Madison, Wis. – Freshman guard Jasmine Powell nearly matched Wisconsin point-for-point in the first half and finished with a season-high 24 points as the Gophers beat the Badgers 73-64 on Thursday night in Big Ten women's basketball.
Powell had 17 points in the opening half, when the Gophers took a 43-19 lead.
"Our point of emphasis was to keep going at them until they stopped me — and they didn't," Powell said on the Gopher Radio Network.
This was the third win in a row for the Gophers (15-8, 5-7 Big Ten) and seventh straight at the Kohl Center. It avenged their 72-62 loss to Wisconsin at the Barn on Jan. 22 when the Badgers broke their 13-game losing streak in the border rivalry.
Sara Scalia had 16 points for the Gophers and Masha Adashchyk 15. Kehinde Bello, a 6-2 senior forward making her first career start, scored only four points but had a career- and game-high 12 rebounds. Abby Laszewski led the Badgers with 25 points and seven rebounds.
Wisconsin (11-12, 3-9) outscored Minnesota 25-16 in the third quarter, helped by 12 points off turnovers to close within 15. The margin shrunk to eight points, 64-56, with 2:40 left.
But Adashchyk responded with a three-pointer and, after Wisconsin coach Jonathan Tsipis was called for a technical foul, Powell made two free throws for a 68-56 lead.
"That three she hit was huge for us," Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said. "We needed every rebound, every point."
