Low-energy Gophers women’s basketball falls to Washington 67-54

For the third time in the past two seasons, Washington pulled away in the second half for a victory over the Gophers women’s basketball team.

The Gophers led by as many as seven points late in the first quarter and trailed by three at halftime, before the Huskies eventually opened a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter in a 67-54 victory Sunday, Jan. 18, in Seattle.

“We had very little energy,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit told KFAN radio after the game. “We were lethargic, and I don’t know why. Saying it was a long trip is not enough. We have to figure out how to have a lot more energy.”

Sayvia Sellers, a 5-foot-7 junior guard who was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, was 9-of-14 from the field and scored a game-high 23 points to pace the Huskies (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten) to their 11th victory in 12 home games this season.

Mara Braun scored a season-high 18 points, and Amaya Battle scored 12 points to lead the Gophers (12-6, 3-4). Grace Grocholski added 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Huskies, who trailed 17-13 going into the second quarter, outscored the Gophers 12-4 over the final 6½ minutes of the first half to rally for a 30-27 lead at halftime. A layup by Brylee Glenn gave the Gophers a 23-18 lead with 6:37 left in the second quarter, but the team managed only two field goals the rest of the half.

The Huskies opened a six-point lead in the first two minutes of the second half, but the Gophers pulled within 35-34 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

The Gophers cut the deficit to 45-41 but managed no field goals over the final four minutes of the third quarter to trail 56-44 going into the fourth.

After shooting 50% from the floor in the first quarter, the Gophers were just 15-of-42 over the final three. They also shot only 4-of-11 from the free-throw line.

“When you don’t have a lot of energy, things don’t go your way,” Plitzuweit said. “We missed our first five free throws. We were shooting 75 percent from the line. [Washington] did a lot of things with energy and awareness.”

BOXSCORE: Washington 67, Gophers 54

Big Ten standings

In the first round of the Big Ten tournament, Washington led by two at halftime and by six going into the fourth quarter in an eventual 79-65 victory.