The Golden Gophers (19-11) fell 84-74 to Northwestern (17-15) in their first game of the Big Ten tournament. Minnesota trailed by as much as 10 in the game before cutting the deficit to one point late in the game. But Northwestern held onto the lead to win Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, according to a press release.

Rachel Banham scored 26 points for Minnesota and became the 11th Division I women’s player to reach 3,000 points in her career. Carlie Wagner scored 18 points. Banham also had eight rebounds and six assists.

Nia Coffey led Northwestern with 25 points. The Wildcats outrebounded the Gophers 54-42.

 

How it happened

The Gophers and Wildcats were knotted at eight before a 10-0 Northwestern run. Minnesota shot 0-10 for a long stretch, and seven second-chance points helped the Wildcats take a 21-11 lead at the end of the first period.

The Gophers trailed 31-22 in the second before going on a run to tie it at 31. The run included a Karley Barnes basket, a Wagner layup and five points from Banham. Northwestern quickly made two three-pointers. Minnesota trailed 39-35 at halftime. The Gophers outrebounded the Wildcats 23-20 in the first two periods, and had an 18-14 edge in points in the paint. Northwestern made six three-pointers to Minnesota’s three in the half.

Wagner scored 10 points in the third, half of the Gophers’ production in the quarter. Banham assisted on five of Minnesota’s eight field goals in the period. The Gophers trailed 61-55 heading into the final frame.

After Banham scored to open the fourth quarter, Jessie Edwards’ second three-point play of the half brought the Gophers within one point, down 61-60 at the 8:22 mark. Coffey scored Northwestern’s first nine points of the quarter. Banham scored 12 points in the final quarter.

After the 61-60 score, Northwestern pulled back ahead by nine. Banham scored eight straight points to make it 70-68 Wildcats, with 4:05 to play. That was the closest Minnesota got for the rest of the game. Northwestern grabbed key offensive rebounds and made free throws down the stretch to seal the game.

 

More notes

Banham ranks 10th on the NCAA all-time scoring list with 3,008 points. She passed Maine’s Cindy Blodgett.

The Gophers had fewer turnovers (12) and more steals (11) than the Wildcats.

Banham and Wagner have reached double figures in scoring in all 30 games this year.

 

Up next

The Gophers will wait until March 14 to find out their postseason draw.