Gophers women’s basketball improves to 9-0 with 68-48 victory over Louisiana in Big Easy Classic

On Friday, after the Gophers women’s basketball team opened with a win in the first of two games at the Big Easy Classic in New Orleans, coach Dawn Plitzuweit said Mallory Heyer turned in one of the best defensive games ever.

In Saturday’s 68-48 victory over Louisiana, Heyer added the offense.

Heyer hit seven of 13 shots overall, made three of six three-pointers and scored 20 points, one off her season high.

BOXSCORE: Gophers 68, Louisiana 48

As Plitzuweit stressed after the game — which pushed the Gophers to 9-0 — scoring isn’t the only measure of a great game. Heyer’s 11-rebound defensive gem against Houston on Friday is an example, as is Tori McKinney’s game Saturday. McKinney made just one of seven shots and scored five points, but she had a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals and was a team-best plus-25 for the Gopher.

For Heyer, it felt good to bust loose with her best scoring game since getting 21 against Michigan last season.

“Yeah, my shot felt good,” Heyer said from postgame availability in New Orleans. “I feel like they also were, obviously, in a zone most of the game, so I was able to sneak along the baseline and get some of those corner shots.”

Grace Grocholski added 14 points, giving her 32 points over the weekend while hitting seven of 18 three-pointers.

And while those were the only two Gophers players in double figures, 10 Gophers players scored, and six had five points or more. Playing against a team that forces nearly 25 turnovers a game, the Gophers had 13. Starting point guard Amaya Battle had seven assists with just two turnovers.

“There were ebbs and flows,” Plitzuweit said of the offense, which shot south of 40% overall but made 10 of 25 threes. “It’d be nice to find ways to be really consistent offensive, and we weren’t quite there. But we did take care of the ball.”

Plitzuweit wanted to play a team that uses pressure to try to force teams to speed up. After Friday’s slow start against Houston — the Gophers led 16-13 after the first quarter before pulling away for a 61-44 victory — she also wanted to see a quicker start.

Both happened in the first quarter: Six players scored, the Gophers made 10 of 16 shots and led 22-8 after the first quarter. The lead grew to 16 early in the second after Heyer’s three-pointer with 7:40 left in the half.

But the Ragin’ Cajuns switched to a zone, and then the Gophers got sped up. They were outscored 14-8 over the rest of the first half. Back to playing player-to-player defense to start the third quarter, Louisiana scored the first six points, and suddenly a 16-point lead was down to four.

Out of a timeout, the Rajin’ Cajuns went back to zone. But this time the Gophers were ready. The Gophers got two threes from Grocholski and five points from Annika Stewart in a 12-0 run. The Gophers ended the third quarter on a 17-4 run to go up 17, then got two three-pointers from Heyer in a 12-1 start to the fourth, putting them up 28 with 8:01 left to play.

The Gophers have asked a lot of Heyer this season. The 6-1 junior is doing more guarding on the perimeter while still being a rebounding regular.

Through the first eight games, Heyer, the team’s leading rebounder, had three double-figure rebounding games but had scored in double figures just once, shooting about 35% overall and 24% on threes. On Saturday, her offense looked more familiar.

“I just give credit to my teammates, finding me in the right spot,” she said. “And I feel I was able to get some post touches today, and that opened the floor for outside shooters, too. Overall, I feel we played two really great games and I’m proud of the team.”