A 15-day break didn’t affect the University of Minnesota women’s basketball team.

The Golden Gophers hadn’t played since March 5, when they lost to Washington in the Big Ten tournament, and had not won since Feb. 19.

Until Thursday.

No. 2 seed Minnesota took a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and Toledo never got closer than four the rest of the way in a 65-53 season-ending loss in the first round of the WBIT.

But it wasn’t until a late 11-0 run that the Golden Gophers put the game away, as Toledo’s defense made finding baskets difficult. The Rockets (24-9) didn’t allow Minnesota to relax, making multiple runs to trim the deficit to single digits. 

“We held a Big Ten team to 65 points. We feel pretty OK about that,” Toledo coach Ginny Boggess said. “Some of the ways that they got them, 25 points off of turnovers and then 11 second-chance points, those 36 really hurt.”

The Gophers (21-11) shot 44.3 percent, buoyed by an 8-for-12 fourth quarter. They were just 2 of 14 from 3-point range and only made 9 of 16 free throws.

Five-foot-11 guard Amaya Battle scored a game-high 18 points. Forward Grace Grocholski had 15 points, and 6-5 center Sophie Hart had 14 points and eight rebounds. Minnesota was plus-20 with Hart on the floor.

“I thought our young ladies competed at a really high level,” Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “We played with a great deal of toughness and resilience and confidence. I thought we were good defensively throughout the course of the game.

“Offensively, I thought we created some good opportunities. We didn’t capitalize on a lot of those opportunities. But I think Toledo is a really tough team to play, certainly at home. So we’re excited to move on.”

Minnesota will play at No. 3 seed Missouri State on Sunday.

Thursday’s game drew a boisterous crowd of 2,006 that gave Toledo the homecourt advantage it craved, presenting communication issues for the Gophers.

“I thought the crowd tonight was absolutely electric,” Plitzuweit said. “In the fourth quarter when Toledo cut it to four, it was incredibly, incredibly loud. This is a special place, and it's a really challenging place to play.”

Minnesota led 20-10 at the end of the first quarter, as Toledo turned the ball over seven times leading to 12 Minnesota points. The Gophers were 9-for-16 shooting in the quarter, including their only two 3s of the game.

“I definitely think their length and speed [bothered us],” UT guard Khera Goss said. “We haven’t faced a team that big in a while, so I think it was just adjusting to their length and them being able to be in the passing lanes.”

Toledo played inspired basketball in the second quarter, cutting the Minnesota lead to 28-23 with an 8-0 run. UT made one fewer field goal than the Gophers during the quarter, but the Rockets made six free throws to Minnesota’s one, and they had a 3 while Minnesota was held scoreless from long range.

The lead was restored to 13 after Minnesota scored six consecutive points to begin the second half. The Rockets cut the deficit to 45-38 at the end of the third quarter and used a 7-0 run early in the fourth to get within four.

That’s when Plitzuweit called on little-used forward Niamya Holloway, who scored six points during the Gophers’ decisive 11-0 run.

“She really gave us a good boost,” Plitzuweit said. “That’s really important because at tournament time you need different players to step up, and I thought she did that for us.”

Goss led the Rockets with 11 points, Kendall Carruthers had 10, and Sammi Mikonowicz had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Toledo shot 37 percent, connected on seven 3s, and outrebounded Minnesota 40-33. But the Gophers’ 25-7 advantage in points off turnovers was too much to overcome. 

“Our turnovers, I’ve got to find a solution for that this offseason,” Boggess said.

The game marked the end of an era for Toledo, which says goodbye to Goss and Mikonowicz — two of the most decorated and impactful players in program history — as well as Nan Garcia, Jessica Cook, and Hannah Noveroske. The quintet was part of three MAC regular-season championships, one MAC tournament title, and an NCAA tournament berth that featured an upset of fifth-seeded Iowa State.

Freshman twins Heidi and Courtney Smith have told Boggess that they plan to transfer. The Rockets only signed a two-person recruiting class, so they will have several open scholarships to tailor the roster to Boggess’ playing style.

“I’ve been extremely communicative with our current roster that I want each one of those young ladies to be in a Toledo jersey next year,” Boggess said. “We’re working on a lot of different stuff right now.”

First Published March 21, 2025, 1:06 a.m.