Gophers center Angie Iverson’s 16-point, 25-rebound performance Tuesday night at Colorado State wasn’t enough to prevent her team from losing its second straight game, 78-60.
The Gophers took a season-high 80 shots, but only managed to hit 33 percent of them — a season low. The free-throw line wasn’t much kinder, as the Gophers shot only 36 percent from there.
“It’s not that we weren’t getting good looks at the basket (or) weren’t working the offense effectively,” Coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said. “A lot of (the shots) were in-and-out. It was just one of those nights.”
The 18-point margin of defeat was Minnesota’s largest of the season. The Gophers’ record dropped to 1-4 overall.
Hill-MacDonald said Monday that she expected Colorado State (4-1) would give the Gophers their biggest challenge of the season. She said after the game that the Rams didn’t disappoint.
“They are very good from the perimeter, and we knew it,” she said. “We just were not getting out and covering them. They got comfortable from the perimeter very early.
Minnesota held last season’s Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Becky Hammon in check in the first half, limiting her to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor. The Gophers overcame an early 13-point deficit to take a four-point lead at the half.
But the Rams went wild after the break, starting the second half with an 18-2 run, including five straight three-pointers — three in a 52-second span.
Minnesota fought back with 10 minutes to play, cutting the Rams’ lead to 10. But Colorado State held off the Gophers’ rally, pushing its lead to 20 in the closing minutes. Hammon recovered from her slow start to score 21 points in the game.
Iverson’s rebound total set a Minnesota record, held previously by Molly Tadich, who pulled down 24 rebounds in January 1984 against Northwestern. Iverson led the Gophers in the scoring column, as well, with 16 points.
“They know that they need to improve, and they know they’re better than last year,” Hill-MacDonald said. “If they keep working hard, the wins are going to come.”

GAME SUMMARY
Gophers 33 27 — 60
Colorado St. 29 49 — 78

SCORING —Robinson 2-9 0-0 4, Klun 4-10 0-0 8, Iverson 7-15 2-7 16, Hansen 5-18 2-3 13, Ellis 1-10 0-0 2, Hass 4-11 0-0 10, Burns 3-6 0-1 7, Seago 0-1 0-0 0.
REBOUNDING —Robinson 4, Klun 5, Iverson 25, Hansen 6, Ellis 2, Hass 2, Burns 2, Seago 2.
A — 1,086.