In the regular season finale, the Gophers took down Penn State 94-83, picking up consecutive Big Ten victories for the first time this season.

After a dominant 87-54 Senior Night victory against Illinois on Thursday, the Gophers had one last regular season opportunity to pick up a win against Penn State before the Big Ten tipping off on Wednesday, March 2.

After several games coming off the bench, head coach Lindsay Whalen placed veteran forward Kadi Sissoko back into the starting lineup.

Whalen’s decision paid off early. Sissoko added six points in the first quarter, but a game-high 10 points from Laura Bagwell-Katalinich proved to go a long way in Minnesota jumping out to a 22-16 lead after 10 minutes.

The Gophers offense continued to find success in the second quarter. Sara Scalia led the way with eight points in the quarter, while Bagwell-Katalinich finished with 14 points and six rebounds in just 20 minutes of play.

Penn State shot 46% compared to Minnesota’s 39% in the first half, but after committing only five first-half turnovers the Gophers were able to take a 38-28 lead into the break.

Kadi Sissoko took over the game in the third quarter. She netted 14 points and reeled in seven rebounds. Scalia added eight more points and the Gophers extended their lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter.

Scalia and Sissoko ended the game with a bang. Totaling 13 and 10 points respectively in the final quarter, both players finished the game with 32 points.

The final 10 minutes was the only quarter that Penn State outscored Minnesota, but the Maroon & Gold came out on top 94-83.

Sissoko finished the game with 32 points on 12 of 22 shooting from the field while reeling in 14 rebounds. Scalia sank eight threes while totaling eight rebounds en-route to her 32-point performance.

Minnesota dominated the rebounding margin for the second straight game, topping the Nittany Lions 47-30 in that area.

After finishing the regular season 14-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play, the Gophers will play their first Big Ten Tournament game on Thursday, March 3.