In front of its biggest crowd of the year âÄî 5,626 fans âÄî Minnesota upset No. 9 Ohio State 76-65 for its first win against a nationally ranked team since March 2009.

The Buckeyes came into the game on a five-game winning streak before the Gophers handed them just their second loss of the season.

âÄúIt was a great win for us. I thought our kids came out and played extremely well, executed the game plan on both ends of the floor today,âÄù head coach Pam Borton said.

Rachel Banham led Minnesota with 20 points on 5-for-8 shooting despite being in foul trouble for most of the game.

âÄúWhen I was in foul trouble, people were stepping up. No one quit, and that is why we won,âÄù Banham said.

The Buckeyes, who lead the Big Ten in field-goal percentage, were unable to find a rhythm offensively throughout the game and shot just 22-for-64.

Ohio State head coach Jim Foster said the Gophers âÄúoutplayedâÄù and âÄúoutworkedâÄù his team.

The Gophers had 20 turnovers, off which Ohio State scored 19 points. Banham led both teams with six turnovers. However, poor ball handling did not sink Minnesota as it did in past games.

Minnesota native Tayler Hill led all scorers with 26 points for Ohio State. Hill and Samantha Prahalis appeared to find their grooves in the second half as they scored all but four of the BuckeyesâÄô second-half points, but their effort was not enough to overcome a more balanced Minnesota attack.

âÄúTheyâÄôre very strong at the guard position. âĦ We knew where the ball was going and who was going to shoot it,âÄù senior guard Kiara Buford said.

Buford had 15 points, Katie Loberg added 13, and Kionna Kellogg had 11 for Minnesota.

With her 11th point, Buford passed Marty Dahlen to move into 10th place on MinnesotaâÄôs all-time scoring list. Buford now has 1,350 points in her career.

Minnesota led for almost the entire game. The Buckeyes cut a 25-13 deficit to 25-22 in the first half before a Buford field goal stopped the bleeding.

In the second half, Prahalis hit two consecutive 3-point field goals to trim a 10-point lead to 63-59.

Kellogg answered with a three-pointer, just her second on the season, as the shot clock expired, which brought the crowd to life.

It was the beginning of a 9-0 run for Minnesota, which gave it a 72-59 lead and essentially put the game out of reach.

Despite her 26 points, Hill missed four field goal attempts for Ohio State during the GophersâÄô run down the stretch.

Jackie Voigt missed her second straight game with a concussion that she suffered Jan. 22 in the teamâÄôs loss against Nebraska. Kellogg has started in her place in both games.

The Gophers will travel to Champaign, Ill., for a matchup with Illinois on Feb. 2.