Gophers women's basketball dominates from the tip, defeats Chicago State 105-54

This was the women's basketball version of a 180-degree turn.

Monday night at Williams Arena the Gophers hosted winless Chicago State. This came just two days after playing at Iowa, in front of a big crowd, against at team with NCAA title dreams and the nation's leading scorer.

So, frankly, the outcome of Monday's game was pretty much sealed after the Gophers out-scored the Cougars 28-10 over the first 10 minutes.

The final: Gophers 105, Chicago State 54.

After the team took control early, the game gave Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen the opportunity to go deep into the bench and look at a number of different combinations.

And she did.

All 12 Gophers players who suited up saw action, and all of them scored. The biggest bench celebrations came when walkons Maria Counts and Alexa Ratzlaff both scored in the final quarter.

Whalen's goal Monday was for her team to play more up-tempo offense. "We talked a lot about pace,'' she said. "About being aggressive on defense. But pace on offense. Getting the ball up the court quickly, harder screening, more intentionality in everything we do. We worked on it, and I like how we responded.''

It's hard to argue with the numbers.

The Gophers scored their most points in Whalen's four-plus seasons as coach. They set season highs in shooting percentage (48.6), free-throw attempts (39), rebounds (64), assists (22) and blocks (seven). They scored 26 points on the break, 22 off offensive rebounds.

"I think that shows how close-knit we are; we all want the best for each other,'' Maggie Czinano said. "We all want each other to succeed. Even the crowd got into it, not just us.''

Mallory Holloway tied her career high with 19 points and had nine rebounds. She and Czinano (10, seven), combined to give the Gophers 29 points and 16 rebounds from the power forward position. Center Rose Micheaux had 13 points and eight boards. Mara Braun scored 16; Isabelle Gradwell's 11 points were the most she's scored for the Gophers.

Amaya Battle had eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. She and Katie Borowicz (eight points, seven boards) gave the Gophers 28 points and 17 rebounds from the point guard position.

Mallory Heyer had another efficient game, scoring her 19 points in 26 minutes, needing just 11 shots. Over her past four games she has averaged 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, shooting 56.1% overall and making nine of her 19 three-point attempts (47.4%). The key?

"I think just playing my game,'' she said. "Doing what I do. I run the floor hard, I cut hard on offense. Obviously, my teammates do a good job of getting me the ball.''

The Gophers led by 18 after a quarter, by 24 at the half and by 42 entering the fourth quarter. Of the 12 Gophers who played, nine played 14 minutes or more.

"I feel good about the game," Whalen said. "Not because of the final score. I feel good about the way we played."