NOTRE DAME — The opening round game of the NCAA Women’s Tournament pitted DePaul against Minnesota at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center at Notre Dame.

Minnesota pulled away late in the first half to take a 41-30 lead into the locker room.

The winner faces either Notre Dame of Montana, which plays later tonight, on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

Sweet Swede

Minnesota’s Amanda Zahui, who hails from Stockholm, Sweden, made her presence known in the first half as she scored eight points, grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked a shot and set a teeth-rattling pick near mid-court.

 

Freshman sensation

Golden Gopher guard Carlie Wagner showed off her silky smooth shooting touch with a trio of 3-pointers. She led Minnesota with 11 first half points as she was one of three players to play all 20 minutes in the opening half.

 

Shooting woes

DePaul finished the first half hitting just 32 percent of their field goals (13-of-41), while Minnesota was on fire, knocking down 50 percent of its shots (14-of-28), including 4-of-9 (44 percent) from beyond the arc.

 

Board members

Minnesota held a commanding 26-16 advantage in rebounding, which led to nine second-chance points.

 

Time of possession

DePaul led just 2:07 of the first half with its biggest lead being two points just 20 seconds into the game. Minnesota led for 17:10 with its largest lead being 11 points with two minutes remaining in the opening half