Gophers still struggling to find offense in 71-47 loss to No. 5 Ohio State

Here is how the second half of the Gophers women’s basketball team’s game against No. 5-ranked Ohio State began Thursday night at Williams Arena:

* Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon hit a three.

* Moments later, a Gophers turnover gave the Buckeyes a fast-break layup.

* The Gophers turned the ball over again, resulting in another Ohio State layup.

In less than three minutes a fairly closely contested game got out of hand. Nine straight OSU points turned a five-point game into a 14-point lead on the way to a 71-47 loss. For the Gophers (14-9 overall, 4-8 in the Big Ten), their fifth straight. For the Buckeyes (20-3, 11-1), their 10th straight win.

“That was a really tough stretch of basketball,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said of the third quarter, during which the Buckeys outscored the Gophers 26-7, with 10 of those 26 points coming off turnovers. For the game Ohio State — known for its points off turnovers — used physical half-court defense to force a season-high 23 Gophers turnovers, which resulted in 26 points.

“You can’t predetermine where to pass the ball,” Plitzuweit said. “You have to make basic, simple, fundamental basketball reads. We did not do that in the half court. We have to get a whole lot better at taking care of the ball. … You have to pass the ball to your team.”

Ohio State is known for its press. The Gophers actually handled that pretty well. But while Mara Braun’s right foot is on the mend, the Gophers continue try to find their way on offense. Minnesota’s 47 points was their second-lowest total of the season and their lowest in Big Ten play. They made a season-low 16 field goals to go with the season-high in turnovers.

“We have to take care of the ball, especially me,” said guard Amaya Battle. The starting point guard for Minnesota, Battle scored seven points with six assists and seven rebounds. But she also had eight turnovers, giving her 25 in the last three games. “I can only learn from it and grow from it.”

Without Braun, against such a dynamic team, the Gophers knew the challenge going in. In the first half, especially on the defensive end, they met it, holding Ohio State to 29 first-half points on 32.4% shooting.

But a relatively tight game got out of hand quickly. By the time the third quarter ended Ohio State was up 24.

Four OSU starters were in double figures, led by Celeste Taylor, who had 14 points. Cotie McMahon had 13, Sheldon 12 to go with six assists and two steals and Rebeka Mikulasikova had 11.

BOXSCORE: Ohio State 71, Gophers 47

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Janay Sanders, in her third start, scored 16 points, drawing seven fouls and getting to the free-throw line eight times. She was the only Gophers player in double figures. In three starts she has averaged 17.3 points on 60.6% shooting.

But the team is clearly still learning how to adapt to her style of play, which is so different from Braun’s.

“Finding ways to score the ball is something we have to get better at, certainly,” Plitzuweit said.

The Gophers will get some time off, then prepare for Tuesday’s game at Rutgers, the start of a stretch of three games in eight days.

“We’ll get their bodies ready for that, and then it’s time to grind,” Plitzuweit said.