Grace Grocholski hit a game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime, but the Minnesota women’s basketball team (19-7, 7-7 B1G) fell 87-84 to the Ohio State Buckeyes (21-3, 9-3 B1G) on the road Thursday night.
The Golden Gophers had five players score in double figures, led by Sophie Hart, who had 21 points. Amaya Battle added 17 points, five assists and two steals and Annika Stewart chipped in as well with 12 points from the bench.
Led by Grocholski’s four offensive rebounds, Minnesota did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 16 boards that resulted in 20 second chance points.
Minnesota forced 17 Ohio State turnovers. The Maroon & Gold turned those takeaways into 23 points on the other end of the floor. Battle’s two steals led the way for Minnesota.
How It Happened
After falling behind 16-9, Minnesota went on a 5-0 run with 3:06 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Alexsia Rose, to narrow its deficit to 16-14. Ohio State answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Gophers down 21-17 entering the second quarter.
Ohio State kept adding to that lead, building a 31-24 advantage before Minnesota went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Tori McKinney, to narrow its deficit to 31-30. Ohio State responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Gophers trailing 35-30 heading into halftime.
Minnesota’s deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Maroon & Gold faced a 54-46 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Minnesota played well near the basket, scoring 12 of its 16 points in the paint.
Ohio State kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 73-61 advantage before Minnesota went on a 10-0 run, finished off by McKinney’s layup, to shrink the deficit to 73-71 with 34 seconds to go in the fourth. The Gophers’ rally continued as they outscored Ohio State 3-1 the rest of the way to tie it at 74-74 and send the game to overtime. Minnesota took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 18 of its 28 points in the paint.
Ohio State then edged ahead in overtime, leaving Minnesota behind 87-84 at the final buzzer.
Game Notes
» The Gophers outscored Ohio State 20-28 in the fourth quarter force overtime.
» Minnesota rallied from a five-point 35-30 halftime deficit to force overtime before ultimately coming up short.
» Minnesota tallied 15 total assists in the game.
» Five Minnesota players scored 10 or more points.
» Minnesota lost despite a 35-27 rebounding advantage.
» The Minnesota defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Minnesota cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game.
» Sophie Hart led the Golden Gophers with 21 points.
» Minnesota got a team-high seven rebounds from Mallory Heyer.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
