Gophers women’s basketball victory over Houston reveals spotty offense and all the defense anybody needs

Friday at the Big Easy Classic in New Orleans, the Gophers women’s basketball team played Houston, a member of a power conference, in this case the Big 12. The Cougars aren’t expected to contend for their conference title, but they are an athletic team. Long, fast, with a pressure defense.

This is why Gophers women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit schedules nonconference games like this.

“They speed you up, they make you uncomfortable on the offensive end,” Plitzuweit said. “That’s what we need to see.”

OK. So did Plitzuweit like what she saw in a 61-44 victory that kept the Gophers (8-0) unbeaten?

Give it a qualified yes.

BOXSCORE: Gophers 61, Houston 44

There was a lot to like in a defense that held the Cougars (2-5) to 25.9% shooting, to 44 points total and to 29 points over the first three quarters. There was a lot to love in Mallory Heyer’s continued improvement guarding on the perimeter, with Grace Grocholski’s ability to defend bigger players inside, with center Sophie Hart’s willingness to guard on the perimeter against a five-out attack.

At times the Gophers defense was wonderful. Like during a 10-0 start to the second quarter that turned a three-point lead into 13. Or an 11-0 start to the third quarter that made a 13-point game a relative blowout.

No Gophers opponent has scored 60 points this season. Four of eight have scored under 50 points, and four of eight have shot south of 30%, including the past two.

But:

The offense, while occasionally impressive, needs more consistency. Friday’s output was a season low.

“I thought we played decently,” Plitzuweit said. “In the first quarter we didn’t score as efficiently as we’d like while we were adjusting to a very aggressive defensive team. In the fourth quarter we didn’t do as good a job as we’d have liked.”

But those two middle quarters? A 36-16 edge. The Gophers were up three after a quarter, by 13 at the half, by 23 after three and by 27 early in the fourth.

Grocholski scored a season-high 18 points, had four rebounds, got to the line five times and made all five, with three assists and three of Minnesota’s five steals. Hart, Taylor Woodson and Tori McKinney all scored 10 points. Heyer had 11 rebounds, her third game with 10 or more this season.

This despite the team shooting 38.3%, making just six of 23 three-point shots and turning the ball over a season-high 14 times.

“It’s our start,’’ Grocholski said, when asked what needed improvement. “We have to start out more relaxed, know the game plan better, slowing down.”

Grochoski scored 10 of Minnesota’s 16 second-quarter points, including eight as the team opened the quarter 10-0. That included a three-point play and a three-pointer.

Hart had eight of her 10 points in the third quarter, including the first four points of an 11-0 start that put the Gophers up 24 on Grocholski’s three with 6:42 left in the quarter.

Grocholski now has scored in double figures in three straight games, Hart in two. Woodson has scored 10 or more in half of the Gophers games.

McKinney, who replaced injured Mara Braun in the lineup — Braun stayed in the Twin Cities to have surgery on her right foot — has been very efficient, averaging 12.3 points, shooting 52.6% overall and making eight of 14 three-pointers.

But work remains to be done for a team that is quickly approaching the Big Ten opener.

“Like figuring out, when teams make it difficult to get the ball inside, how we can capitalize on that,” Plitzuweit said. “Maybe get it in there in different ways. We didn’t score as efficiently as we wanted to.”