The Gopher women’s basketball team rallied from behind and hit a shot in the closing seconds to beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 62-60 and advance in the WNIT.
Rachel Banham scored 31 points to lead the Gophers, but it was her three pointer with :11 to go that gave the Gophers a one point lead at 61-60. Minnesota then made a late free throw and held on for the final two seconds for the victory.
But Banham hit another three-pointer with 11 seconds left to give the #Gophers the 61-60 lead. WNIT second round here they come.
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) March 20, 2014
The last bucket for Banham was especially sweet as she set the single-season record for points scored with 709.
RT:@GophersWBB And with that last basket, @rachelbanham15 breaks record for pts in a single season. Congrats Rachel! pic.twitter.com/XpT3fXlPKR
— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) March 20, 2014
Amanda Zahui posted a double-double, she scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Gophers. It was her 16th double-double of the year.
The Gophers survived 20 turnovers and used an early second half rally to come from behind. The Phoenix built a ten point lead in the first half, 33-23, before the Gophers were able to get back into the game.
An 11-0 run to start the second half, gave Minnesota a 34-33 lead after Zahui made a pair of free throws with 15:27 to play.
From that point on, it was back-and-forth, but with the Gophers trailing 60-55 with less than a minute to play, Banham knocked down a couple of big threes. The first cut the Gopher deficit to two, at 60-58, the second gave Minnesota the lead in the closing seconds.
Zahui had block late to seal it. But Banham was amazing in final moments.
— Kent Youngblood (@BloodStrib) March 20, 2014
The Gophers will play the winner of SMU and Texas Southern. The game’s date, time and location have yet to be determined.
