On Thursday night, the Gopher women’s basketball team was looking for their seventh consecutive win. They looked to continue their recent strong conference play against fellow conference rival, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Despite their recent success, the Gophers remain unranked by the AP polls. They had something extra to fight for. That showed up in their 84 – 67 win over Nebraska.
“I thought they showed a great deal of toughness,” head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said of her team. “I thought they showed a great deal of resilience and a great deal of composure. They played really well down the stretch to come out on top against a very good Nebraska team.”
Standout Performances
For the Gophers, senior Amaya Battle and redshirt junior Mara Braun continued their strong recent performances. Battle ended the game with 21 points, going 7 for 7 on her free throws.
“She does a lot,” Braun said of Battle. “I mean you can look at the stats. She’ll score. She’ll get steals. It’s also just her leadership on court in the huddle. She’s always saying something.”
Braun herself was also effective through her 39 minutes of play. She ended the night with 15 points and five defensive rebounds.
“Mara’s playing at a really high level,” Plitzuweit said. “It wasn’t our intent to keep her in that long, but she’s someone who finds another level of toughness and she really did that tonight.”
Game Changer
The Gophers got out to a quick lead, up 26-13 after the first quarter. They kept it up in the second quarter, adding points but also showing their defensive prowess. At the half, Nebraska had more turnovers than made baskets with 11 turnovers to their nine baskets.
What kept Nebraska in it was their 3-point shooting. The Gophers let off the gas in the third period, with shots not falling and turnovers being forced by Nebraska. Nebraska also started to limit their turnovers, cutting it to a 60-52 lead for Minnesota.
At the beginning of the fourth, the energy started to swing back in the favor of the Gophers, but it was a 3-point shot from sophomore Tori McKinney that got fans back on their feet and the team playing stronger.
The fans were in it through the final five minutes of play as the Gophers closed out the win.
“Our crowd was great,” Plitzuweit said, “That really helped us because you have players who are trying to give it everything they have and I thought it really gave us a lift today.”
Going Forward
The Gophers defensive effort was once again strong, but their second half energy notably dipped. It’s a pattern that’s come up frequently throughout the season. To truly be a Big Ten contender, they’ll need to be relentless all game and not give the opposition a chance to fight back.
The players know it too, even if they’re choosing to laugh through the struggle.
“That was AI. It wasn’t us,” Braun joked when asked about the third quarter, poking fun at the familiar struggle.
What’s Next
The Gophers will continue their conference play, traveling to Madison to face the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday and facing off against the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday night.
