Mara Braun, Katie Borowicz lead Gophers women's basketball over Milwaukee

It was late in the third quarter Wednesday at Williams Arena, in front of an announced crowd of 6,291 fans made up mainly of screaming kids — on Field Trip Day at the Barn — when things finally clicked into place for the Gophers women's basketball team.

With 3½ minutes left in the quarter, the Gophers had a one-point lead over Milwaukee. The Gophers weren't making quite enough shots, weren't getting quite enough rebounds, not getting enough stops.

But that changed.

"We got tougher defensively,'' coach Lindsay Whalen said. "We imposed our will offensively.''

Finally.

The Gophers finished the quarter on a 16-5 run that began with Katie Borowicz's two free throws with 3:22 left and ended with Mara Braun's three-pointer at the buzzer. A one-point game was now 12, and the Gophers cruised from there, winning 75-59.

It really was the difference in the game.

Braun had two three-pointers in the run, Mi'Cole Cayton and Isabelle Gradwell one each. Borowicz hit four free throws and had two assists.

Whalen liked how the team responded, in general, after halftime. The Gophers (7-5) had an 11-point lead early in the second quarter, but lost it.

But, after a six-point lead dropped to one in the third, the Gophers got in gear.

Braun, who had been struggling a bit with her shot, started the game 0-3. But, using her defense as a catalyst — her first basket came after a steal — she finished with 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting, with four steals.

"It helps me get in the flow of the game,'' she said. "Early on I missed a couple shots right away. I was like, 'OK, I have to get it back on defense.'"

Borowicz made five of seven shots, three of five three-pointers and scored 17 points with seven assists and just three turnovers. She was a plus-25 in 30 minutes played. She was definitely the player who drove the third-quarter surge.

"We had a lot of good plays, utilized who we could,'' Borowicz said. "We utilized our play-making and got stops on the defensive end.''

Rose Micheaux had 12 points and six rebounds for the Gophers. Mallory Heyer had 10 points.

The Panthers (3-7) were surprisingly competitive. They used their size to out-rebound the Gophers 42-31, with 14 of those coming on the offensive end. Kendall Nead had 18 points and Emma Wittmershaus had 10. But Milwaukee struggled to score consistently, shooting 37.7%.

The Gophers? It wasn't spectacular, but Minnesota did push its lead to 19 early in the fourth quarter. The team's nine made threes tied a season high.

It was the end of a hectic stretch. Wednesday's game was their third in five days. With finals looming, the Gophers will not play again until they host Eastern Illinois on Dec. 22.

"Now we get a little time off heal up a little bit, rest up a little bit,'' Whalen said.

The rest is welcome.

"Yes, your legs feel it,'' Braun said. "But, in the middle of the game, nobody cares that you're tired. So you have to push through. Our legs have gone through a lot. But this was our last game [for a while] and we get a little break now.''

Said Borowicz: "I am looking forward to it. I am not leaving my bed.''