Gophers Find Defense Late, Defeat Michigan

Minnesota held Michigan to just four points in the last five minutes of the game to pull out a 52-46 victory at Williams Arena on Sunday. The Gophers improve to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play. Ashley Ellis-Milan led all scorers with 19 points. "We started off flat, but we played a great second half of team basketball," said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton . "We were able to get the ball in the post and our zone defense controlled their shooters." The Golden Gophers were slow out of the gate on Sunday, perhaps a bit tired and sluggish after their huge win at No.15/13 Ohio State on Thursday. Minnesota missed their first five shot attempts and committed three turnovers in the first four minutes of the contest. On the Gophers' fifth miss, Zoe Harper grabbed the rebound and found Ellis-Milan open for a lay-in. Somehow it is once again fitting the Gophers used an offensive rebound to get started. Minnesota would collect its second straight shutout of its opponents on the glass, earning a 17-0 victory of second chance points. Michigan (9-9, 2-5) grabbed a 6-0 lead early on a pair of three-point field goals and overcame the Gophers' advantage on the boards by simply hitting shots. The Wolverines hit 50 percent in the first half and 54.5 percent (6-11) in the opening 20 minutes. While the Gophers struggled, Michigan built as big a lead as 12 points (23-11) on a Stephany Skrba basket with 5:10 in the first half. Emily Fox scored two buckets on back-to-back possessions to ignite a 7-0 run as the Gophers offense showed signs of life as the first half closed. Veronica Hicks, who led Michigan with 15 points, doused the Gophers' rally with a three-pointer, the Wolverines' sixth of the half, and gave Michigan a 28-20 lead at intermission. Minnesota continued to chip away at the Wolverine lead in the second half and finally pulled even at 37-37 with 9:07 to play on a sweet high-low pass from Jackie Voigt to Ellis-Milan, who banked the shot home. The teams exchanged baskets and the lead four times before Voigt and Ellis-Milan hooked up once again to give the Gophers the lead for good at 43-42 with 5:20 remaining. Ellis-Milan's basket was two of six points she would score in an 8-0 run over the next four minutes. Minnesota owned a 49-42 lead with 1:28 left to play. Hicks scored two baskets late for the Wolverines, but Michigan was unable to get closer than five points the rest of the way. After going 6-11 in the first half from behind the arc, Michigan was just 2-of-14 in the second. Another unusual aspect of the game was having Michigan go the entire game without a visit to the free throw line. The Gophers were 12-for-15, with Ellis-Milan hitting on 9-of-10. Fox joined Ellis-Milan in double figures with 10 points. Ellis-Milan finished one rebound shy of a double-double, collecting nine caroms. Minnesota returns to the road on Thursday to face Purdue in West Lafayette , Ind. Tip off is 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on the Big Ten Network . - UM -