Carlie Wagner’s Gophers Open Their Season Saturday

Carlie Wagner, an NRHEG graduate, enters her junior season with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team as the team's leader.

Wagner told @B1Gwbball, "I think I'm adjusting pretty well." The Academic-All Big Ten player returns with the most playing experience for a team that is looking to fill the void left by the graduation of Rachel Banham. "We have some newcomers coming in that have great scoring potential," see added. Banham now plays with Connecticut in the WNBA.

Wagner is a preseason All Big Ten selection after scoring in double figures in every game last season and leading the conference in minutes played. Wagner reached 1,000 career points in the final game of the season, becoming just the fifth Gopher to reach that mark as a sophomore. She is the most experienced player back for the team.

The Gophers face Harvard on Saturday at 2PM at Williams Arena.

The Gopher men's team opens its season Friday night against Louisiana-Lafayette at 7PM at The Barn. Richard Pitino begins his fourth season as coach. Among the first-year players are Amir Coffey out of Hopkins and Michael Hurt out of Rochester John Marshall.