Gophers women’s basketball squandered their opportunity to regain a top-25 ranking after falling 69-82 to No. 4 University of Southern California (USC) on Thursday.
Riding the best season start in program history and earning their first AP Top-25 ranking since 2019, the Gophers briefly held the No. 23 spot before falling out of the rankings after last week’s 65-70 loss to the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines.
The Gophers struggled to match and combat the offensive energy of the Trojans early into the game, entering the second quarter with a 10-point deficit. Trojans sophomore guard JuJu Watkins scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half of the game.
“(We) showed some toughness and resiliency, but, you know, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end,” Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “We learned through that experience that we’ve got to probably start a lot better.”
Another offensive hurdle for the Gophers was USC forward Kiki Iriafen. She racked up 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Trojans, going 81.8% in the paint and 2-2 from the 3-point line.
Plitzuweit cited Minnesota’s early turnovers and missed opportunities at the rim as key factors in their early scoring deficit.
“They are loaded with offensive firepower in a lot of different ways,” Plitzuweit said. “We felt different players stepping up and hitting arc shots and that made it really, really tough for us.”
Gophers senior center Sophie Hart said she tried to be the strong offensive powerhouse Minnesota needed to combat USC’s strong post presence.
Hart led the team in scoring and was one of three Gophers to reach double figures, finishing with 18 points and grabbing five offensive rebounds.
The Gophers held their ground defensively, holding the Trojans to a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and forcing two turnovers.
Despite the loss being hard to swallow, Hart said the Gophers’ fight in the fourth quarter gave them a boost of confidence in their playing style.
“I don’t know if two years ago, we would have had that same kind of dog in us to battle back like that,” Hart said. “That speaks a lot about our team.”
The Gophers could not keep their early quarter momentum going, struggling to match Watkins’ offensive domination. Watkins’ performance led to her fourth double-double of the season.
The Gophers remain in California for their upcoming match against No. 1 UCLA on Sunday.
