Gophers women rally past Purdue, set stage for Big Ten tournament opener

With 2 minutes and 48 seconds left in a tie game Sunday, Purdue's Lasha Petree drove the lane, the official blew the whistle, Gophers guard Katie Borowicz got called for a foul and Minnesota coach Lindsay Whalen started to lobby.

The final change in this game's momentum was about to happen. But in relative quiet, the crowd waiting as the officiating crew looked at the replay. The call: Whalen had seen Petree's elbow get up in Borowicz's face, and the refs agreed. Intentional foul. Mara Braun went to the line and hit two free throws. Rose Micheaux scored on the ensuing possession. After a stop, Mallory Heyer hit a three and the Gophers were off to a 77-69 victory at Williams Arena.

"I think every game we're showing a lot of growth,'' said Braun, who scored 11 of her 17 points in the Gophers' 25-14 fourth quarter.

In the larger scheme, this didn't change much. Win or lose the Gophers, who finished the regular season 11-18 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten, were locked into a first-round matchup with Penn State at the conference tournament, which starts Wednesday at Target Center. Minnesota's game opens the tournament at 1 p.m.

But it was senior day and alumni weekend. The Gophers remembered — and were motivated by — Purdue's 19-point victory over them just over a month ago. And while a 12^th-place finish in the Big Ten isn't what anyone wanted, the Gophers right now are a more competitive bunch than they were a few weeks ago.

The Gophers won their second straight home game, both against teams that could wind up in the NCAA tournament. And they did it with grit, after a downer of a third quarter had turned an 11-point halftime lead into a three-point deficit into the fourth.

But the Gophers took a punch — it turns out both literally and figuratively — and punched back, breaking open a tie game with seven straight points, finishing the game on a 15-7 run for their first victory against a team with a winning Big Ten record.

"I feel like the win was momentum going into the tournament,'' said Micheaux, who scored 16 points with seven rebounds.

There are other ways to measure progress. The Gophers were out-scored on points off turnovers by an average of 13.2 points per game in conference play. Sunday, for just the second time, they won that battle 16-14. When it mattered most the Gophers played their best defense, holding Purdue (18-9, 9-8) to 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting in the fourth.

"We put a lot of work in, a lot of time in,'' Whalen said. "I feel good, and I think they feel good. And they should. We're starting to see, when we continue to pour into each other … they have a chance to be a really special group moving forward.''

Isabelle Gradwell scored 13 points, Borowicz and Mi'Cole Cayton each had nine. The Gophers bench had a 33-16 scoring edge. They needed all of it considering Petree's 26.

Especially late. Micheaux's late bucket was a hard lefthand bank. Heyer's three accounted for her only points. After Petree responded with a three-point play to draw Purdue within four, Braun had what Whalen said might be her best take of the season for a score. Then the Gophers were perfect on free throws down the stretch.

"I think this is good momentum going into the tournament,'' Braun said. "We're all feeling good.''