Sunday’s border battle at Wisconsin began in an inauspicious manner for the Minnesota women’s basketball team. However, once the Gophers came around, the Badgers had no hope of keeping pace with their visitors to the west.
Minnesota guard Mara Braun drives on Wisconsin guard Laci Steele during the Gophers’ 83-60 victory Sunday at Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Braun scored a game-high 20 points. (Meghan Bielich/Gophers Athletics)
Minnesota started slow and trailed the host Badgers 18-8 late in the first quarter. Yet after a 12-2 run gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at 21-20, they never looked back en route to an 83-60 victory at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s players put together a number of runs throughout the game to dominate the final three quarters after their early deficit to mark down the team’s eighth consecutive victory.
Minnesota outscored Wisconsin 28-13 in a difference-making second quarter to lead 40-31 at the break after Grace Grocholski’s buzzer-beating three. Down 59-43 with under three minutes to play in the third quarter, the Badgers kept hope alive with a 7-0 run to bring the Gophers’ lead to single digits.
However, a Mara Braun three-pointer with 33 seconds left in the quarter inaugurated a stretch where Minnesota outscored its hosts 14-3 to take a 23-point advantage after a pair of Amaya Battle free throws with just under five minutes to play. The lead hovered around that level for the remainder of the contest before the final horn heralded the Gophers’ 20th victory of the season.
Braun led all scorers with 20 points, with Battle logging 17 points. Sophie Hart contributed 13 points with a team-high six rebounds, while Tori McKinney chipped in 12 points and tied for the game-high with four assists.
With the win, Minnesota (20-6 overall, 11-4 Big Ten) kept the heat on No. 15 Iowa (19-5, 10-3) in the conference standings. The Gophers remain just percentage points behind the Hawkeyes for fourth place, with Iowa scheduled to play at Nebraska (16-9, 5-9) on Monday.
With No. 8 Ohio State (22-4, 11-3) suffering an upset win at home to No. 20 Maryland (21-6, 9-6), Minnesota also pulled ever closer to the Buckeyes for third place in the circuit. Minnesota is currently the only team among the top seven of the Big Ten not to be nationally ranked, though that situation may change when Monday’s latest Associated Press poll is released — the Gophers fell two votes shy in last week’s Top 25 polling.
Coincidentally, the Gophers host Ohio State next, with the Buckeyes paying Williams Arena a visit for a 7 p.m. tip-off Wednesday night. The game will be televised on BTN+.
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