You may recall that last year the Gopher women lost Mara Braun and Sophie Hart to injuries and promptly lost 7 of 8 games. This year the Gophers suffered a similar misfortune, losing Braun and Taylor Woodson to leg injuries that are certainly season-ending for Woodson and probably for Braun, too. But this year–this week–the Gophers responded to their misfortune with a toughness not previously shown in recent years. They responded to the adversity with two wonderful games of basketball–or, well, one-and-three-quarters great games of basketball, anyway. They clobbered Penn State 90-54 last Saturday at the Barn, then went on the road to beat Wisconsin 59-50 after taking a 49-30 lead after three quarters. Wisky “won” the 4th quarter 20-10 but was never at any risk of actually winning the game.
Not only did the Gophers play some great basketball and beat 2 Big 10 rivals to get to 2-1, good for 6th place in the conference. They also got revenge for a 90-34 trouncing by the Nittany Lions during last year’s injury-induced slump; and for a pair of losses to Wisconsin, including a 67-56 home loss in their 4th to last game, also without Braun and Hart.
Minnesota 90 Penn State 54
It’s also true that the Gophers played quite poorly in their Big 10 opener, an 84-65 loss at Nebraska on Dec. 8. So it was hard to have too high of hopes coming into the heart of the Big 10 season. Instead, the Gophers played almost flawlessly against Penn State, leading 24-9 and 44-18 after the 1st 2 periods and 69-34 after 3. They set the tone with a quick 9-0 lead as Tori McKinney scored the 1st 5 points en route to a 25-point night that won her the national Freshman of the Week award. McKinney and Amaya Battle shot 15-for-27 to lead the Gophers to a 56% shooting night while the defense held Penn State to 39% shooting including just 6-of-26 in the 1st half. The Gophers D also forced 24 Penn State turnovers resulting in a 30-13 edge in points off turnovers.
Annika Stewart was stellar off the bench as always, making 7-of-9 shots for 15 points.
Minnesota 59 Wisconsin 50
Still, that was just one game and now the Gophers had to take to the road. But, again, they set the tone early and forcefully, taking early leads of 10-0 and 24-2, as 6 different Gophers scored the 1st 6 buckets. Amaya Battle was the 1st to get a 2nd and then a 3rd, while Mallory Heyer had 5 rebounds, a 3 and a steal in the 1st quarter. The Gophers finished with a 39 FG% but set the tone with 53% in the 1st period. Wisconsin finished at 35% but made just 11-of-41 FG in the 1st 3 quarters. Wisconsin post Serah Williams was again the Badgers’ go-to and she contributed 16 points, 11 boards and 3 blocks. But the Gophers’ Hart and Stewart combined for a highly competitive 18 points and 10 boards in the post.
Ronnie Porter, 5-4 mighty mite from St. Paul Como, continues to dazzle for Wisky, now with 13 points, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. She and Williams were pretty close to their normal selves but the other 3 starters shot just 3-of-13.
Next
Next up are a pair of winnable games against Illinois and Rutgers at home. Not to say that the Illini are a gimme. They will bring an 11-3 record to the Barn on Sunday at 2 p.m. They have wins over Florida State and Marquette, but lost a mild 84-75 upset at home to Washington on Tuesday to drop to 1-2 in the Big 10. And, like the Gophers, they have 2 key players, Makira Cook and Gretchen Dolan, out with injuries.
Rutgers is 0-2 in the Big 10, good for 15th place with a 2-point loss at Wisconsin. They’ve got some pretty good bigs who outrebound opponents 44-39, however. They come to the Barn next Wednesday at 7.
Still, a 4-1 start in the Big 10 is within reach. The bottom line is that Coach P and the Gophers have added some depth this year–specifically McKinney and Stewart–and that has enabled the Gophers to absorb their misfortune and to keep on competing.