Minnesota beats Eastern Illinois 59-48

Minnesota needed a fourth quarter comeback to beat Eastern Illinois on Wednesday at Williams Arena. The Gophers improve to 8-5 on the season. Rose Micheaux led all Minnesota scorers with 14 points.

Maybe Williams Arena was just too cold yesterday. With Lindsay Whalen out for the day with an illness, the Gophers were led by Shimmy Gray-Miller who oversaw a woeful shooting performance. Minnesota made 36% of their shots, including just 7-38 from the field for the second and third quarters of action. The Gophers had 16 turnovers, 7 more than the number of points they made from three point distance (3-12). Mara Braun, Minnesota’s best player, was 3-12 from the field. Katie Borowicz was even worse at 2-10 from the field.

Normally, when the entire team decides to take a night off from shooting the ball your team loses. Fortunately for the Gophers, they got their act together in the fourth quarter, going 91% from the field. Mara Braun and Amaya Battle combined for a steal and score late to complete a fourth quarter comeback. Mallory Heyer and Isabelle Gradwell made key plays, and Heyer’s sole three point make of the game came a clutch moment to seal the game.

Highlights below