Make it six wins in a row for the Gopher women's basketball team, who drilled Penn State 97-67 Sunday at Williams Area and continued a late-season push for a high seed in the Big Ten tournament.
All five starters reached double figures for the Gophers, led by Destiny Pitts' 22 points and 17 each from Kenisha Bell and Jasmine Brunson.
“Some nights the shots are going in,” Whalen said. “They’re finding some success together on the court, which is really cool..”
The Gophers (19-7, 8-7 Big Ten) trailed Penn State 9-2 before going on a 20-2 run that essentially put the game away for the program's longest conference winning streak since Whalen was on the team.
Whalen led the Gophers to Big Ten winnings streaks of 11 and seven during her junior and senior seasons in 2003-04.
The Nittany Lions (10-15, 3-11) have lost six straight games.
With the win, the Gophers are now in a four-way tie for the fourth-best record in the Big Ten. Purdue, Northwestern, and Ohio State are even with the Gophers at 8-7 in league play.
All four are a game behind third-place Michigan. Maryland and Iowa are tied for the league lead with 12-3 marks, while Rutgers is in third place at 9-4.
In head-to-head matchups, the Gophers have split two games with Purdue and swept Northwestern. They lost their only matchup with the Buckeyes.
The top four teams in the final standings receive a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament, which starts March 6 in Indianapolis.
The Gophers play at Maryland on Thursday.