“The team put its foot down and said, ‘We’re not letting them back in this,’ ” coach Lindsay Whalen said of the win at Purdue. “‘We’re going to keep our foot on the gas.’ And we ended up getting a big win.”
Three players scored 19 of the 23 points in that run. Freshman guards Jasmine Brunson and Sara Scalia had seven and six points, respectively. For Scalia, who has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in three straight games, it helped earn her Big Ten Conference freshman of the week honors for the second time.
But leading the way was Gadiva Hubbard, who had eight, including a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter and another three near the end of the run.
Hubbard is a redshirt junior from Virginia Beach, Va. She missed last season after surgery on her right foot. But as one of just a handful of four-year players on the Gophers, she has been pushed into more of a leadership role with the departure of Pitts.
“My role has definitely evolved since everything has happened,” she said. “Coach Whalen asked me to step up, be more vocal, lead the freshmen a little more. And that’s what I think I’ve been doing. Not only being more vocal, but trying to show it more on the court as well.”
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