Grace Grocholski Scores 25 as No. 17 Minnesota Beats Marquette 87-79

Kicker: NCAA (women's college)

Photo: The Dyme

Grace Grocholski scored 25 points as No. 17 Minnesota beat Marquette 87-79 on Saturday at Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. Grocholski shot 9-of-17 from the field, 5-of-6 from three and 2-of-4 at the line in 36 minutes, with 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, per the ESPN box score. Attendance was 1,450. The game aired on ESPN+. Minnesota moved to 2-0 (1-0 on the road). Marquette fell to 1-1 (1-1 at home).

Leah Harmon scored 17 on 6-of-13 shooting and 2-of-7 from three in 29 minutes, with two assists and four steals. Natalie Kussow scored 12 on 4-of-11 shooting and 2-of-4 from three in 26 minutes, with four rebounds, six assists and one block. Tori Oehrlein added 12 on 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from three, with three rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes off the bench. Mara Braun scored 11 on 4-of-12 shooting with four rebounds in 34 minutes. Gracie Merkle scored six on 3-of-3 in 12 minutes. Tayla Thomas scored four with 10 rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes. Five Gophers reached double figures, by our count from the ESPN player box.

Halle Vice led Marquette with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting and 2-of-3 from three in 34 minutes, with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Yu Han Lin scored 14 on 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-4 from three, with five assists, two steals and one block in 27 minutes off the bench. Kayl Petersen scored 12 on 5-of-10 shooting and 2-of-7 from three, with four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 32 minutes. MacKenzie Givens added 10 on 3-of-8 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line, with three rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. Jordan Meulemans scored nine on 3-of-4 from three. Amina Traore scored six on 3-of-3. Kinley Asp scored three with five rebounds and five assists. Four Golden Eagles reached double figures, by our count.

Minnesota held the No. 17 spot in the Associated Press Top 25, per the NCAA.com AP poll and ESPN's game ranking. Marquette was unranked.

Led 41-33 at the half, then 66-52 after three

Mara Braun opened the scoring with a 25-foot three, assisted by Grocholski, at 9:21 of the first quarter for a 3-0 Minnesota lead, per the ESPN play-by-play. Minnesota scored the first 12 points, by our count, on Braun's three, Grocholski's 24-foot three, Harmon's driving layup, Grocholski's layup at 7:31 that made it 10-0, the first 10-point lead, and Kussow's driving layup at 6:43. The first quarter closed 20-19 after Jordan Meulemans' 27-foot three at 0:45.

Marquette took its first lead at 9:34 of the second quarter on Kayl Petersen's 12-foot pullup jump shot (21-20), by our count. Halle Vice's 26-foot three at 9:09 made it 24-20, matching ESPN's listed Marquette largest lead of four, by our count. Gracie Merkle's layup, assisted by Harmon, at 8:29 tied the game at 24-24. Vice's driving layup, assisted by Kinley Asp, at 7:40 put Marquette ahead 26-24, the last Marquette lead of the game, by our count. ESPN listed two lead changes, a four-point Marquette largest lead and a 7% Marquette lead share.

Minnesota answered with an 8-0 run from a 24-26 deficit to 32-26, by our count from the play-by-play, starting with Grocholski's 28-foot three, assisted by Harmon, at 6:01 that made it 27-26. Grocholski's 29-foot three at 5:45 made it 30-26. Braun's tip in at 4:45 made it 32-26. Grocholski added a 29-foot step back three at 4:04 that made it 35-29. MacKenzie Givens' driving layup at 0:45 closed the first-half scoring at 41-33, per ESPN linescores.

Grocholski scored 14 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-4 from three, by our count from the ESPN play-by-play.

Grocholski scored Minnesota's next seven points in the third quarter, going from 53-46 to 60-46, by our count. She made a 28-foot three at 4:14, a 16-foot pullup at 3:28 and a 4-foot turnaround at 2:53. The 60-46 score was Minnesota's first lead of 14 points, by our count. Grocholski's layup at 2:04 made it 62-48. Tori Oehrlein's driving layup, assisted by Grocholski, at 0:59 made it 66-50, matching ESPN's listed largest lead of 16, by our count. Yu Han Lin's driving layup at 0:05 closed the third-quarter scoring at 66-52.

