In a game with just as many hot streaks as cold, it was a blistering fourth-quarter start by the Gophers women's basketball team that made all the difference.
The Gophers snapped a two-game losing streak Tuesday, taking down Michigan 82-66 on the road with the team making a season-high 15 of its 28 three-pointers. Sophomore forward Mallory Heyer led the scoring with 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three, while first-year guard Grace Grocholski, whose 16-point fourth quarter allowed the Gophers to pull away for good, totaled 19. The team's leading scorer for the season, Mara Braun, added 17.
Coach Dawn Plitzuweit credited her team's stellar performance from deep to the Gophers' success in driving into the paint throughout the night.
"I think we recognized we needed to penetrate against their man [defense] and create scenarios where we recruited extra helpers in the lane, and then find players who would be open after that," Plitzuweit said after the game. "Michigan does a really good job of turning you over when you attack the rim and I thought our young ladies did a good job, for the most part, of understanding where to look and where to find the rotations."
Minnesota's victory marks the first time the Gophers (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) have beaten Michigan (11-5, 2-2) since 2018, and the first time they've done so in Ann Arbor since 2014. Their 12th victory eclipses last season's win total in half as many games played.
"We learned [Tuesday] that we can compete," Plitzuweit said. "Michigan is a very, very tough team and our goal was to out-compete them. I thought our young ladies stayed with them for long stretches and found a way to make some shots in the end."
The Gophers started the game hot, knocking down their first six shots — including a pair of threes — en route to a 14-7 lead. Braun led the Gophers right out of the gate, taking a picked pass to the rack and following it up with a late-shot-clock step-back three.
Minnesota went cold, though, missing the next eight shots in a stretch that spanned more than four minutes. The Wolverines pulled even with a 7-0 run, but Braun's second three-pointer put the Gophers ahead 17-14 at the end of the first quarter.
As the Gophers struggled to score, Michigan took advantage. The Wolverines rattled off another 7-0 run, punctuated by a Jordan Hobbs three to take a 21-19 lead. But the Gophers didn't stay down for long, and halfway through the second quarter, they caught fire once again.
The two teams combined to make eight of their next nine attempts, including a Braun shot from near the logo that was one of five threes made in that stretch. When Michigan cooled off, the Gophers kept chugging, scoring 10 in a row to make the score 39-31 with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the first half. The Gophers went into the half leading 41-35, with 18 of their points coming after the quarter's midpoint.
The Gophers offense once again hit a dead stretch at the start of the third, but Heyer single-handedly kept the Gophers ahead with three shots from beyond the arc. The sophomore's fifth three-pointer of the game marked a career high, and her efforts kept the Gophers afloat.
"I just had some open looks, and I thought my teammates did a really great job of getting me the ball, getting in open spots, and I just knocked them down," Heyer said. "I've been working on my shot, so it paid off, and I'm really glad we got the win."
None of the Gophers could complement Heyer's third-period success, which allowed Michigan to take a 54-53 lead by the end of the quarter. The sharpshooter's teammates combined to make only one of 10 shots in the third.
The fourth quarter was Grocholski's time to shine. She racked up 13 points in the opening 5½ minutes, helping contribute to the team's largest lead of the night at 70-58 with 4:32 remaining. The 17-4 run to open the period was enough to put the Wolverines away, as they never recovered from the deficit. Minnesota closed out the game with a 29-12 fourth, their highest-scoring and best defensive quarter of the game.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
