Gophers women dominate fourth quarter to win at Nebraska

Minnesota (3-7, 2-6 Big Ten) held Nebraska (7-5, 5-4 B1G) to just 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Golden Gophers earned a hard-fought, 76-71 win Tuesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

Redshirt senior Gadiva Hubbard led four Gophers in double figures with 18 points, 15 of which came in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter alone. She also tallied seven rebounds, one off a career high.

Hubbard was 5-of-9 on 3-pointers, leading a long-range attack for Minnesota that saw the team finish 15-of-32 on 3’s. Sophomore Sara Scalia was 4-of-10, while fellow sophomore Jasmine Powell made three of eight shots as the Gophers made the most 3-pointers in the Lindsay Whalen coaching era. The 32 attempts also tied for the most under Whalen.

Powell finished with 15 points and five assists, while Scalia recorded 14 points and a career-high six assists. As a team, the Gophers had 18 assists on 24 made field goals and committed a season-low seven turnovers.

Also in double figures was sophomore Klarke Sconiers, who finished with 10 points. Fellow sophomore Kadi Sissoko nearly had her third double-double of the season with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.

Nebraska led by as many as 10 in the first half and held a 54-47 advantage with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter. Minnesota fought back into the game, though, thanks to a 10-2 run. A Scalia 3-pointer capped the spurt and put Minnesota up 57-56 with 2:16 left in the stanza, its first lead since 2-0.

Nebraska was up by two entering the fourth quarter and extended the lead to five as they held the Gophers scoreless for the first 3:55 of the final frame. Hubbard broke through with a 3-pointer to kickstart an 8-0 run and made another after a Powell layup.

The Huskers evened the game back up at 68-68 with 1:10 to go, but Hubbard knocked down her third 3-pointer of the quarter to put the Gophers ahead for good with 49 seconds remaining. Hubbard’s 12 points in the fourth were the most by a Gopher in any quarter this season, while Nebraska’s 10 points were the fewest by an opponent this year.

After shooting 53.1 percent in the first half, the Huskers were held to just 24.2 percent shooting in the second half, including 14.3 percent in the fourth quarter, missing 18 of 21 shots in the final quarter.

Next up for Minnesota is a road game at Penn State Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Courtesy of Gopher Sports Information