Minnesota vs. Southern: No. 18 Gophers Open the Fourth on a 17-0 Run in an 86-47 Win
No. 18 Minnesota opened the fourth quarter on a 17-0 run, forced 27 turnovers and got 19 points from Mara Braun in an 86-47 win over Southern at The Barn.
Photo: Minnesota Athletics. Mara Braun, official roster photo. Card design: The Dyme.
FINAL, The Barn, Minneapolis: No. 18 Minnesota 86, Southern 47.
Southern played the third quarter almost even. Minnesota won it 20-18 and led 60-42 going into the fourth. Then the Gophers scored the first 17 points of the quarter, taking it to 77-42 with 6:36 left, by our count from the ESPN play-by-play. Southern scored 5 points in the fourth. Minnesota scored 26.
Mara Braun led Minnesota with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, 3 of 7 from three and 4 of 4 at the line, with 4 steals. Gracie Merkle went 6 of 7 for 12 off the bench. Grace Grocholski scored 11 with 6 rebounds, and Natalie Kussow added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Where the 39 points came from
Southern turned it over 27 times, and Minnesota had 16 steals. The Gophers scored 25 points off those turnovers to Southern's 13. By our count, Minnesota made 26 two-point baskets to Southern's 12, a 28-point edge on twos (52-24). Minnesota made 6 threes to Southern's 3, which added 9, and a 16-14 edge at the line added 2. The Gophers scored 50 points in the paint to Southern's 14 and had 19 offensive rebounds.
The night was not clean for Minnesota either. The Gophers committed 19 turnovers and made 16 of 29 free throws. Southern led 2-0 after the opening basket and shot 15 of 47 (32 percent). Taelar Felton and Jestiny Dixon each scored 10 off the bench for the Jaguars.
The context
Southern came in as the defending SWAC champion and 0-2, per Minnesota's game notes. The notes put the series at 3-0 Minnesota before tip, with the last meeting a 107-62 Gophers win on Nov. 25, 2014. The series stands at 4-0 now, by our count. Minnesota won its previous game 87-79 at Marquette, when Grocholski had 25 points and 11 rebounds, per the same notes.
Minnesota is 3-0. Southern falls to 0-3.
Sources
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