The Gopher women just keep winning and are now on the cusp of a championship in the WBIT. They'll take on Belmont (Nashville) in the championship game Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Minnesota women's basketball team (24-11, 8-10 B1G) defeated the Florida Gators (19-18, 5-11 SEC) 66-52 on Monday evening. Minnesota never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
The Gophers had four players score in double figures, led by Grace Grocholski, who had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Minnetonka's Tori McKinney added 14 points.
Game Preview
Belmont Bruins (26-12, 17-6 MVC) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-11, 8-11 Big Ten)
Indianapolis; Wednesday, 5:00 p.m. (CT)
BOTTOM LINE: Belmont takes on Minnesota after Jailyn Banks scored 25 points in Belmont’s 66-57 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.
Minnesota is ninth in the Big Ten scoring 73.4 points while shooting 44.0% from the field.
Belmont has a 1-3 record in one-possession games.
Minnesota makes 44.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.6 percentage points higher than Belmont has allowed to its opponents (38.4%). Belmont averages 8.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 6.2 per game Minnesota gives up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Grace Grocholski is scoring 13.5 points per game with 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Golden Gophers. Amaya Battle is averaging 14.9 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 41.9% over the last 10 games.
Banks is shooting 39.6% and averaging 12.8 points for the Bruins. Tuti Jones is averaging 11.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Gophers: 5-5, averaging 70.4 points, 30.8 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 5.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.1 points per game.
Bruins: 9-1, averaging 73.5 points, 37.2 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.7 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.