Tori McKinney scores a season-high 26 points, Minnesota beats Belmont 75-63 to win WBIT championship
Minnesota (25-11) appeared in a national postseason tournament championship game for the second straight season after losing to Saint Louis in the WNIT finale last year.
Belmont (26-13) was playing for a national postseason championship for the first time in the program's 57-year history.
Minnesota started the game on an 11-2 run after holding Belmont to 1-of-9 shooting through the opening eight minutes. The Bruins finished the quarter making just 3 of 13 shots with six turnovers.
McKinney made 10 of her first 11 shots and reached 26 points with 5:44 remaining in the third to give Minnesota a 50-26 lead. Belmont was 10 of 35 at that point.
Minnesota went ahead 63-41 early in the fourth on a 3-pointer by Grace Grocholski. But Belmont came back and Kendal Cheesman sank a 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining to get within single digits, 67-58, for the first time since it was 16-8 in the opening frame.
Heyer gave Minnesota a 13-point cushion with 1:56 left on a contested layup with the shot clock winding down.
Battle finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Minnesota.
Jailyn Banks led Belmont with 17 points and Sanaa Tripp added 13. Cheesman and Tuti Jones each scored 11.
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New York Times
15 minutes ago
- New York Times
How has Vikings rookie Max Brosmer gone from undrafted free agent to potential No. 2 QB?
EAGAN, Minn. — They swear they're not saying this in hindsight. Max Brosmer? Those who have witnessed his journey, from Atlanta to Minnesota by way of New Hampshire, knew. Not necessarily that he could push to be a backup for the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie. But that he has what you need to play for a long time in the NFL. Advertisement 'Some teams were, like, 'We don't have a draftable grade on him,'' said Brosmer's longtime quarterback trainer, Quincy Avery. 'I'm, like, 'Are you guys crazy? What are you watching? What are we even looking at?'' It wasn't for a lack of trying, either. Brosmer's quarterbacks coach at New Hampshire, Drew Belcher, implored the NFL staffers he knew to take a look. Eric Galko, the director of the East-West Shrine Bowl, invoked the name Brock Purdy as a comparison. P.J. Fleck, Brosmer's head coach at Minnesota, described him as one of the most mentally capable players and people he'd been around. Still, nothing. Seven rounds, 257 picks, 13 quarterbacks, none of them Brosmer. Going undrafted motivated the 24-year-old. It infuriated the people around him. The Vikings eventually offered him a shot as an undrafted free agent, and it took only a few months before coach Kevin O'Connell started to sound like all of his former coaches and observers: 'Max is as smart as any young player that I've been around.' It'd be one thing if Brosmer's sharpness didn't translate to the field. But it has. He has held his own alongside J.J. McCarthy, Sam Howell and Brett Rypien in practice. He has moved the football effectively in preseason games. All of this is why one longtime NFL scout admitted that hindsight may not have been necessary. How could 32 teams have possibly missed on Max Brosmer? 'It's actually a great question,' the scout texted. Belcher, Brosmer's quarterbacks coach at the University of New Hampshire, an FCS school, remembered a conversation he once had with an opposing coach. The coach sent him a video of a Brosmer checkdown. 'Was this a screen?' Belcher, sitting in one of the school's meeting rooms, laughed. No, he replied. Brosmer had progressed from one to two to three to four so fast that it actually did look like a screen. Advertisement 'He was able to process so quickly,' Belcher said. Others had similar things to say. He saw the field so well. He was able to anticipate better than any of the other quarterbacks I'd ever worked with. Is that innate? The result of some special mental wiring? Or can it be practiced, improved, developed? None of the coaches offered a definitive answer, but Brosmer attributes the skill — and it should be noted as such — to experience. His high school coaches in Roswell, Ga., taught him different coverages and which defenders occupy specific spots in those coverages. College heightened his understanding. At New Hampshire, the staff structured practice periods where the central focus was coverage recognition. 'I'd go, 'Set hut! White 80 … set hut!'' Brosmer said. 'Then I'd get the snap. Watch the coverage. Try to notice the soft spots in the coverage. You learn to key different people at the same time. And sometimes, you can tie the front to the coverage. Like, 'Hey, they're in this front, and here are the three or four coverages you can run out of that front.'' If you have to take a breath after reading that, you're not alone. It's a lot. But it also contains the sauce. Keying different people at the same time? How many people have the vision and mental capacity to do that effectively in 2 1/2 seconds with a pass rush coming? Tying the front to the coverage? How many people have the wherewithal to assess the defensive linemen's positions with the clock ticking, then transfer from that assessment into attacking the back end of coverages? In 2023, following Brosmer's 493-yard outing against Central Michigan, an FBS program, Belcher had zero questions about Brosmer's potential. Others, like Avery and fellow quarterback trainer Sean McEvoy, believed even earlier. In the spring of 2021, one afternoon in Atlanta, Brosmer begged to show the coaches his offensive pedigree. They obliged. He walked to the whiteboard and explained a play with a depth they'd never seen from a college-aged kid. Advertisement Somehow, none of these stories mattered when Brosmer decided to transfer to finish his college career at a high-major college. Only Minnesota and Wake Forest expressed genuine interest. Maybe his torn ACL as a junior concerned some coaches, or his lack of elite athletic ability or arm strength. But it was nothing new for Brosmer, who initially chose New Hampshire over a walk-on offer from Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. It's not that Brosmer needed kindling for his internal fire, but it didn't hurt. He signed with the Golden Gophers, led them to an eight-win season that featured a win over USC and near-victories against Michigan and Penn State. It wasn't Brosmer's 2,828-yard, 18-touchdown and six-interception season that earned him an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl. Galko, the director, had monitored Brosmer for years. He wasn't surprised, then, when Brosmer diced up the defense during practices before the all-star game. 