The Gophers defeated the University of Florida in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament 66-52 on Monday.

In her first year coaching the Gophers last year, head coach Dawn Plitzuweit led the Gophers to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament championship. Now, she and her players are seeking redemption in the championship after losing to Saint Louis University the prior year.

Junior Mallory Heyer said their postseason work last year helped them improve this season,  mentioning that their future goal is still March Madness.

“I thought last year getting to play in the WNIT got us to build momentum for this year, so we’re looking forward to doing the same thing after this tournament,” Heyer said.

All the starters for Minnesota helped out in their 14-point win. All of them, except senior Sophie Hart, put up double-digit scoring. Hart was close, but only finished with eight points.

The Minnesota bench was absent for the last two games, ending with a single point each game.

Heyer recorded her sixth double-double of the season against Florida, scoring 13 points while grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds.

“I think our team did a great job of just moving the ball tonight, just finding the open player and I was the recipient of some of those plays,” Heyer said.

Sophomore Grace Grocholski remained consistent with her second consecutive game, finishing with 20 points and four assists.

Plitzuweit said they are performing better and making the necessary adjustments to succeed every game.

“I think it is the best we’ve played,” Plitzuweit said. “We’re learning things about ourselves, we’re understanding the game in a bigger picture and we’re able to make adjustments quicker.”

Plitzuweit said the team made a necessary adjustment after the first half to address Florida’s freshman guard Liv McGill. A Minnesota native, McGill scored 18 in the first half, but the Gophers’ defense held her scoreless after halftime.

Defense from the Gophers held Florida to under 20% shooting from the arc and 35% shooting from the field. They also forced 16 turnovers from Florida.

Grocholski said even when they were ahead, they continued to make adjustments to maintain their lead. 

The Gophers held the lead for the majority of the game and Grocholski said the competition they faced in the Big Ten this year helped prepare them for postseason play.

“I’d just say just the lessons we got through the regular season helped us to be in these positions,” Grocholski said.

They will face Belmont University in Indianapolis, Ind., on Wednesday for the WBIT championship. Belmont is seeking their first-ever championship win as a program.