Rachel Banham made Williams Arena go deathly silent toward the end of the first half on Sunday. Then she tore the roof off.
The sophomore guard scored 18 points in the second half and 15 in two overtime periods, leading a comeback that gave the Gophers an 88-81 victory over Creighton.
Banham started out just like the Gophers did: miserably. The Gophers found themselves down by as much as 20 points and, adding to their concerns, Banham hit the floor hard with 2:43 left in the first half, banging up her neck and head.
No biggie. Minnesota motored its way back into the game on the back of Banham, who returned to start the second half and finished with a career-high 39 points.
"The first half wasn't a very good half for me, and I think it was almost a good thing," Banham said of the injury. "I mean, it didn't feel good, but after that it was good. I came back strong."
She didn't just start the second half. She dominated.
"The first half was gross. It was just not good," Banham said. "I knew the second half, if we wanted to win, I had to take over. So I think that's what I did."
Banham went 13-for-13 from the line and spearheaded the rally with basket after basket. Aided by Micaella Riche's 23-point, 10-rebound double-double, Minnesota (11-3) showed resiliency.
