and I’ll be watching.

Wisconsin was picked to finish second behind Ohio State in preseason Big Ten predictions.

So the MSU win was huge for the Badgers to avoid an 0-3 start. They are 1-2 now.

Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State were picked to finish 1-2-3 in the Big Ten in preseason polls. But so far they are a combined 1-4.

The Gophers riled up the Spartans, beating them on their home court. And, in the next game, MSU beat Ohio State.

Pam Borton said before the season began her team could contend for the Big Ten title. But, besided the Gophers, a lot of the other teams also had four, five starters back, too, there are four new coaches andlast season’stop teams seemed to have lost the most talent.

So the tea leaves were hard to read. But so far so good for the U which plays Iowa on Thursday at the Barn.

The Gophers are second in the conference in scoring, averaging 69.4 points. Emmy Fox and Leslie Knight seem to be carrying too much of the scoring load lately.

Minnesota is first in fewest turnovers, averaging 16.6 per game with a season-low nine in the last game, and first in forcing the most, 20.9 per game. Those often are key stats.

The Gophers are also thriving on the boards and in shooting three-pointers. Minnesota is averaging 44.8 rebounds, including 16.2 offensive rebounds per game — they are second in the conference in both those categories.

Led by Fox and Katie Ohm, the Gophers and first in making three-point, averaging 39 percent behind the arc.

All that helps explain why they are 11-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, tied for the conference lead with Illinois.

That was a huge victory for the Gophers women’s basketball team in East Lansing, Mich., on Friday afternoon.

The U beat the Spartans 74-63. Minnesota had been 1-9 against Michigan State in their last 10 meetings. And at home, MSU was 43-6 since the 2004-05 season.

The last timeMinnesotaand MSU played was in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on March 2, 2007. Allysa DeHaan, a 6-9 freshman center, dominated that game. She had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans.

Not Friday. DeHaan was a quiet 3-for-4 from the field and finished with six points, all in the first half. She did have 10 rebounds, but none on the offensive boards. How is that possible for a 6-9 player? So it was not surprising the Gophers won 74-63 and had a 42-30 advantage in rebounds.

First-year MSU coach Suzy Merchant was clearly not happy in her post-game press conference; the audio of it is available on the team’s web site.

“Nobody should come in here and shoot 51 percent from the floor,” Merchant said. But the Gophers did, making 28 of 55 shots from the field.

And they needed all those baskets because they were a horrible 15 of 29 at the free throw line.

Merchant said her Spartanscould not get motivated, especially on the boards.”Ally [DeHaan] has to be more aggressive,” Merchant said. “She needs to get offensive boards. … They did a great job of being physical with her.”

The Gophers’ offense also impressed Merchant. “Whatever we did, man or zone, they attacked it pretty well and we did not get the stops we needed,” she said.

Other keys for the U:

* Leslie Knight, who has struggled at times on the road, had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

* Brittany McCoy, who has not been scoring much, matched her season-high with 14 points and stayed out of foul trouble which has plagued her a lot.

* Emily Fox had four assists and three teammates had three apiece. The team is sharing the ball.

Bring on Purdue on Sunday at the Barn. Should be another winnable game for the 10-3, 1-0 Gophers.

One key reason the Gophers are 8-2 is that they have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted.

They have made 159 (out of 241), foes have gone to the line for 148 attempts. The Gophers are outscoring other teams 23 to 14.8 points from the line.

Minnesota has won the last 69 games it has scored 70 points or more going back to the 2003-04 season.

After playing nine games in November, the Gophers play just five this month.