Gophers use dominant start to topple Wisconsin, improve to 14-1

The Gophers jumped the Badgers in the first quarter and never looked back.

Minnesota women's basketball against Wisconsin on Dec. 31, 2024. / Brad Rempel, University of Minnesota

Want the recipe for winning a Big Ten basketball game on the road? The first step is completely dominating the first quarter like the Minnesota Gophers women's basketball team did against Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center on New Year's Eve.

Minnesota (14-1, 2-1) opened a 23-2 lead and went on to beat the Badgers 59-50. Through 15 games Minnesota's only loss is to No. 25 Nebraska on Dec. 8.

The Gophers led 36-19 at the half and carried a 19-point lead, 49-30, into the fourth quarter.

The Badgers outscored the Gophers 20-10 over the final 10 minutes to make the score look closer in the end than it was for most of the game.

Amaya Battle led the Gophers with 13 points and six rebounds. Tori McKinney, the freshman from Minnetonka who had 25 points in Minnesota's blowout win over Penn State last weekend, finished with seven points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Minnesota hosts Illinois (11-3, 1-2) and Rutgers (8-5, 0-2) on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, next week before a big battle at No. 8 Maryland (12-0, 2-0) on Jan. 14.