After losing to their border rival earlier this season, the Gopher women’s basketball team got their revenge against Wisconsin, beating the Badgers 73-64 Thursday night.
Coming off of Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors, guard Jasmine Powell led the way for Minnesota with a career-high 24 points and added five rebounds. Powell played an integral role in helping the Gophers pull away from the Badgers early, scoring 17 points in the first half.
Minnesota pounced on Wisconsin with a pair of runs and suffocating defense in the first half. The Gophers closed out the first quarter with an 8-0 run and went on a 13-3 run in the middle of the second quarter to blow the game open. Heading into halftime, Minnesota led by 24. The Gophers limited the Badgers to only 19 points on 25.9 percent shooting.
The Gophers largest lead came midway through the third quarter as they were up by 25 on the Badgers. But after that, Wisconsin fought back with intensity for the remainder of the game, easily outscoring the Gophers in the second half and forcing 15 Minnesota turnovers.
With a little over two minutes to play in the game, Wisconsin was putting pressure on Minnesota and only trailed by eight points. But senior guard Masha Adashchyk drilled a 3-point shot deep into the shot clock with a hand in her face in what virtually put the game away. Adashchyk finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Limiting Wisconsin forward Imani Lewis and the team’s inside presence was key in the Gophers’ victory. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Wisconsin scored 54 points in the paint and Lewis finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds. The rematch, however, was a different story, as Wisconsin had 30 points in the paint and Lewis finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
Despite the win, roster depth could be an issue for Minnesota moving forward. Freshman Sara Scalia added 16 points and four rebounds in the win but left the game late with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Head coach Lindsay Whalen did not have a clear update on Scalia’s status after the win.
The Gophers were also without senior guard Jasmine Brunson against Wisconsin, who was injured in their double-overtime win Sunday against Rutgers. Whalen did tell Gopher Radio Network before Thursday’s game Brunson is day-to-day and her status is questionable for Minnesota’s next game against Michigan.
Minnesota has now won three-straight games, all by nine points or less, and improve to 15-8 on the season with a 5-7 record in Big Ten play. The Gophers’ next game is at home on Monday, Feb. 10 against Michigan.
