University of Minnesota Athletics
Tuesday, December 31
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
11-2,1-1Big Ten
63
vs
66
Ohio State
8-5,1-1Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Ohio St.
16
18
10
22
66
Minnesota
12
16
18
17
63
Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Minnesota's Win Streak Ends at 11 with Loss to Ohio State
12/31/2019 7:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 24 Minnesota (11-2, 1-1 B1G) saw its 11-game win streak come to an end Tuesday afternoon in a 66-63 loss to Ohio State (8-5, 1-1) at Williams Arena.
The streak was the sixth longest in program history and was the longest since Minnesota opened last season 12-0. The loss also snapped the team's seven-game win streak at home, which was one away from tying for 10th longest in team annals.
"It's a game where the teams are really close, and everybody is really good in this league," Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen said. "They had the last run and so obviously it's tough to lose, especially at home, but I'm proud of the way we battled back when we were down in the first half."
Junior Destiny Pitts led all scorers with 26 points, tying herself for the most points scored by a Gopher this year. She also had 26 against Montana State on Nov. 23 and now has 1,180 for her career to pass Angie Iverson (1,162) for 17th on the Gophers' all-time scoring list. Pitts made five 3-pointers Tuesday and added seven rebounds.
Senior Taiye Bello recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career as she finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Of her 14 rebounds, 11 came on the defensive end. Her career rebounding total now stands at 853, moving her past Iverson (848) for sixth on Minnesota's career list.
Fellow senior Jasmine Brunson also reached double figures for the fifth time this year as she posted 13 points, two off her season high. She was 6-of-8 from the floor and also recorded a pair of steals and two rebounds.
Trailing 16-12 after the first quarter, the Gophers found themselves down 16-15 early in the second before the Buckeyes went on a 16-3 run to go up 32-18 with 2:24 left in the first half. It would be the largest lead of the game for Ohio State, but Minnesota wasn't done.
The Gophers finished the first half on 10-2 run to trail 34-28 going into halftime, and momentum was on their side. Highlighting the end of the half was a full-court out-of-bounds pass from freshman Sara Scalia to Bello that resulted in a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
Minnesota carried that momentum into the second half as it scored the first 10 points to extend their run to 20-2 and a 38-34 lead just over four minutes into the third quarter.
Pitts nailed a 3-pointer on her first shot attempt of the second half, then made another after Bello sank a pair of free throws to give the Gophers their first lead since less than three minutes remained in the opening quarter. Pitts had 10 of the team's 20 points during the run, while Bello had six. Minnesota outscored OSU 18-10 in the quarter to lead 46-44 going into the fourth.
Minnesota had its biggest lead of the game at 58-51 with 6:04 to play after a layup from Pitts, but the Buckeys countered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to one.
Pitts' fifth 3-pointer of the game put Minnesota up 63-59 with 2:55 to go, but that would be the team's final basket of the game as Ohio State scored the final seven points to win for the sixth straight time in the series.
Jacy Sheldon's 3-pointer with 2:30 to go made it a one-point game, while Aaliyah Patty put Ohio State in front, 64-63, on a layup with 1:40 remaining. With less than a minute left, Sheldon missed a 3-pointer and Scalia grabbed the rebound but Minnesota turned the ball over before it could get a shot off.
The Gophers had one last chance when Dorka Juhasz missed a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, however she grabbed her own rebound to clinch the game.
Minnesota is back out on the road this weekend as it plays at Nebraska on Saturday. The game, which tips off at 5 p.m., will air on Big Ten Network.
The streak was the sixth longest in program history and was the longest since Minnesota opened last season 12-0. The loss also snapped the team's seven-game win streak at home, which was one away from tying for 10th longest in team annals.
"It's a game where the teams are really close, and everybody is really good in this league," Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen said. "They had the last run and so obviously it's tough to lose, especially at home, but I'm proud of the way we battled back when we were down in the first half."
Junior Destiny Pitts led all scorers with 26 points, tying herself for the most points scored by a Gopher this year. She also had 26 against Montana State on Nov. 23 and now has 1,180 for her career to pass Angie Iverson (1,162) for 17th on the Gophers' all-time scoring list. Pitts made five 3-pointers Tuesday and added seven rebounds.
Senior Taiye Bello recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career as she finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Of her 14 rebounds, 11 came on the defensive end. Her career rebounding total now stands at 853, moving her past Iverson (848) for sixth on Minnesota's career list.
Fellow senior Jasmine Brunson also reached double figures for the fifth time this year as she posted 13 points, two off her season high. She was 6-of-8 from the floor and also recorded a pair of steals and two rebounds.
Trailing 16-12 after the first quarter, the Gophers found themselves down 16-15 early in the second before the Buckeyes went on a 16-3 run to go up 32-18 with 2:24 left in the first half. It would be the largest lead of the game for Ohio State, but Minnesota wasn't done.
The Gophers finished the first half on 10-2 run to trail 34-28 going into halftime, and momentum was on their side. Highlighting the end of the half was a full-court out-of-bounds pass from freshman Sara Scalia to Bello that resulted in a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
Minnesota carried that momentum into the second half as it scored the first 10 points to extend their run to 20-2 and a 38-34 lead just over four minutes into the third quarter.
Pitts nailed a 3-pointer on her first shot attempt of the second half, then made another after Bello sank a pair of free throws to give the Gophers their first lead since less than three minutes remained in the opening quarter. Pitts had 10 of the team's 20 points during the run, while Bello had six. Minnesota outscored OSU 18-10 in the quarter to lead 46-44 going into the fourth.
Minnesota had its biggest lead of the game at 58-51 with 6:04 to play after a layup from Pitts, but the Buckeys countered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to one.
Pitts' fifth 3-pointer of the game put Minnesota up 63-59 with 2:55 to go, but that would be the team's final basket of the game as Ohio State scored the final seven points to win for the sixth straight time in the series.
Jacy Sheldon's 3-pointer with 2:30 to go made it a one-point game, while Aaliyah Patty put Ohio State in front, 64-63, on a layup with 1:40 remaining. With less than a minute left, Sheldon missed a 3-pointer and Scalia grabbed the rebound but Minnesota turned the ball over before it could get a shot off.
The Gophers had one last chance when Dorka Juhasz missed a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, however she grabbed her own rebound to clinch the game.
Minnesota is back out on the road this weekend as it plays at Nebraska on Saturday. The game, which tips off at 5 p.m., will air on Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
OSU
MINN
FG%
.419
.339
3FG%
.192
.353
FT%
.692
.826
RB
37
41
TO
14
16
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
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