NCAA Tournament: Gophers explode in final frame to escape upset
The final score on Friday at Williams Arena doesn’t come close to telling the full story for the Gophers women’s basketball team. Let’s just say the Gophers weren’t head and shoulders better than the Green Bay Phoenix like their 75-58 win might indicate. Not by a long shot.
After trailing for most of the game, however, the Gophers used a frantic 14-0 run to start the final frame to finally wake up a home crowd that had been nervously starring down a major upset for most of game. The presence of more than 10,000 fans in attendance seemed to carry the Gophers down the stretch. The win helps the Gophers move on to the Round of 32 where they will face Ole Miss on Sunday at Williams Arena.
It was a very slow start for the Gophers. They couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense thanks to a few missed layups and a few turnovers and actually trailed 11-10 at the end of the first quarter despite entering the game favored by 22. 5 points.
It felt like only a matter of time before the Gophers punched back, however, and they did courtesy of an offensive outburst from Mara Braun. After cashing in on a shot from long range, Braun muscled in a layup through contact and converted the ensuing free throw. That said, the Gophers couldn’t manage to create any separation, and the Phoenix knocked down enough shots at the end of the second quarterback to stay in front 29-26 at halftime.
With the Gophers in desperate need of a lift coming out of the locker room, Amaya Battle came out firing after halftime with a few big shots from long range to keep the game from spiraling out of control. Though she does a little bit of everything for the Gophers, Battle’s shooting from long range isn’t anywhere close to her calling card. She only made 10 shots from long range in total during the regular season.