Minnesota redshirt junior Gadiva Hubbard joined the 1,000-point club but the Golden Gophers (15-10, 5-9 B1G) fell on the road Thursday night, 99-76, to Ohio State (15-9, 8-5).
Needing nine points entering the game to join the exclusive club, Hubbard knotted seven in the first half to leave her within striking range. With 5:58 left in the third quarter, Hubbard stepped to the line with 999 points and made both free throws to become the 26th player in Gophers history to reach 1,000 career points.
Getting there in 80 games, she reached the mark in the 12th fewest contests in program annals. She finished with 10 points on the night to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Freshman Jasmine Powell was the top scorer for Minnesota, notching 21 points, her third straight game with at least 20 points. Most of her work came at the free throw line as she was 14-of-15 from the stripe. Both numbers were career highs, while the 14 made free throws tied for the fourth most in a game in team history.
Senior Taiye Bello posted her team-leading 17th game in double figures this year as she recorded 14 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman Sara Scalia matched Bello’s 14 points thanks to four 3-pointers made, one off a career high, while senior Masha Adashchyk hit double figures for the third time this year with 10 points off the bench.
The game was tied 24-24 after the first quarter, marking the most points Minnesota had scored in an opening quarter since the Big Ten opener at Penn State. Powell and Hubbard each had seven points in the frame.
Ohio State pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring Minnesota, 25-13, in the stanza. The Golden Gophers led 28-27 but the Buckeyes went on a 12-2 run to take control of the game. The lead was 49-37 for OSU at the half.
Minnesota came out strong from the locker room, scoring eight of the first 10 points in the third quarter to get within six at 51-45. However, Ohio State rattled off an 8-2 run of its own immediately after that and led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Gophers stay on the road for their next contest, playing at Michigan State Monday night. The game starts at 6 p.m.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)