Gophers women’s basketball team’s turnovers prove costly in home loss to Oregon

The Gophers women’s basketball team spent most of this season limiting turnovers.

Lately, not so much.

Sunday at Williams Arena, in front of an announced 6,487 fans, the Gophers’ inability to take care of the ball cost them again, this time in a 76-70 loss to an Oregon team just ahead of them in the standings.

As a result the Gophers (19-8, 7-8 Big Ten) have lost five of six games, going from the upper half of the 18-team Big Ten to 12th. From looking like a team headed for the NCAA tournament to one that will have to get some work done in order to ensure getting there.

“That was a tough second quarter for us,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “We didn’t take care of the ball at a very high level, and that got them going. We dug ourselves a hole.”

Actually it was a difficult second half of the second quarter. Up nine midway through the period after Mallory Heyer hit a three-pointer, Oregon scored 11 points off Gophers turnovers in an 18-5 end to the quarter that put the Ducks up four. And, as it turned out, put them up for good.

Before the third quarter was half over, the lead was up to 11. As has happened recently, the Gophers made a late charge. Down 10 with just over 3 minutes left in the game, a three-point play by Annika Stewart and Grace Grocholski’s three-pointer pulled the home team within four with 2:41 left.

They got no closer.

“I think the bottom line is we have to stop digging ourselves holes,” said Grocholski, who scored a team-high 16 points. “And then expecting to get out of them.”

To do that, the Gophers have to get back to avoiding turnovers.

In their first 21 games the Gophers went 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten while averaging 9.9 turnovers per game and allowing opponents an average of 8.3 points off those turnovers.

In their past six games: 88 turnovers, 113 points allowed off them. In their past two, Ohio State and Oregon have scored 53 points off turnovers. Ohio State turned 21 Gophers turnovers into 30 points on Thursday. Oregon (18-8, 9-6) had a 23-7 edge in that department.

And while Oregon’s press is impressive, it is not as dangerous as Ohio State’s.

“We’re in a stretch of really short prep [for games],” Plitzuweit said. “And that’s kind of hard for us, because we’re not really a team that has the highest basketball IQ yet. We’re still learning a lot of things. Ultimately having more opportunities to get in and get practice is going to help us.”

BOXSCORE: Oregon 76, Gophers 70

Big Ten women’s basketball standings

There were missed assignments on defense, too. Oregon entered as the worst three-point shooting team in the Big Ten but made five of eight in the first half. Elisa Mevius was 6-for-6 overall and 3-for-3 on threes in the first two quarters and finished with 19 points. Deja Kelly scored 20, Alexis Whitfield 13.

But not handling Oregon’s defensive pressure was the difference in this game.

“We just weren’t doing the right things,” Grocholski said. “We weren’t together in the backcourt. And getting the space. That’s something where … we’re going to try not to make the same mistakes again."

Grocholski, Amaya Battle (14 points) and center Sophie Hart (14) led the Gophers in scoring. Heyer had 11 points and 14 rebounds. It was her fifth double-double this season and her third in four games.

Three regular season games remain for the Gophers, starting with Wednesday’s game at Purdue, which has just two Big Ten wins. Then the Gophers have a week off before hosting Washington. Minnesota finishes the conference slate at Michigan State on March 1 before heading to the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

“We have to find a way to have some zip, some juice earlier [in games] for sure,” Plitzuweit said. “We have to figure that out.”