UCLA, Auburn, and Minnesota Each Win in Subway Classic
December 21-23, 2013

The Subway Classic at Williams Arena opened Friday, December 21 with UCLA beating Minnesota 58-55. Rachel Banham, back from a knee injury that kept her out of the last Gophers’ game, led all scorers with 24 points while Amanda Zahui B. had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The start of the second half was delayed to tend to a band member, in a sumo-wrestler suit, who had fallen backward and hit his head during a relay race.

On Saturday, in a sloppy game with a combined 42 turnovers and overall shooting percentage of barely 33 percent, Auburn dominated on the boards and held off UCLA for a 66-60 win.

The Tigers took a 5-0 lead and never trailed. The Bruins tied the game once in the first half and came within a point four times in the second half but allowed too many second-chance points. Auburn had a 54-41 in rebounding with 23 coming off the offensive boards.

Nirra Fields, a sophomore guard from Montreal, led a second-half comeback with steals, rebounds, assists and nine straight points for UCLA to help the Bruins pull within 39-38. However, the Tigers held on and opened the lead again, thanks to six straight points by senior forward Tyrese Tanner, who finished the game with 24 points, 8 rebounds (7 offensive), and 4 steals.

Corrine Costa came off the bench and blocked eight shots for the Bruins. Fields had eight steals and nine rebounds to go with 19 points. For UCLA, Atonye Nyingifa had 19 points and Thea Lamberger 18.

On Sunday, Minnesota pulled away from Auburn for a 67-54 win. The Tigers used a pressure defense and zone trap to give the Gophers fits early. Shayne Mullaney turned the ball over three times trying to get it into the forecourt, and Auburn built a 9-4 lead. Minnesota coach Pam Borton said the Gophers weren’t surprised by the press but called it something that’s “difficult to simulate in practice.”

Better ball movement and reversing the flow helped against the full-court pressure, and Minnesota went on a 18-7 run. Auburn tied the game again with just over three minutes left in the half, but, after a time out, Sari Nogi untied it with a three-point basket for the Gophers.

After the loss to UCLA on Friday, Borton said they needed a third scorer to take defenders away from center Amanda Zahui B. and guard Rachel Banham. With two more three-pointers in the second half, Nogi was getting attention of her own. Zauhi B. began posting up and scored all five of her field goals in the second half, giving her 16 points for the game (with all six of her first-half points coming on free throws).

Banham had a game-high 22 points to go with 5 assists and 3 steals. Minnesota had 9 steals in the game as Auburn turned the ball over 22 times. The Tigers did even better, though, stealing the ball 11 times (4 by Tyrese Tanner) as the Gophers committed 23 turnovers.

In addition to her scoring, Zahui B. had seven rebounds and six blocked shots.

Banham was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Others making the all-tournament team were Zahui B. of the Gophers, Lamberger and Fields of the Bruins, and Tyrese Tanner and Hasina Muhammad of the Tigers.