Carlie Wagner remembers well watching Rachel Banham score an NCAA-record 60 points in a game back when Wagner was a sophomore in February 2016.
“What kind of person can do that?” Wagner recalls thinking to herself. “It was just amazing.”
But as the other guard in the backcourt of that Gophers women’s basketball team, Wagner learned from Banham, the Lakeville native who left the program with more points than any player in Big Ten history.
Two years later, Wagner hopes to have a similar impact as the school’s next dominant scorer, beginning in the season opener against Lehigh at Williams Arena on Saturday night.
“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Wagner said.
But if there’s optimism the Gophers will improve on last season’s 15-16 record, it starts with Wagner.
As a junior last season, Wagner, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged a team-high 19.1 points per game. When Banham was a junior, she averaged 22.1.
“It’s not often you get to be around someone like Rachel, so it was somewhat unique for Carlie to be around someone like that early in her career,” Gophers coach Marlene Stollings said.
On many of the Gophers’ record lists, Wagner trails only Banham.
Wagner is the only Gopher other than Banham in the past 16 years to record at least 38 points in a game. And her 82 3-pointers last season trail only records set by Banham.
“She’ll go down as one of the greats to ever play here,” Stollings said of Wagner. “We’d like to send her out with her having her best year.”
That should include an improved record as the Gophers return their four leading scorers from last season’s young team. In addition to Wagner, the Gophers boast Kenisha Bell, a junior guard from Minneapolis who averaged 16.1 points a game last season.
“I think it’s huge having so many returners back,” Wagner said. “I think it’s going to mean a lot for our team. We know what to expect now. You can’t tell a newcomer what it’s like to be in the Big Ten. They have to get their experiences for themselves.
“Now that we have so many players that have experienced it, they know what to expect. We can work from there.”
Wagner was named Minnesota Miss Basketball in 2014 after a standout prep career in New Richland and became a starter with the Gophers as a freshman. She was voted team MVP last season and finished with the team’s second most rebounds (5.2 a game).
Still, scoring is her strong suit.
“Carlie has a natural ability to just put the ball in the basket,” Stollings said. “A lot of people shoot the ball, but Carlie is more of just a scorer. She seeks openings and looks. She’s been that way her whole career, so it’s been a natural position for her in our system.
“She played around some greats early in her career with Amanda (Zahui B) and Rachel and got to see what that was like. We’re pushing her hard to take over that leadership role now.”
Wagner’s only NCAA tournament appearance came when she was playing alongside Banham as a freshman. Now as the leader of the Gophers women’s basketball team, she wants to return.
“The Big Ten championship and an NCAA tournament would be huge, and a cherry on top of my senior season,” Wagner said. “I think we have the team do to it this year if we really get going.”