Five reasons the Gophers women are 14-1 after beating Wisconsin

So far the Gophers women’s basketball team hasn’t provided many surprises, at least as far as results.

The Gophers were a perfect 12-0 in nonconference play against teams they were expected to beat. They have gone 2-1 in Big Ten Conference play so far, struggling against a Nebraska team that has been ranked at points this season while beating two teams — Penn State and Wisconsin — not expected to be big factors in the conference race.

But they have won those games. The Gophers avenged a blowout loss to Penn State at the end of last season with a 90-54 blowout win last Saturday. Then they went to Wisconsin and beat the Badgers 59-50 for the first time in two seasons, winning their second conference road game under coach Dawn Plitzuweit.

Here are five things we learned from Tuesday’s victory in Madison:

Minnesota ranks first in the Big Ten in opposition points per game (50.1), third in defensive field-goal percentage (34.8) and second in three-point defense (25.0).

After Tuesday’s game, Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley talked about how much better and more physical the Gophers defense is in the second year under Plitzuweit. “They really turned up the heat with their physicality,” Moseley said.

One big reason could be 6-1 freshman guard Tori McKinney, who has been starting in place of the injured Mara Braun. McKinney has length and quickness and has assumed the job of picking up the ball at the top of the defense.

“They have a lot of similar players,” Moseley said. “They can switch on defense [rather than fight through picks]. Second year with that group? Definitely a difference.”

That has allowed the Gophers to win games even when the offense has been inconsistent. The Gophers don’t have a player in the top 30 in scoring in the Big Ten and are in the middle of the conference pack in points per game. Wisconsin didn’t hit a field goal in the first quarter and missed its first 14 shots while falling behind 27-4.

After falling behind Nebraska 27-11 through the first quarter in Lincoln — in a game that was basically even after that — the Gophers were a combined 47-13 in the first quarter in victories over Penn State and Wisconsin.

“Coming back after our Christmas break, Dawny P was really harping on that,” said junior Amaya Battle, using the nickname for Plitzuweit she coined. “We can’t go into games, quarters, down. We practiced those scenarios, and I think it’s starting to show in games.”

Quick starts and tough defense have been key. The Gophers won on the road at Wisconsin despite shooting only 33% and scoring 36 points over the final three quarters.

Last season, the Gophers averaged 13.5 turnovers per games. So far this year, they lead the Big Ten in fewest turnovers (9.3 per game), are first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83) and third in turnover margin (plus-8.33). This is something Plitzuweit has made a priority since the start of preseason practice.

The Gophers have three of the top five and four of the top seven players in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. Battle, who as a point guard handles the ball the most, has cut her turnovers per game from 3.8 last season to 1.6 this season. McKinney has 33 assists and only seven turnovers in her first season.

The offense, while it can be up and down, is balanced. The Gophers are middle of the pack in the Big Ten in scoring overall. Their leading scorer among healthy players is backup center Annika Stewart (11.6, 36th in the Big Ten). But Plitzuweit’s rotation has three players averaging in double figures and seven averaging 7.7 points or more. Tuesday’s victory was a prime example of this. Battle scored 13, guard Grace Grocholski 12, center Sophie Hart 11, forward Mallory Heyer nine and both McKinney and Stewart seven.

They have continued to win despite losing Braun because of a foot injury after five games and losing backup forward Taylor Woodson to a torn ACL in Game 12.

McKinney has been impressive, scoring in double figures in all but two games since taking over as a starter. She had a career-high 25 points in the victory over Penn State, a career high in assists (six) Tuesday.