The Gophers’ Alexia Smith drives to the hoop past Stephanie Guihon of Rutgers during the first half Thursday night. (University of Minnesota/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

After the game ended, coach Lindsay Whalen wouldn't admit to being discouraged. She was, in her own words, fired up.

But discouraged? She wouldn't go there.

"As disappointed and fired up as I am right now," she said, "it's a new day tomorrow. We still have a lot more we can still accomplish."

The Gophers lost to Rutgers, 79-61, Wednesday at Williams Arena. The Scarlet Knights, who are 2-12 and next-to-last in the Big Ten, scored nearly 23 points above their Big Ten-worst 56.9 scoring average. They made 30 of 62 field-goal attempts, seven three-pointers and outrebounded the Gophers 44-28. Their triangle-and-two defense made shooting difficult for Gophers guard Sara Scalia (17 points on 3-for-13 shooting) and Gadiva Hubbard (six points) on a night in which Minnesota made just 16 of 54 shots.

For more than two weeks the Gophers (12-15, 5-10 Big Ten) had played better, harder, while winning three of five games, building a modicum of momentum.

That momentum was stopped by Rutgers (9-17, 2-12), which has suddenly won two straight games of its own.

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Perhaps most disappointing was an apparent lack of energy by the Gophers, with the possible exception of Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, who scored nine points, had a team-high five rebounds, two steals and seemed to be constantly diving to the floor for loose balls.

The Gophers were beaten up on the boards, too.

"Give them credit, they played hard," Whalen said of Rutgers. "They were physical. They trapped us in every ball screen. In the first quarter I thought, defensively, we were solid. Some shots didn't go. Then they got out in transition a little bit and it was 11 at the half."

BOXSCORE: Rutgers 79, Gophers 61

The Gophers finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to two three-pointers by Deja Winters (18 points) in the final minute that put the Gophers up by two. Then they started the second quarter on a 5-2 run to go up five with 7:46 to go in the half. But Rutgers finished the half 18-2, including scoring the final 14 points of the second quarter, to go up 11 at the half.

Hubbard opened the third with a three that made it an eight-point game, but that's as close as the Gophers got. Rutgers led by as many as 24 points. At one point in the second half, from mid-third quarter into the fourth, the Gophers went 7 minutes, 39 seconds without a field goal.

Eventually, the Gophers' offensive struggles bled into the defensive end.

"We have a lot of confidence in each other," Bagwell-Katalinich said. "In the first half we were making the passes, getting open shots. They weren't falling. It is frustrating to an extent. It bled over, but it shouldn't. … We will find a way to correct that for the next game."

Four of five Rutgers starters scored in double figures, led by Lasha Petree, who had 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, going 3-for-6 on three-pointers. Both Tyia Singleton and Osh Brown scored 12, and Brown also had 11 rebounds.

"We'll come back and get better," said Whalen. The Gophers play Sunday at Nebraska.

"This one hurts," she said. "But they've come too far as a team. We have a couple days to prepare for our next game. We will have a few good days of practice and be ready to go.''