In a must-win game against a last-place team Tuesday, the Gophers women’s basketball team hit a new low.
Up 10 after the first quarter at Rutgers, the Gophers were outscored 19-9 in the second before the Scarlet Knights cruised to an 81-71 victory.
Rutgers entered the game 7-19 overall, 1-12 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights had lost 14 of its last 15 games and were one of the worst offensive teams in the conference.
But not Tuesday.
Rugters made just two of its first 13 shots while falling behind by 10 after the first quarter. The team went 22-for-37 the rest of the way.
The loss — the sixth straight for the Gophers (14-10, 4-9) — came despite a wonderful game from freshman Grace Grocholski and a strong one from center Sophie Hart.
Grocholski scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting, making an incredible seven of 12 three-pointers. Hart scored 17 points with seven rebounds.
But the rest of the Gophers lineup shot a combined 11-for-40 and scored 33 points.
Mya Petticord scored a career-high 25 points for Rutgers, hitting more free throws (9-for-10) than the entire Gophers team. Destiny Adams added 21, going 9-for-9 from the line.
Rutgers made 26 of 28 free throws and nine of 20 threes.
Gophers have shot 35-for-75 on free throws in their last four games.
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Without injured leading scorer Mara Braun, the Gophers offense has continued to struggle.
The first quarter was a turnover fest. The Gophers committed 10, Rutgers eight.
The difference: The Gophers played such good defense that Rutgers — which went 2-for-13 in the first 10 minutes — didn’t convert any of those ten turnovers into points.
But the Gophers did, building an 11-0 advantage on points off turnovers. They finished the quarter on a 7-0 run to take an 18-8 lead.
The second quarter was a complete role reversal. This time Rutgers outscored the Gophers 19-9 and outshot them 50% to 26.7% — the Gophers made just four of 15 shots — tying the game twice, the second time on two free throws by Adams in the final minute of the half.
Starters other than Grocholski were a combined 0-for-9 in the second quarter.
It didn’t get much better to start the third. By the time Erica Lafayett hit a three-pointer with 5:16 left in the third quarter Rutgers, on a 35-15 run, had a 10-point lead, though the Gophers were able to pull within four by the end of the quarter despite making just four of 12 free throws in the third 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.