By Heather Rule, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Gophers women’s basketball team knocked off two top-25 opponents within a few days. They came off a stretch where they scored at least 90 points in three straight Big Ten games for the first time in program history.

Then the shooting went cold.

The Gophers lost 82-70 a red-hot Indiana team in the final home game of the season for the Gophers on Tuesday night at Williams Arena.

Senior Carlie Wagner led the way for the Gophers with a season-high 34 points.

The loss snapped a six-game home winning streak for the Gophers. It was just their second loss at home this season, putting them at 13-2 at Williams Arena. They finished the four-game homestand 3-1 and have won seven of nine games overall.

The Gophers got off to a quick 7-0 start with a couple Wagner lay-ups and 3-point play from junior guard Kenisha Bell. Indiana took a timeout just 1 minutes, 33 seconds into the game to slow the momentum before going on a 6-0 run of their own.

The game was tight throughout the rest of the first half, and that seven-point lead was the largest for the Gophers. The score was tied 19 all at the end of the first quarter.

In the first half, three-point shooting was ice cold for the Gophers. They shot 0-for-7 from beyond the arc just a game after sinking 14 long-range shots against No. 10 Maryland. Meanwhile, Indiana went 6-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half. They hit back-to-back shots near the end of the second quarter to grab the lead.

The Gophers trailed at halftime, 42-40. Though the long shots weren’t falling, they took advantage of driving to the hoop with 28 points in the paint through the first half.

The shooting woes continued in the second half for the Gophers, who at one point were just 3-for-12 from the field in the third quarter. The back-and-forth battle for the lead continued as the Gophers led by just a bucket with a quarter to play, with a 56-54 edge.

A tough go from 3-point range continued into the second half for the Gophers. They were 0-for-14 from beyond the arc before Wagner drained a shot with about a minute left in the third quarter. It turned out to be a milestone in multiple ways.

That trey gave Wagner 27 points in the game and put her into third place on the Gophers career scoring list passing Carol Ann Shudlick (1990-94) and her 2,097 points.

Wagner had her 109th career game in double figures to take over second place on the Gophers all-time list, bumping Lindsay Whalen to third with 108 games.

Before the game, Wagner, Jessie Edwards and Bryanna Fernstrom were honored as part of Senior Night. Wagner is the only one who’s played for the Gophers for the past four years, and is an NRHEG graduate.

The Gophers, a strong three-point shooting team all season, finished with just two threes on 22 attempts. The Hoosiers beat them at their own game in that category, going 12-for-23.

The win was the eighth in a row for the Hoosiers, continuing the longest active streak in the Big Ten after they started conference play just 1-6.

Indiana senior guard Tyra Buss scored a game-high 36 points.