In the fourth, Harmon's 26-foot three, assisted by Makena Christian, at 4:16 made it 77-64. Yu Han Lin's driving layup at 3:53 made it 77-66. Petersen's 29-foot three at 2:58 made it 77-69. Vice's 9-foot turnaround at 2:22 made it 77-71. Harmon's free throw at 1:54 made it 78-71. Givens' driving layup at 1:42 made it 78-73, by our count. Harmon's 27-foot three, assisted by Oehrlein, at 1:12 made it 81-73. Minnesota's last six points all came from the line, Harmon two at 0:46, Grocholski two at 0:27 and Braun two at 0:13, by our count from the play-by-play. Petersen's 15-foot turnaround at 0:13 made it 85-79 before Braun's free throws set the 87-79 final.

Minnesota outscored Marquette 21-14 in the second quarter and 25-19 in the third, per the ESPN linescores (Minnesota 20-21-25-21, Marquette 19-14-19-27). Marquette outscored Minnesota 27-21 in the fourth. The final margin was eight points, by our count (87-79). ESPN listed Minnesota leading for 90% of the game.

21 offensive rebounds, 12 threes and 23 points off turnovers

Minnesota shot 32-of-73 from the field (44%), 12-of-32 from three (38%) and 11-of-16 at the line (69%), per ESPN. Marquette shot 32-of-55 (58%), 9-of-22 from three (41%) and 6-of-8 at the line (75%). The Gophers outrebounded the Golden Eagles 40-24, including a 21-4 edge on the offensive glass and a 19-20 mark on the defensive glass. Assists went 20-21. Turnovers went 11-17. Steals went 12-6. Blocks went 3-5.

Minnesota scored 36 points in the paint to Marquette's 38, per ESPN. Points off turnovers went 23-14. Fast-break points went 22-19. Personal fouls went 11-17. Grocholski's 11 rebounds led the game. Harmon's four steals led the game. Kussow's six assists led Minnesota.

Minnesota made 20 two-pointers for 40 points; Marquette made 23 for 46, by our count from the ESPN team box. The Gophers scored 36 points on threes to Marquette's 27, and 11 at the line to six. That splits the 8-point margin into a deficit of 6 on two-pointers, an edge of 9 on threes and an edge of 5 at the line, by our count.

The box score, side by side

Full-game team numbers, per the ESPN box and checked against the CBS Sports gametracker box for Minnesota at Marquette:

Category	Minnesota	Marquette
Field goals	32-73 (44%)	32-55 (58%)
3-pointers	12-32 (38%)	9-22 (41%)
Free throws	11-16 (69%)	6-8 (75%)
Rebounds	40	24
Offensive rebounds	21	4
Defensive rebounds	19	20
Assists	20	21
Turnovers	11	17
Steals	12	6
Blocks	3	5
Points in the paint	36	38
Points off turnovers	23	14
Fast-break points	22	19
Largest lead	16	4
Percent of game led	90%	7%
Lead changes	2	2
Personal fouls	11	17

Quarter scoring, per the ESPN linescores:

Quarter	Minnesota	Marquette
1	20	19
2	21	14
3	25	19
4	21	27
Final	87	79

Five Minnesota scorers reached double figures (25, 17, 12, 12, 11). Four Marquette scorers reached double figures (25, 14, 12, 10). Grocholski, Harmon and Kussow combined for 54 of Minnesota's 87, by our count.

What the box leaves next

Harmon's three with 1:12 remaining stretched Minnesota's lead from five to eight. The Gophers then scored their final six points on free throws, by our count from the ESPN play-by-play, preserving the cushion without another made field goal. Minnesota held a 16-rebound edge (40-24); separately, Marquette committed six more turnovers (17-11), per the ESPN box. The Gophers host Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 10, per the ESPN schedule, with the tip listed at 8:00 p.m. ET. Minnesota beat Harvard 82-62 in its previous game. Marquette is 1-1.

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Sources:

• ESPN: Minnesota vs. Marquette box score
• ESPN: Minnesota vs. Marquette play-by-play
• ESPN: Minnesota vs. Marquette game page
• CBS Sports: Minnesota at Marquette gametracker box score
• NCAA.com: AP Top 25 women's basketball poll
• Minnesota Athletics: Grace Grocholski roster page
• ESPN: Southern at Minnesota schedule listing (event 401918910)