Conference Outlook: Minnesota

This season looks bright for Minnesota. Coach Pam Borton is in her first season at the helm of the Golden Gophers. She said she is excited for the upcoming season and added this has been the best five months of her life. The Golden Gophers won 22 games last season, their best total since 1982-1983 and finished in a tie for 2nd place in the conference. Besides the return of all five starters, they return 2002 Big Ten Player of the Year in junior 5'8" guard Lindsay Whalen, who tallied a 22.2 per game average. Sophomore Janel McCarville, who was the Big Ten's freshman of the year last season, will look to continue where she left off last season. \n"Our overall strength is our team chemistry," Borton said. "This team has developed rock hard togetherness. They've built a hard shell"