Minnesota women’s basketball (5-9, 4-8 Big Ten) saw its two-game winning streak on the road end Sunday with an 83-59 loss at No. 11/13 Ohio State (12-2, 8-2 B1G) in Columbus, Ohio.
Three Gophers reached double figures with sophomore Kadi Sissoko leading the way with 13 points. Going 5-of-8 from the floor, Sissoko added nine rebounds, just missing out on her third double-double of the season.
Fellow sophomores Sara Scalia and Klarke Sconiers each finished with 12 points. Scalia was 4-of-9 on field goals with a pair of 3-pointers and made both free throw attempts to improve to 22-22 at the line this year. Sconiers scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, and she matched Sissoko by making five of eight shots from the field.
Ohio State opened the game on a 11-2 run and never trailed. The Buckeyes led 25-14 after the first quarter, but the Gophers’ defense stepped up in the second quarter. Minnesota scored 12 of the first 17 points over the first 6:15 of the frame, getting within 30-26.
The Buckeyes were limited to 2-of-10 shooting during the stretch, while Sissoko (4), freshman Katie Borowicz (3), sophomore Jasmine Powell (3) and Sconiers (2) did the scoring for Minnesota.
Unfortunately, Ohio State scored the next seven points and led 39-30 at halftime.
The Buckeyes broke the game open in the third quarter by opening the second half on a 15-2 run. The stretch extended into a 25-6 advantage, pushing Ohio State’s lead to its largest of the contest at 64-36 with 2:20 left in the third.
Ohio State was led by double-doubles from Dorka Juhasz and Aaliyah Patty. Each player had 10 rebounds, while Juhasz had a game-high 18 points and Patty added 14.
Sconiers (8) and freshman Caroline Strande (7) combined for 15 of the Gophers’ 18 points in the fourth quarter. It was Strande’s second straight game with that many points, finishing two off her career high.
Fellow freshman Katie Borwoicz filled the stat sheet with six points and career highs in both rebounds (5) and assists (3).
Ohio State outscored Minnesota 52-26 in the first and third quarters, while the Gophers held a 34-31 edge combined in the second and fourth frames.
Minnesota was done in by a season-high 25 turnovers, which led to 27 Ohio State points.
The Golden Gophers are back at home for their next two games, starting Wednesday against Illinois. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)