INDIANAPOLIS - The familiar nemesis for the Gophers women's basketball team -- offensive production and shooting proficiency -- sent the team packing Thursday after the opening round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Gophers, who were last in scoring and field-goal percentage in conference games, suffered a 53-44 loss to Northwestern at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Gophers (12-18) trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but rallied to pull within one point at 43-42 before the eighth-seeded Wildcats (18-12) used a 10-2 run in the closing minutes to pull away. Northwestern will face top-seeded Michigan State at 5 p.m. Friday.
Minnesota was unable to overcome its worst shooting percentage of the season, making only 15 of 59 (.254) shots. Senior guard China Antoine, who led the Gophers with 18 points, made seven of her 13 shots, but Minnesota's other starters combined to shoot 6-for-35 (.171) from the field.
"I thought it was obviously a battle of defenses tonight," Gophers coach Pam Borton said. "And a lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots in the paint. I think we gave ourselves an opportunity to win with our defense and getting ourselves back in the game. At least in the first half and cutting it to one."
Antoine was the lone Gopher to reach double figures; sophomore guard Leah Cotton was next with six points coming off the bench.
The Wildcats were led by a game-high 22 points from Kendall Hackney, while All-Big Ten center Amy Jaeschke added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Northwestern held a 43-37 advantage in rebounding, but the Wildcats didn't shoot the ball much better than the Gophers, making 18 of 50 (.360) attempts.
The combined total of 97 points was the lowest in the 17-year history of the Big Ten tournament.
