Minnesota blown away in second half by No. 5 Ohio State

Five straight losses for reeling Gophers

Winning without Mara Braun has been very difficult for the Minnesota women's basketball team, and on Thursday night they could've used their star player and leading scorer against the fifth-ranked Buckeyes. 

Braun, out indefinitely after suffering a foot injury on Jan. 28, perhaps could've helped the Gophers hang with Ohio State after trailing by just four points at the half. In the third quarter, the Buckeyes, a legitimate Final Four threat, put the pedal to the metal and outscored Minnesota 26-7 en route to a blowout win in Minneapolis. 

Final score from Williams Arena: Ohio State 71, Minnesota 47. 

Ohio State improved to 20-3 overall and 11-1 in the Big Ten. 

The Gophers fall to 14-9 overall and 4-8 in conference play. 

It was just over two weeks ago that Minnesota rocked Michigan State to get to 14-4 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play. At the time, ESPN's Charlie Creme was projecting the Gophers as a rising No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now they're on the outside looking in and in desperate need of wins to get back on the bubble. 

Up next: Minnesota at Rutgers, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. CT. 

Credit: Ohio State Women's Basketball via X