MINNEAPOLIS — A last-second shot came up short as the Wisconsin women's basketball team was edged by Minnesota, 57-55, on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing by as many as nine points (39-30) with 5:20 to play in the third quarter, the Badgers () went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 39-38 with 2:03 on the clock. Minnesota led 44-40 after the end of three periods and held a 48-42 advantage with 6:28 to play.
With under three minutes remaining, the Golden Gophers led 54-49 with 2:39 remaining before Julie Pospisilova hit a jumper followed by free throws by Sydney Hilliard and Brooke Schramek knotted the score at 54 with 1:14 on the clock.
Free throws were huge in the final minutes of the game for both teams, and proved costly for Wisconsin as a foul on a 3-point attempt by Minnesota's Deja Winters gave the Gophers a 57-54 lead with 50 seconds remaining. With 39 seconds to play, Hilliard drove the basket and was fouled, making one of two free throws. A huge defensive stop from the Badgers, causing a Minnesota shot-clock violation, gave Wisconsin the final possession with 9.8 seconds remaining and the chance to tie or win the game.
A play designed for Hilliard gave the junior an open look at two, but a Minnesota block from behind resulted in a Badger baseline play with 5.2 seconds left. Looking for the tie, Schramek found herself under the basket for a lay-up opportunity, but her shot came up short.
Hilliard and Schramek shared team-high honors with 14 points, with Schramek scoring all of her points in the second half. Pospisilova added 12 points while sophomore Halle Douglass chipped in eight points and nine rebounds, tying her career best for rebounds.
As a team, Wisconsin outshot Minnesota 36.4% (20-55) to 34.5% (19-55) from field goal range, including 29.4% (5-17) to 25% (4-16) from 3-point range. It was free throws down the stretch for both teams that inevitably sealed the win for the Gophers as Minnesota was a perfect 15-15 from the charity stripe compared to Wisconsin's 10-14.
The Golden Gophers outrebounded the Badgers 38-32, including 12 offensive rebounds for Minnesota for 10 second-chance points. UM also outscored Wisconsin 16-2 off the bench.
The Badgers tied a season low with 11 turnovers while dishing off 13 assists led by five helpers from Katie Nelson.
The first period started out with Minnesota gaining an early lead, but in a game of runs, Wisconsin put up a 10-2 run to take a four-point lead (13-9) with 1:13 left to play in the first. The Badgers led 13-11 after the first quarter but Minnesota would outscore Wisconsin 17-12 in the second quarter to lead 28-25 at the half.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Marisa Moseley
"I'm proud of my team for the way we kept our composure. I thought we played really great defense but we just came up short.
"I think offensively we made some big plays but I think we gave up some big opportunities as well. We had a little bit of mismanagement in the game there towards the end - both time and score. Not at the very last second but we took some quick shots when it was a four-point game and I think we could have got a higher qualify shot. Something that we have to continue to work on is finishing around the rim in traffic.
"We had a lot more communication (in the fourth quarter). Our zone (defense) was pretty active but we got undisciplined a couple times on our shot fakes and that really cost us.
"Brooke (Schramek) had a slow start and some foul trouble that whe was able to play through. I thought she was able to give us some really big buckets. We have to have more of our players make more baskets. Our players have to be able to step up and make more shots for us because we got a lot of open looks."
Up next
Wisconsin returns home to host No. 23 Iowa on Thursday from the Kohl Center. Tip time is 8 p.m. streamed live on B1G+. The homestand continues on Feb. 6 when the Badgers host Illinois at 1 p.m. on the National Girls and Women in Sports Day, kicking off a celebrating of the 50th anniversity of Title IX.
