In the big picture, Minnesota’s victory over Purdue on Wednesday night wasn’t pretty. But there were moments of beauty to be found, mostly courtesy of Sophie Hart and Grace Grocholski.
Those Gophers teammates combined to score 49 points while shooting a combined 19 for 26 from the field as Minnesota earned an otherwise ragged Big Ten Conference victory over the Boilermakers, 74-61, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
Grocholski, the Gophers’ sophomore combo guard, played all 40 minutes and finished with a game-high 27 points, six rebounds and five assists. She was 8 for 12 from the floor, scoring on drives and from distance (3 of 5 from 3-point range).
Hart’s production came from spotless play in the post, anchoring the team to a one-point halftime lead with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting (she didn’t miss until there were just 30 seconds left in the half). And when the game got sloppy in the closing minutes, Hart stepped in again and scored consecutive inside baskets to push the Gophers’ lead to 62-53 with just more than four minutes left.
The 6-foot-5 senior from Farmington finished with 22 points, five boards and a pair of assists as Minnesota improved to 20-8, 8-8 in the Big Ten with two more regular-season games remaining.
“I have to credit our guards,” Hart told Big Ten+ after the game. “I feel like I know when I have the opportunity to go one-on-one, and they get the ball to me. So really it’s a credit to them, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to score like that.”
The rest of the team, led by Amaya Battle’s 11 points, combined for 25 points while shooting a combined 8 for 27 from the field.
Minnesota snapped a two-game losing skid and won for just the second time in seven games.
Purdue forward Kendall Puryear went toe-to-toe offensively for a while but was held to four fourth-quarter points as the Gophers finally pulled away for what was in a lot of ways a ragged victory.
After being flummoxed by presses in losses at Ohio State and to Oregon, the Gophers were able to handle early full-court pressure from Purdue (9-17, 2-13), turning the ball over just once because of a pressure trap. But the Gophers were careless in other ways and finished with 15 turnovers.
Although they outscored the Boilermakers 16-12 on points off turnovers, the miscues kept Minnesota from building on several decent leads — as many as 11 points in the third period — until there was 2:40 remaining, when Tori McKinney’s 3-pointer gave the Gophers a 67-57 lead.
The fourth quarter also was stopped cold by a pair of offsetting technical fouls with about three minutes left.
After Grocholski pulled down a rebound on a Boilermakers miss, guard Sophie Swanson swiped it out of her hand, and the two hit the floor trying to corral it. McKinney ran over to get between them, and Swanson pushed her into a prone Grocholski, causing her to fall.
After a review that required notes taken by officials and lasted well over five minutes, Swanson earned a technical, McKinney earned a personal foul, and one of the Gophers’ practice players was ejected and given a technical, for stepping onto the court.
The teams each hit their free throws, and the game never quite found a rhythm again.
The Gophers ultimately seal their victory by making 5 of 6 free throws in the closing minute.
The Gophers play their last regular-season home game on Sunday against Washington. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Williams Arena.
Related Articles
Women’s basketball: Turnovers killing Gophers during 1-5 skid
Women’s basketball: Gophers squander early lead in loss to Oregon
Women’s basketball: Gophers push No. 9 Ohio State to overtime but fall 87-84
Trump administration scrapping late Biden administration Title IX policy
Women’s college basketball: Battle surpasses 1k points as Gophers beat Indiana
Leave a Reply