Gopher Women Cruise to 77-40 Win over Samford

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had their difficulty of their schedule ramped up a bit the past week and a half with road games at Kansas and then a trip to the Bahamas against a pair of 2025 NCAA Tournament opponents. That all came to a halt as Minnesota hosted the Samford Bulldogs on Monday night at Williams Arena. Samford was 4-5 headed into the game on Monday with blowout losses to both Nebraska and Florida so the Gophers 37-point victory on Monday was no surprise. Sophie Hart led the Gophers with 17 points as Minnesota absolutely dominated in the paint and were never tested.

Minnesota took off from the opening tip and never looked back. The Gophers jumped out to a 16-0 lead and shut down the Bulldogs who shot just 1-13 in the quarter. The Gophers dominated on the boards and in the paint with Finau Tonga scoring five points to lead all scorers as Minnesota led 18-3 after 10 minutes. The second quarter was much like the first as Minnesota decided to pound the ball inside. Sophie Hart scored nine points in the quarter and the Gophers again clamped down on defense allowing the Bulldogs to shoot just 21 % for the second quarter and took a 35-9 lead into the half.

Minnesota extended their lead to 40 points at 51-11 at one point before a 12-0 run by the Bulldogs cut into the gap. Hart would close with four straight points to end the quarter with 17 and Minnesota led 59-25 headed into the final quarter. With just under 7:30 left in the game Coach Dawn Plitzuweit pulled her starters and let the bench finish the rest of the game. Minnesota continued their edge in the paint with Nia Holloway scoring right of her ten points in the fourth quarter as Minnesota cruised to a 77-40 final.

Minnesota controlled the paint all night ending the game with a 56-10 edge on points in the paint and a dominating 53-27 edge in rebounding. Hart led all players with a 17 point 10 rebound double-double. Tori McKinney added 13 and Holloway 10 to round out the Gopher scorers in double figures.

For as good as the Gophers were inside, they once again struggled to shoot from the three-point arc. Minnesota was just 2-18 from three in the game including a 1-6 performance from Mara Braun. While that is ok against a team like Sanford, if the Gophers continue to shoot that poorly in Big Ten play, it will be a struggle.

And that struggle begins on Sunday as Minnesota opens the conference schedule against #7 Maryland. The Terps are a perfect 9-0 on the season and come into the Barn looking to get off on the right foot in the competitive Big Ten. The Terps have four players averaging in double figures including freshman Addi Mack from Minnehaha Academy who is averaging 12.3 points per game and is a perfect 18-18 from the free throw line this season. That game will tip at 3 PM Sunday and will air on Big Ten Network.