Gophers women’s basketball improves to 10-0 with 90-44 rout of North Florida

There was a lot to like in the Gophers women’s basketball team’s latest nonconference rout.

Their 90-44 victory over North Florida on Tuesday night at Williams Arena was the team’s biggest in its 10-0 start to the season.

“We played about as complete a basketball game as we have so far this year, on both ends of the court,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.

It was the third time in four games an opponent has shot south of 30%, the fourth consecutive opponent to fail to reach 50 points. It was the Gophers’ third victory by 40 or more points. Four of five starters and six players overall scored in double figures and the team shot a season-high 56.7%.

Out of all that, this might be the most encouraging thing:

Grace Grocholski is back on a roll from behind the three-point line.

She made five of nine threes while scoring 15 points in 18 minutes of court time. She and backup center Annika Stewart (15 points) led the team in scoring on a night when Stewart and starting center Sophie Hart (12 points) combined to go 11-for-11 from the field. Point guard Amaya Battle was again in control, scoring 11 points with a block, four assists and a career-high six steals.

Freshman Tori McKinney (12 points) made four of five shots while scoring in double figures for the fourth time in five games since entering the starting lineup for the injured Mara Braun. Taylor Woodson (11) scored in double figures for the fifth time this season.

All good. But Grocholski’s three-point shooting is a huge positive. With Braun sidelined, Grocholski’s range is critical as the team prepares for the Big Ten opener Sunday at Nebraska. As a freshman, she shot nearly 35% on threes, making a team-best 79. But through the first seven games this year she was just 8-for-39.

But, starting with two games at the Big Easy Classic in New Orleans last week, Grocholski has hit 12 of 27 (44.4%) in her past three games.

“It always feels good when they go in,” Grocholski said. “My teammates, they tell me to keep shooting, so you keep shooting no matter what.”

When they go in, space is created in the post, one reason the Gophers centers were so efficient. Hart hit all six of her shots. Stewart, who has led the team or tied for the lead in scoring in four of 10 games, was 5-for-5.

“It’s important for us,” Plitzuweit said. “In order to establish an inside-out game, we also have to be able to kick it out and make good decisions with it on the perimeter. Hitting open shots is a major part of that.”

Grocholski scored nine points in less than seven minutes, hitting three of four threes as the Gophers opened the game with a 33-6 first quarter. By halftime, she had 12 points and the Gophers already had three players in double figures. After the Gophers took a 52-18 halftime lead, Plitzuweit went to the bench, with 14 players seeing action and 10 scoring.

The Gophers have won by double figures in all but one game this season. But Plitzuweit and her players said they’d had enough preparation for the conference opener. They have seen teams that play a number of different styles, both on offense and defense. And the Gophers will have a lot of practice time to fine-tune for the game in Nebraska.

“I think our consistency,” Stewart said when asked what the team needs the most work on. A graduate transfer, Stewart played four seasons at Nebraska, so Sunday’s game will come with mixed emotions.

“We have really good possessions on defense and then we kind of get in a lull,” Stewart said. “Just keeping our heads up after making mistakes and having possessions built on each other.”