Gophers Headed to Evanston for Matchup with Wildcats

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (10-16, 3-12 B1G) begins its final week on the road with a matchup with Northwestern (8-18, 1-14 B1G) on Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip at Welsh-Ryan Arena and can be seen on B1G+ and heard on the iHeartRadio app or on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THE NORTHWESTERN GAME

Minnesota's matchup with Northwestern is the 78th meeting between the two programs with the first meeting coming 46 years ago in 1977. Minnesota's last meeting with Northwestern was in the Big Ten Tournament in 2022 in Indianapolis. That meeting ended in a 65-60 victory for the Wildcats. Overall the Gophers and Wildcats split last season 1-1, but Northwestern holds the recent edge with victories in three of the last four meetings.
Minnesota is 38-39 overall against the Wildcats.
The Gophers last win against Northwestern in Evanston was on Jan. 31, 2019. In the last four games at Northwestern Minnesota holds a record of 3-1.
The Wildcats are losers of their last five games, falling by an average of 15.2 points in those games. The team's last win was on Jan. 29 on the road against Wisconsin. Their last win at home was on Jan. 25.
Northwestern is 2-13 against common opponents this season with the Gophers.
Northwestern was not selected in either of the Big Ten's preseason polls.
Offensively the Wildcats are paced by Caileigh Walsh who averages 11.6 points per contest this season. The team also gets double digit scoring from Sydney Wood at 10.6. Paige Mott averages 8.3 points per game but shoots at a clip of 51.4 percent from the floor.
As a team Northwestern's best stat is their blocks per game, which is No. 2 in the conference and No. 29 in the NCAA at 4.6 per game. The team also averages 8.9 steals per game which is No. 5 in the Big Ten and 88th in the NCAA this season.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Last time out the Maroon and Gold the Gophers won their second home conference game in thrilling fashion over Nebraska, 95-92. The Gophers got a game-winning 3-pointer from graduate transfer Isabelle Gradwell with 1.1 seconds left to push the Gophers past the visiting Cornhuskers. Freshman Mara Braun, who assisted Gradwell on her three, finished with a team-high 28 points and added seven rebounds and had zero turnovers in 33 minutes.
Minnesota's win over Nebraska was the team's best win in regards to the NET rankings with Nebraska entering at No. 44. Minnesota overcame being called for 31 personal fouls, the most under head coach Lindsay Whalen. Despite that, the Gophers persevered and won the game which marked the only time since at least 2009 that any Big Ten team has defeated another Big Ten team when committing 31 or more fouls (according to HerHoopStats.com).
The bench came ready to play for the Maroon and Gold against the Cornhuskers on Feb. 15, scoring the team's conference high with 37 points by four Gophers. Katie Borowicz was the leader with 15 points, while also dishing six assists and committing zero turnovers in 20 minutes. On top of hitting the game-winning shot, Gradwell scored eight points and hit two threes in a Big Ten game for the first time this season. Angelina Hammond also had a career high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds and a steal. Minnesota's 37 bench points are the most against a Big Ten opponent since the team had 41 against Maryland on March 3, 2017.
Freshman Mara Braun has returned as a consistent scorer for the Gophers, scoring in double figures in seven of her last eight games. Braun has connected on at least one three in eight straight games and has shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from beyond the arc in her last five games while averaging 17.2 points per game.
Lindsay Whalen announced on Jan. 6, the signing of center Sophie Hart to the Gophers' program. Hart is a 6-5 graduate of Farmington High School, who played two seasons at NC State, and will join Minnesota with two years of eligibility. Coming out of high school Hart was the No. 64 ranked overall recruit in the class of 2021 and the No. 5 ranked player at her position by ESPN.
Minnesota signee Dominika Paurová was called up to the Czech Republic Senior National Team for the countries EuroBasket Qualifiers last week. Paurová made her debut against Ireland and helped the team qualify for the tournament later this year.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Mallory Heyer is ranked fourth in rebounding average during conference play (8.4 per game).
8 - Mara Braun has hit at least one three in eight straight games.
114 - Freshman guard Amaya Battle has 114 assists this season, a single-season record for freshmen at Minnesota.
10 - The Gophers have played in 10 games decided by six points or less this season.
21 - This season Minnesota has won the opening tip 20 times.

The University of Minnesota will remain on the road for a game against Michigan State on Feb. 22. The game will serve as the Gophers final road test with the game being streamed on B1G+ starting at 6 p.m.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2022-23 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Katie Borowicz

Mara Braun

Isabelle Gradwell

Angelina Hammond

Sophie Hart

Mallory Heyer