It's not the Big Dance. The University of Minnesota women's basketball team didn't make it to the NCAA Tourney, but they're still playing basketball - and playing well - advancing to the WBIT final four.
The Gophers (23-11, 8-10 B1G) have made it all the way to the WBIT semifinals on Monday against the Florida Gators (19-17, 5-11 SEC). Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m. in Indianapolis.
Minnesota rallied in the fourth quarter to force overtime after an eight-point deficit against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday evening to advance. Amaya Battle had a career night for the Gophers, scoring 35 points to go with 10 assists. She's the first Gopher since 2002-03 to notch that stat line.
The Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament is in its second year as a 32-team postseason single-elimination tournament. The WBIT is the second rung of women's postseason competition behind the NCAA Tournament.
The other WBIT semifinal is Villanova against Belmont with the championship game set for Wednesday night.
PREVIEW
Florida Gators (19-17, 7-12 SEC) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (23-11, 8-11 Big Ten)
Indianapolis; Monday, 4:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. ET)
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota hosts Florida after Amaya Battle scored 35 points in Minnesota's 82-77 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Minnesota averages 73.6 points and has outscored opponents by 11.9 points per game.
Florida has a 3-1 record in one-possession games.
Minnesota makes 44.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.0 percentage points higher than Florida has allowed to its opponents (41.0%). Florida has shot at a 45.3% rate from the field this season, 4.2 percentage points higher than the 41.1% shooting opponents of Minnesota have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mallory Heyer is averaging 8.1 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Golden Gophers. Grace Grocholski is averaging 16.9 points over the last 10 games.
Liv McGill is shooting 42.4% and averaging 16.5 points for the Gators. Ra Shaya Kyle is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Gophers: 5-5, averaging 70.4 points, 30.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 5.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.5 points per game.
Gators: 6-4, averaging 70.9 points, 33.5 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 7.4 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.