Gophers women’s basketball upsets Michigan State 69–50 to put them on the ice.
The Gophers, who had suffered a lopsided defeat earlier in the week, started off strong against Michigan State and never looked back.
One of the most potent offensive teams in the Big Ten Conference, the Michigan State women’s basketball team traveled to Minneapolis this past weekend. Fourth in shooting, but second in scoring inside the league.
As chilly as the Twin Cities weather, their offensive fled the city.
In the last minute of the first quarter and continuing into the third, the Gophers went on a 26-6 run that placed them ahead 69-50 over the Spartans.
The Gophers (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten), who had suffered a lopsided defeat at Indiana earlier in the week, made a terrific comeback. Given that the Spartans (13-5, 3-4) started the game ranked 18th in the NCAA’s net standings, it could have been their finest win of the year.
Having made five of eight three-pointers, Mallory Heyer led the way with eighteen points. With 15 rebounds, she also equaled her career high. Her first double-double in Big Ten action and her third of the season. She finished in double digits, one of four starters. Grace Grocholski possessed eleven. Sophie Hart 12, Mara Braun 10.
This one wasn’t close after a tight first quarter. The second-quarter total of six points, the shooting percentage of 32.8, and the number of points in a quarter were all season lows for the Spartans. This season’s most lopsided defeat for them was this one.
For Michigan State, Dee Dee Hagemann went 6-for-11 with 18 points. The remaining Spartans scored 32 points on 14 of 50 shots.
Braun scored eight points for the Gophers, who also hit eight of their sixteen attempts and scored twenty points in the first quarter. However, Minnesota only led by two points going into the second quarter due to the scorching play of Hagemann (eight points) and the Spartans (8-for-17).
The Gophers then extended their two-point lead to 36-24 at the half after holding the Spartans to six points, their lowest-scoring quarter of the year.
The Gophers led 6-0 at the start of the quarter thanks to Heyer’s six points. For the last 3:22 of the first half, the Gophers kept the Spartans scoreless—they went 0-for-5 with two turnovers. Had Minnesota not labored down the stretch of the half, scoring just five points on 2-for-7 shooting, the Gophers’ lead would have been much greater.