The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team (22-11, 8-10 B1G) defeated the Missouri State Bears (27-8, 16-4 MVC) 78-71 on Sunday afternoon on the road to advance to the quarterfinal round of the WBIT. The Golden Gophers will face Gonzaga on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at The Barn.
The Golden had three players score in double figures, led by Grace Grocholski, who had 18 points and eight rebounds. Stewart added 18 points off of the bench and Amaya Battle chipped in as well with 15 points and five assists.
Led by Mallory Heyer’s five offensive rebounds, Minnesota did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 13 second chance points.
How It Happened
After falling behind 2-0, Minnesota went on a 6-0 run with 8:49 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Battle, to take a 6-2 lead. The Gophers then added 11 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 27-12 advantage. Minnesota got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 10 of its 27 total points.
Missouri State rallied to take a 36-23 lead before Minnesota went on an 8-0 run starting at the 2:57 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Grocholski, to narrow its deficit to 36-31. The Gophers kept the rally going and overtook the Bears on a jumper from Kyrah Daniels with 00:46 left for a 42-27 halftime advantage. Minnesota was strong from deep in the period, knocking down three three-point shots to account for nine of its 15 points.
Missouri State then took a 59-43 lead following intermission before Minnesota went on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Battle, to trim its deficit to 59-49 with 1:46 to go in the third. The Gophers kept the rally going and took control on a Kaemyn Bekemeier jumper with 00:24 left for a 64-51 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Minnesota knocked down three three-pointers in the quarter to score nine of its 22 total points.
The Gophers then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Minnesota got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring six of its 14 total points.
Game Notes
» Annika Stewart’s free throw with 6 seconds left put Minnesota ahead for good.
» The Gophers shot well from three point range, knocking down 10 of 21 long range attempts.
» The Minnesota bench made an impact by adding 26 points to its scoring output.
» Minnesota had a 43-27 edge on the boards in the win.
» Minnesota cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Grace Grocholski and Annika Stewart led the Gophers with 18 points apiece.
» Minnesota got a game-high 12 rebounds from Mallory Heyer.
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
