The Minnesota women’s basketball team (13-1, 1-1 B1G) scored 30 points off of turnovers on the way to a 90-54 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-4, 0-2 B1G) at home on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Gophers had four players score in double figures, led by Tori McKinney, who had 25 points, four assists and three steals. Amaya Battle tacked on 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals and Annika Stewart chipped in as well with 15 points off the bench.
The Minnesota offense was very productive from deep, making nine threes on 22 attempts. Mallory Heyer was the most prolific shooter for the Gophers, draining three treys in the contest.
Minnesota’s defense held Penn State to only 38.5 percent shooting from the field, including 23.5 percent from beyond the arc, marking season lows.
How It Happened
Minnesota started out the scoring by going on a 9-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Stewart, to take an early lead with 7:25 left in the first quarter.
The Maroon & Gold then added six points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 24-9 advantage. Minnesota did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 16 of its 24 points close to the basket.
Minnesota built that first quarter lead to 27-11 before going on a 10-0 run starting at the 6:01 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Heyer, to increase its lead to 37-11. The Gophers kept that lead for the remainder of the period and enjoyed a 44-18 advantage heading into halftime. Minnesota was strong from deep in the period, knocking down four three-point shots to account for 12 of its 20 points.
Following intermission, Minnesota continued to expand its advantage, pushing it to 61-29 before going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Battle, to expand its lead further to 67-29 with 1:21 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Nittany Lions had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Gophers still entered the fourth quarter with a 69-34 edge. Minnesota took advantage of 11 Penn State turnovers in the quarter, scoring 13 points off of takeaways.
Minnesota started tacking on points in the fourth almost immediately, going on a 7-0 run, finished off by McKinney’s layup, to grow the lead to 76-34 with 8:54 to go in the contest. The Nittany Lions narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Gophers still cruised the rest of the way for the 90-54 win. Minnesota took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 21 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» The Gophers shot well from three point range, knocking down nine of 22 long range attempts.
» The Gophers held the Nittany Lions to only 38.5 percent shooting from the field.
» The Gophers never trailed after taking a 24-9 first quarter lead.
» Minnesota tallied 22 total assists in the game.
» The Minnesota bench made an impact by scoring 27 points to its scoring output.
» The Gophers turned 24 turnovers into 30 points on the offensive end.
» The Gophers forced 24 Penn State turnovers while committing only 12 on the other end.
» Minnesota had a 33-30 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Minnesota defense forced 24 turnovers.
» Tori McKinney led the Gophers with a game-high 25 points.
» Minnesota got a team-high six rebounds from Amaya Battle.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