'I wished scouts would've been, like, 'He's the best quarterback just off Shrine Bowl practice film,'' Galko said. 'Because he was. It's a good example of, when a guy is screaming at you and, oh by the way, the interviews are phenomenal, sometimes you just shouldn't gloss over it. That's what I think people missed about Brock. 'That's why I think those comparables are really there.' Flawless 29-yard TD pass by Max Brosmer to Le'Meke Brockington to put Minnesota up by 31. 🤌 📺 Peacock | @GopherFootball — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 7, 2024 Brosmer can still see the play in his mind. 'We're on the left hash,' he said. 'We're throwing an in-breaker to the left side.' It was spring practice at Minnesota, and he missed the window. Afterward, in a film session with offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr., he shook his head disgustedly and said, 'We've got to throw it there.' Advertisement Harbaugh dismissed his criticism. 'You got there so early,' Harbaugh said. 'You're playing too fast.' Essentially, Brosmer's brain was working too quickly as he adjusted to the uptick in speed from New Hampshire to Minnesota. Last week, Harbaugh wondered aloud: What if Brosmer hadn't made the jump last year? What if Brosmer had attempted to go directly from New Hampshire to the NFL? Would he have had the requisite time for trial and error the way he did at Minnesota? And, perhaps most interestingly, how many young quarterbacks working actively to refine their timing get weeded out before things click? There are plenty of other layers to Brosmer's early success. O'Connell's complex system can be a burden, but Brosmer comes from a place that asked him to command 63 pre-snap alerts in last year's matchup with Penn State. He releases the ball quickly. He is the type of guy who answered a FaceTime call from Golden Gophers offensive line coach Brian Callahan last week and explained a protection scheme while watching film of the New England Patriots. Review practice clips, and you'll see Brosmer standing among the pack of quarterbacks, looking as if he's conducting an imaginary play by himself. How does Brian Flores' defense compare to the college game? 'I feel like the jump between Minnesota and the NFL is smaller,' he said. Without hindsight, could you ascertain this? It's a tricky question to answer, but within it might lie the clues to why the position has been so challenging to evaluate for so long. Meanwhile, the Vikings will continue to pour information into a player who first impressed O'Connell two years ago at the Minnesota pro day. 'You walked away saying this guy loves football, and he's a pretty high-capacity thinker and analyzer of things,' O'Connell said last weekend. 'Throw in some work ethic, and … ' And you find a diamond in the rough like Brosmer. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Athletics bring road win streak into matchup with the Twins
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Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Athletics bring road win streak into matchup with the Twins
Athletics (58-70, fifth in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (58-68, fourth in the AL Central) Minneapolis; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jack Perkins (2-2, 4.28 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 35 strikeouts); Twins: Jose Urena (0-0, 4.06 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 17 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Athletics -114, Twins -105; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Athletics will try to keep a four-game road win streak alive when they take on the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota has a 33-30 record at home and a 58-68 record overall. The Twins have a 29-12 record in games when they hit at least two home runs. The Athletics are 58-70 overall and 32-33 in road games. The Athletics have a 52-12 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. The teams meet Thursday for the seventh time this season. The season series is tied 3-3. TOP PERFORMERS: Trevor Larnach has 17 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 50 RBIs while hitting .247 for the Twins. Luke Keaschall is 12 for 39 with two doubles and a home run over the last 10 games. Shea Langeliers is third on the Athletics with 49 extra base hits (21 doubles and 28 home runs). Colby Thomas is 10 for 29 with a double, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 3-7, .186 batting average, 3.77 ERA, outscored by 16 runs Athletics: 7-3, .254 batting average, 3.62 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs INJURIES: Twins: Alan Roden: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Vazquez: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Simeon Woods Richardson: 15-Day IL (illness), Anthony Misiewicz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder) Athletics: Austin Wynns: 60-Day IL (abdomen), Luis Severino: 15-Day IL (oblique), Jacob Wilson: 10-Day IL (forearm), Denzel Clarke: 10-Day IL (abductor), Max Muncy: 10-Day IL (hand), Grant Holman: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (hip), Jose Leclerc: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
