Shorthanded Gophers cruise past Rutgers for fourth straight Big Ten win

Minnesota looked like a well oiled machine on Wednesday night.

Feb 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Grace Grocholski (25) dribbles as Ohio State Buckeyes guard Emma Shumate (5) defends during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Gophers women's continued a season-long theme on Wednesday night, picking up a blowout 76-50 win at Williams Arena against Rutgers, despite a major contributor sitting out due to injury.

Both teams entered Wednesday's game shorthanded. Gophers starting guard Tori McKinney was out due to a concussion, but UMass transfer Alexsia Rose filled in, starting her first game in a Gophers uniform.

An ongoing situation between star freshman Kiyomi McMiller and head coach Coquese Washington held Rutgers' leading scorer out for her second straight game. Averaging 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, the Scarlet Knights are simply a different team when she's not on the floor.

The Gophers started a little slow, but the emergence of another freshman guard helped them quickly extend their lead. McKenna Johnson saw an expanded role and scored 10 points in the first half on 4-7 shooting from the field. Amaya Battle added 12 more, while Sophie Hart had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

K3⃣NNA!@kenna_johnson1 now has 10 points on the night!#Gophers 37, Scarlet Knights 19 pic.twitter.com/90206iFoQc

— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) January 9, 2025

It was more of a defensive effort for the Gophers in the first half, who shot 17-37 (45.9%) from the field while limiting Rutgers to a 9-35 (25.7%) mark en route to a 41-23 lead heading into the locker room.

The second half was much of the same story. Minnesota relied on its rebounding, out-dueling Rutgers 51-33 in that category. Battle turned in one of her best performances of the season, as the Gophers won 76-50 for their third straight Big Ten victory. They now move to 16-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

Battle tied a season-high with 21 points, to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Johnson added a career-high 15 points, while Hart and Grace Grocholski were the only other two players in double figures.

McKinney was able to sit on the bench with sunglasses, which bodes well for her future status. Minnesota will need all the help it can get for a huge test next Tuesday against No. 8 Maryland on the road as they look for a massive resume-building win.

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