Penn State Loses; Gophers Near 1st Place

The Gopher women’s basketball team got a huge break in its quest to compete for the Big 10 title when lowly Northwestern shocked Penn State, 59-48, Thursday in Evanston, Illinois.

Penn State entered the game with a 7-0 conference record; Northwestern was 1-6 going into the game. Penn State trailed by 19 at halftime and by as many as 26 points early in the 2nd half in a game that was never close. Penn State was without senior guard Jess Strom, who was ill and did not make the trip. Strom’s status for the game against the Gophers is unclear. Penn State was also plagued with foul trouble as star Tanisha Wright and fellow starter Amanda Brown both picked up their 4th fouls early in the 2nd half.

The Gophers go into Sunday’s game at Penn State with a 6-1 conference record, a half-game behind Penn State and Ohio State, both with 7-1 records. Ohio State travels to Illinois Sunday. Illinois is 4-4 in conference play.

The Gophers game Sunday will be televised by Fox Sports Network at noon.