Mara Braun has made a spirited comeback this season for the surging Minnesota Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS — With Minnesota's lead on Ohio State cut precariously to six points, Gophers point guard Amaya Battle found herself trapped by the Buckeyes underneath the basket with the shot clock dwindling when she deftly called timeout to avoid a turnover.

The inbound play design was just as wise: a pass to the corner to set up a cutting Mara Braun for a catch-and-shoot jumper just inside the 3-point line.

Swish.

Braun's make with 1:30 left sealed the ninth straight victory for No. 23 Minnesota, which marked its first entry of the season in the AP Top 25 poll with a 74-61 takedown of No. 10 Ohio State on Wednesday. The junior guard had seven points and two rebounds in the final 3:12 for the Gophers (21-6, 12-4), who have their most wins in Big Ten play in 21 years.

''Everyone just tells me, ‘Keep shooting!' They just instill so much confidence in me and don't let that ever waver,'' said Braun, who hadn't found her rhythm in the first half, and neither had the rest of the team. ''I was like, ‘Alright, I need to loosen up, smile, get back to what I've been doing lately,' and I did that.''

The Gophers missed 29 shots in the first half and trailed for the majority of it. After building a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter, they watched the Buckeyes whittle it down to a two-possession deficit before Braun delivered her clutch baseline jumper.

''Find a way, that's what we talk about. Never giving up. Never hanging our heads. I used to do that, but that's not the player I am anymore,'' Braun said.

Then after Braun played in the first five games of last season, she reinjured the foot in practice and did not return, taking a medical redshirt year. Though she maintained a high profile around the team, regularly directing and encouraging from the bench, her absence from the court again weighed on the Gophers as they finished the schedule 4-9 and lost their first game in the conference tournament before recovering to win the WBIT title.

The recurrence of the injury again weighed on Braun, too, which is one of many reasons why she's been having so much fun this season.

''Just remembering all I've been through and the hard days that have happened and how I got through that,'' she said. ''Now I'm healthy, and I'm playing with my best friends. What's better than that?''

Braun had 18 points and nine rebounds as Minnesota beat Ohio State for the first time since 2016, ending a 14-game losing streak in the series. Braun is shooting 46.5% from 3-point range (20 for 43) and 51.3% from the floor (39 for 76) and averaging 15.7 points over the last seven games. With all five starters averaging double-digit points, Braun has also benefited from the lessened pressure on her to score and increasingly found ways to contribute to winning with passing and hustle.

The impact of the positive attitude can't be discounted, either.