The Gophers women’s basketball team had a seven-point lead after Mara Braun hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter Sunday at Illinois.
But Braun turned her ankle on the play. Shortly thereafter she had to leave the game and did not return. Not long after that, the Gophers’ lead was gone.
Not long after that? A 73-68 Illinois victory. The Gophers (14-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten) have lost consecutive games to second-division conference teams.
The Gophers were outscored 19-5 immediately after Braun left the game, 23-11 over the final nine-plus minutes. Missed shots, turnovers on the offensive end, porous defense at the other end led to a Illinois surge, which included 12 consecutive points to take a 69-92 lead with 2:11 left on Genesis Bryant’s basket.
Mallory Heyer hit a three. Moments later Janay Sanders converted on a three-point play to make it a 69-68 with 35 seconds left. But at the other end, the Illini’s Camille Hobby hit a jumper to make it a three-point game with 19 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Sanders missed a layup with nine seconds left and Illinois held on.
Makira Cook scored 22 for the Illini (9-10, 3-6), who broke a two-game losing streak. Bryant and Hobby had 19 each.
Amaya Battle led the Gophers with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Braun also finished with 18. Heyer (11) and Sophie Hart (10) were also in double figures.
The Gophers came out of the gate struggling to make shots in the first quarter, scoring only 14 points on 5-for-18 shooting. But their defense was good enough to keep Illinois to 15.
The Gophers still trailed by three after Cook hit a three-pointer for the Illini with 5:25 left in the half. But the rest of the quarter was all Gophers.
Minnesota ended the half on a 13-2 run, including scoring the final 11 points, a run that included four points from Battle and Hart and two three-pointers by Braun.
Illinois went 1-for-5 with two turnovers during that Gophers run to end the half and Illinois went without a point over the final 4:02 of it as Minnesota led 39-28 at the half.
Quick baskets by Braun and Battle had the Gophers still up 11 with 2:42 left in the third quarter. But then Illinois came alive, with a 7-0 run punctuated by a three-pointer by Bryant had that lead down to four with 1½ minutes left in the quarter, forcing a Gophers time out.
Hart scored off a feed from Braun, but Cook hit two free throws with 24.4 seconds left to make it a four-point game into the fourth quarter.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.