In the opening moments of the third quarter of a tied game, after Tori McKinney had missed a three-pointer, Gophers center Sophie Hart waded into the lane, got the offensive board, was fouled and went to the line.
Swish, swish.
Less than a minute later, after Amaya Battle’s miss, Hart grabbed the rebound, was fouled and went to the line.
Swish, swish.
Not long after that, out of the high post, Hart saw Mallory Heyer cutting to the basket. The Gophers call it a “blast,” as in a blast to the hoop. Hart passed, Heyer caught and scored. Moments later, it was Annika Stewart who hit a cutting Heyer.
Sunday at Williams Arena, in front of a season-best home crowd of 7,554, the Gophers women’s basketball team beat Wisconsin 71-50, completing the season sweep of the Badgers. The Gophers did it with a one-sided second half after a first half filled with misses, rebounds, grit and opportunism that somehow found them tied at halftime despite shooting under 28%.
And while four Gophers starters scored in double figures, it was Hart and Heyer who came out of the halftime locker room and changed the tenor of the game; the Gophers outscored the Badgers 43-22 in the second half.
“These two young ladies here played absolutely outstanding basketball games,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said of the duo, which combined to score 31 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists. “I think Sophie Hart, in my opinion, played her best game as a Gopher.”