The first ten minutes of Minnesota's game last night were beautiful, and the Gophers ran out to a 30-6 lead over Virginia Tech. From there, the contest degenerated into a long, painful display of terrible shooting and relentless officiating.

The game ended with 50 fouls called and only 41 field goals made. Minnesota won, but there was no joy in victory last night.

"A lot of the fouls we committed seemed to be unnecessary," coach Pam Borton said. "We were getting fouls on people away from the basket. Some of it might have been people not moving their feet as well."

Thank you, Lisa Mattingly, for ruining my Saturday night.