Minnesota played 36 minutes of solid basketball, but a four-minute stretch midway through the second half proved costly as No. 20/17 Ohio State defeated the Gophers, 73-62, in Williams Arena on Thursday. The Buckeyes remain in a first-place tie with the win at 12-3 (21-5) in Big Ten play. The Gophers’ record falls to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in Conference play. Emily Fox led the Gophers with 18 points.
Ohio State broke the game open in the second half using a 13-0 run to turn a 36-34 deficit into a 47-36 lead. The Buckeyes scored six baskets after Gopher turnovers with Brittany Johnson capping the run with five straight points.
A Katie Ohm basket at the 12:15 mark snapped a Gopher scoreless streak that had extended over four minutes. Ohio State pushed its lead to as big as 14 points at 54-40.
Fox hit a three-pointer to ignite a 9-1 Gopher run to close the gap to six points at 55-49. The teams exchanged baskets with a Samatha Prahaulis three-pointer and a Brittany McCoy jumper before Star Allen scored six consecutive points for the Buckeyes to push the lead back into double digits at 64-53.
Fox would try again to get her team going. She scored five straight points to bring the Gophers back to within six at 64-58. Prahaulis stepped up once again, drawing the foul and hitting both free throws. Johnson added another big triple and the lead was back up to nine points.
McCoy, who finished with 12 points, drove for a quick layup and drew the foul from Prahualis but missed the free throw. The Buckeyes scored on their end then forced Minnesota in its 11th turnover of the second half. Lavender who quietly scored 14 points made the Gophers pay by making a jump and up the lead to 73-60.
The Minnesota defense did exactly what they had hoped in the first half. The Gophers collected six steals and forced 11 Buckeye turnovers. McCoy grabbed three steals in the first half to lead the way.
The Gophers were able to push the ball and score off transition and took a 30-26 lead into halftime. Minnesota was unable to take advantage of having Buckeye All-American Lanvender on the bench with two fouls. She sat the last 12:29 of the half with the Gophers leading 13-9. The teams each scored 17 points the rest of the way.
Minnesota plays its next game on Monday, Feb. 23 at Northwestern.
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