MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Kenisha Bell and Destiny Pitts both scored nine fourth-quarter points to help the Gopher women's basketball hold off No. 17 Rutgers, the Big Ten leader, 60-46 on Sunday at Williams Arena.
Bell finished with 19 points, nine at the free-throw line, Pitts had 14, Brunson 13 and Taiye Bello had 11 points with a career-high 21 rebounds for her ninth double-double this season for the Gophers (15-7, 4-7).
The Scarlet Knights (17-5, 9-2) saw their conference lead cut to a half-game over No. 11 Maryland (8-2), which plays last-place Illinois Monday.
Rutgers led 23-17 at halftime before the Gophers overtook the Scarlet Knights by ending the final 3:21 of the third quarter on a 13-2 run to go up 39-33 with Brunson scoring nine points in the period.
Rutgers got back within five after Ciani Cryor's 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining. But the Scarlet Knights made only three of their final nine shots and turned the ball over twice with the Gophers taking advantage as Bell scored nine points and Pitts six to finish the game.
A crowd of 4,888 watched as the Gophers, playing under first-year head coach Lindsay Whalen, won their second straight game after a stretch that saw them lose seven of eight.
In West Lafayette, Ind., the Gopher men's basketball team saw a 13-point second-half lead melt away in a 73-63 loss to No. 17 Purdue.
Big Ten leading scorer Carsen Edwards scored nine straight points in a 21-3 run that put the Boilermakers (16-6, 9-2) in control of the game.
Amir Coffey scored 22 points and Daniel Oturu added 19 as the Gophers' two-game winning streak came to an end.
Purdue took the lead for good midway through the second half and Minnesota (16-6, 6-5) never got closer than five points down the stretch.
This is the second time in less than a month the Gophers have pressed a ranked team on the road. On Jan. 22, they fell 59-57 at No. 5 Michigan.
The Gophers have a road win over a ranked team, downing Wisconsin 59-52 on Jan. 3 when the Badgers were ranked 22nd.
Wisconsin is now 24th coming into Wednesday night's game at Williams Arena.