Heyer, Micheaux lead Gophers past Presbyterian

The University of Minnesota (3-1, 0-0 B1G) bounced back with a 34-point victory on Sunday afternoon against Presbyterian (2-3, 0-0 Big South) at Williams Arena. The Gophers 82-48 win was highlighted by double doubles from both sophomore Alanna ‘Rose’ Micheaux (16-11) and freshman Mallory Heyer (19-10).

Micheaux’s double double is the third in four games for the Wayne, Mich., native and for Heyer it is the first of her career. The front court duo was nearly joined by Destinee Oberg who finished with eight points and 10 boards. In total the Maroon and Gold got 43 points and 34 rebounds from their front court on Sunday. Freshman Amaya Battle continued her impressive start to her career with another all-around performance with 9 points, 5 assists and four rebounds along with three steals and two blocks. Freshman guard Mara Braun returned to the floor for the Gophers, coming off the bench, and scored nine points and added three assists and three rebounds.

The Gophers defense was stellar in the opening quarter, forcing Presbyterian to miss their first 15 shots. The Gophers jumped up 20-0 in the opening quarter with Micheaux scoring the first two buckets before Gradwell and the rest of the Minnesota offense got in on the scoring. By the end of the opening quarter the Maroon and Gold were holding a 24-5 advantage and shot 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from the floor and led the rebounding battle 16-9.

The second quarter the Presbyterian offense came alive from beyond the arc, hitting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc with Mara Neira hitting 5-of-8 shots in the quarter to help the Blue Hoes outscore the Gophers 19-15 during the frame and headed into the locker room down 39-24. Minnesota’s 15 points were highlighted by Mi’Cole Cayton, who made her second straight start, hitting Mallory Heyer in transition with a no-look pass to go up 26-5 early in the second.

The third quarter saw the Gophers score the opening four points and later added an 8-0 run that extended to a 16-5 run to end the quarter to bring the lead back to over 20. Minnesota’s transition game took over in the quarter, scoring six of the team’s 19 points in the third with six different players scoring during the quarter.

In the fourth the Maroon and Gold continued to press forward outscoring the Blue Hose 22-11 with eight different players scoring in the final 10 minutes. During the quarter Minnesota forced seven turnovers and turned them into seven points with Micheaux’s transition assist to Heyer capping off the win at home.

In total the Golden Gophers shot 34-of-76 (44.7 percent) from the floor and 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. The defense held the Blue Hose to 19-of-68 (27.9 percent) from the floor while sending the visitors to the charity stripe just seven times. The rebounding battle fell in favor of the hosts, snagging 55 boards to Presbyterian’s 38 with 19 of the rebounds coming on the offensive glass.