Feb. 15 vs. Nebraska
After losing in overtime to their border rivals from Wisconsin on Feb. 11, the Gophers were hungry for a win against Nebraska Wednesday at the Barn.
Neither the Gophers nor the Cornhuskers could gain more than a 3-point lead within the first nine minutes of play, but a 5-0 run for Nebraska pushed them ahead. Gopher Mara Braun hit a 3 from the wing and sent the Gophers into the second quarter down just 1 point.
A 16-3 Minnesota run had the Gophers up 12 points with 4:50 to go in the second quarter, but Nebraska scored 5 points to cut into the lead. The Gophers ended the half with their largest halftime lead in conference play at 38-31.
Both teams dominated offensively in the third quarter. Nebraska used an early 9-0 run to take the lead, but graduate student Angelina Hammond hit a jumper to tie the game and settle the Gophers’ offense. Later in the quarter, Alanna “Rose” Micheaux hit her free throws to give the Gophers a 3-point lead with 10 minutes left to play..
The fourth quarter saw 10 lead changes, but a 4-point play from Nebraska guard Jaz Shelley tied the game at 92 points with 46 seconds left. Nebraska was sent to the free throw line with 16 seconds left and proceeded to miss both shots, leaving the door open for the Maroon & Gold.
Braun dribbled down the court for the Gophers with three defenders locked on her before driving to her right, where she found Cleveland State transfer Isabelle Gradwell in the corner. Gradwell knocked down her second 3 of the night and put Minnesota on top 95-92 with 1.1 seconds left, giving the Gophers their second home Big Ten victory of the season.
“Coach just said to get the ball downhill, so if I had an edge, I would have kept going, but you know like three people came off and they left her in the corner, which they should never do because you see what happened,” Braun said.
Minnesota’s victory over Nebraska was the team’s first win since they defeated Penn State on Jan. 18 and marks the Gophers’ third conference win of the season.
“As much as we could, I thought we stayed really composed, really poised, and that was what pulled us through in the end,” said Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen.
Feb. 18 vs. Northwestern
The Gophers traveled south to Evanston, Illinois, following Wednesday’s thriller performance to take on the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday.
Minnesota started out on a roll holding a 14-11 lead but would end up being out-scored 22-19. The Gophers were able to get back into the game after senior Destinee Oberg made a pivotal bucket, but that did not last long because Northwestern’s Caroline Lau soon drove to the paint for a layup.
The Wildcats exploded in the third quarter, out-scoring the Gophers 22-12. Micheaux put a halt to Northwestern’s 8-point run after she hit a jump shot from the paint.
Northwestern prevented any Gophers’ run in the fourth quarter and scored 19 points, taking down the Gophers 76-62.
The Gophers managed to out-rebound the Wildcats 37-25, but ultimately it was the Wildcats’ ability to convert the Gophers’ 25 turnovers to 28 points that would result in the victory.
Braun led the Gophers with 12 points and six rebounds, compared to Caileigh Walsh, who led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points and one rebound.
The Gophers will travel to East Lansing on Wednesday to take on the Michigan State Spartans for their final away game of the season.
