Minnesota will host Gonzaga Thursday night
Just like a season ago when the Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball team became road warriors to make a long run in the WNIT, history seems to be repeating itself. After a Opening round win at Toledo on Thursday night the Gophers went into Missouri State’s Great Southern Bank Arena where the host Bears had not lost in nearly two seasons and picked up a 78-71 win. The road trip ends for one game at least as due to Gonzaga’s upset of #1 seed Colorado, the Gophers will host the Zags in Thursday night’s Quarterfinals at Williams Arena.
Minnesota jumped out in the Bears early on Sunday. The Gophers started out making ten of their first 13 shots in the game. They cooled down a bit towards the end of the quarter but still rolled to take a 27-12 lead after the first quarter in a dominating performance. Annika Stewart came off the bench to score eight points in the quarter.
The second quarter was an even affair. Minnesota could not put away the Bears, but Missouri State didn’t mount a strong comeback either. The teams tied the quarter with 15 points each and the Gophers took their 17 point lead at 42-27 into the locker room.
Similarly the third quarter was much of the same. Missouri State clawed back slightly cutting the Gopher lead to seven just four minutes into the quarter, but the Gophers would go on another run to push it back to fifteen late in the quarter. A late Bears basket would cut the Gopher lead to 13 after three quarters.
Que the furious comeback from the Bears. Minnesota’s offense went cold in the fourth quarter and the great ball movement that had showed previously dissaeared. Minnesota went back into their dribble around the peremiter for 25 seconds and put up a poor shot offense and the bears mounted a run. The Gopher lead got all the way down to three points with 29 seconds to play after a pair of Tori McKinney missed layups that were immediately answered by Missouri State three-pointers on the other end. But MInnesota would go 5-6 from the free throw stripe the rest of the way, and return to their tight defense to not allow open looks and would escape Springfield, Missouri with a 78-71 win.
The Gophers were led by Grace Grocholski and Stewart who both scored 18 points. Amaya Battle added 15. Minnesota ruled the rebounds owning a 43-27 edge for the game. Minnesota owned the offensive boards with a 13-5 advantage.
Thanks to Gonzaga upsetting the #1 seed Colorado Buffalo on Sunday, Minnesota earned the right to host the WBIT Quarterfinal as the top remaining seed. The Gophers will host Gonzaga at 7 PM Thursday night. Tickets go on sale at 10 AM Monday and the game will also stream on ESPN+. The winner will advance to the WBIT Final Four which will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on March 31st and April 2nd.