Freshman Grace Grocholski scored 27 points – including the first 13 points of the game for the Gophers – to lead Minnesota to a much-needed win over Northwestern on Saturday in Minneapolis.
The Gophers had lost six consecutive games, the last four without star guard Mara Braun (foot injury), before erupting for a dominant win at home as they outscored the visiting Wildcats 45-31 in the second half en route to an 88-63 win.
Minnesota is now 15-10 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten. The Gophers still have four games left before the Big Ten Tournament March 6-10 at Target Center in Minneapolis. If it started today, the Gophers would be the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament.
Northwestern falls to 8-17 overall and 3-11 in conference play.
Grocholski hit three consecutive 3-pointers to give Minnesota a 9-2 lead in the first quarter and she scored the first 13 points of the game for the Gophers. The freshman from Wisconsin hit 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range after connecting on 7 of 12 from deep in the Gophers’ loss to Rutgers earlier in the week. For the season she’s shooting 35.7% from 3.