University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
14-6, 6-3Big Te
Illinois
8-12, 1-8Big Te
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 20 | 25 | 14 | 18 | 77 |
| Minnesota | 18 | 11 | 29 | 24 | 82 |
Gophers Come Back to Beat Illini
1/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2016
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Photo Gallery | Quotes
Minnesota (14-6, 6-3 Big Ten) erased an 18-point deficit to defeat Illinois (8-12, 1-8 Big Ten), 82-77. Rachel Banham hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Gophers a late lead. She scored 27 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. She shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter alone.
The Gophers turned in a 53-point second half to secure their largest comeback victory of the season and their fourth consecutive win. They held Illinois scoreless for the final three minutes of play.
In the second half, Minnesota shot 48.6 percent, including an 8-for-15 half from beyond the arc. Illinois outrebounded Minnesota 44-40 in the game, but the Gophers won the battle on the boards 26-15 in the second half.
Five Minnesota players scored in double figures. Carlie Wagner tallied 16 points, while Shayne Mullaney, Joanna Hedstrom and Jessie Edwards each had 11. Allina Starr grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Alex Wittinger matched Banham with 27 points for the Illini on 12-of-18 shooting. She pulled down 15 rebounds for a double-double. Chatrice White and Kyley Simmons had 19 and 16 points, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: With the game tied at 4, Illinois went on a 7-0 run. The Gophers followed up with a 7-2 run to make it 13-11, Illinois, at the media timeout. The Illini went back up by five before a Hedstrom 3-pointer cut it to two near the end of the quarter. Illinois led 20-18 on the strength of a 15-6 rebounding advantage.
Second Quarter: Mullaney scored seven of the Gophers' 11 points in the second as the Illini took a 45-29 halftime lead. Illinois shot 48.7 percent in the half, while Minnesota shot 33.3 percent.
Third Quarter: The Gophers opened the second half with an 11-2 run capped by Hedstrom free throws. They trailed 47-40 at the 6:44 mark. The Illini built the lead back to 56-42 before Minnesota rattled off a 13-0 run to get within one point. The run included an and-1 and charge taken by Edwards and a coast-to-coast Allina Starr layup, and a 3-pointer by Wagner closed the run to make it 56-55. After a three-point play by Illinois, Wagner hit another triple to make it 59-58, Illinois, at the end of the third. Wagner had 10 points in the period.
Fourth Quarter: An Edwards putback early in the quarter briefly gave the Gophers their first lead of the game, 60-59. A 3-pointer and drive by Banham on consecutive possessions again gave Minnesota a one-point lead before Illinois scored again. After Illinois had reclaimed the lead, Banham made a free throw and her fifth 3-pointer to tie it at 77 with 1:45 remaining. After the Gophers got a stop, she nailed another triple from the corner for an 80-77 lead with 1:03 to go.
After an Illinois miss went out of bounds, the Gophers ran down the shot clock and missed. Illinois called timeout with 7.7 seconds remaining. The Illini's last 3-point attempt missed. Mullaney got the rebound and made a pair of free throws.
MORE NOTES
*The Gophers' previous largest comeback was from an 11-point deficit against Towson on Dec. 6.
*Banham has 18 20-point games this year, including the last eight in a row.
*Banham (2,660 career points) moved into 33rd on the NCAA all-time scoring list. She passed Wanda Ford (Drake), Janet Harris (Georgia), Sue Wicks (Rutgers) and Carolyn Thompson (Texas Tech).
*Mullaney has reached double figures in scoring in four consecutive games.
*Edwards' and Hedstrom's double-digit scoring performances were their first since the first meeting with Illinois.
*Wagner and Banham have scored in double figures in all 19 games this.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will travel to Michigan for an 11:30 a.m. Sunday tilt on BTN. The Gophers' next home game will be Feb. 4 against Rutgers at 7 p.m.
