It was a classic, down-to-the-last-minute border battle in Williams Arena this evening as Minnesota edged Wisconsin 76-74 in Big Ten action. The Badgers were looking to improve their seeding for the Big Ten tournament and also wanted to avenge a loss to Minnesota in a sold-out Kohl Center in January. The Golden Gophers met the Badgers’ challenge; they remain in second place in the Big Ten with a record of 11-4 (21-5 overall). Wisconsin falls to 17-9 on the season and 8-7 in conference action.

The Badgers squandered a first-half double-digit lead but overcame a nine-point Minnesota advantage in the last five minutes of the game to close to within two points and give themselves a chance to win. Minnesota out-rebounded the Badgers by seven (40-33) during the game, but Wisconsin kept it close by making nine three-point baskets in 20 attempts.

The Gophers jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but the Badgers responded with eight straight points to take a 10-7 lead after seven minutes of play. With the score knotted at 13-13 a few minutes later, the Badgers again reeled off eight straight points. Tamara Moore scored five of her 16 points to fuel the Badger surge and give UW a 21-13 advantage with 8:38 left on the clock.

Wisconsin pushed its lead to 11 points (35-24), the largest of the game, in the closing minutes of the half, but a series of Badger miscues let the Gophers steal the halftime momentum. Wisconsin committed five straight turnovers and Minnesota took advantage with an 11-2 run to go into the locker room trailing only 37-35. Minnesota’s dynamic duo of Lindsey Whalen and Janel McCarville combined for nine points to spur the Gopher surge.

UW came out cold in the second half, making only one of its first seven shots, and Minnesota regained the lead, 47-46, at the 13:04 mark. The Gophers, who made 55 percent of their second-half field goals, slowly built their cushion until they led 72-63 with only 4:56 showing on the clock. The Badgers refused to give up, however, and stepped up their defensive pressure. Wisconsin forced four Gopher turnovers the rest of the way and used some timely three-point shooting to make things interesting.

Wisconsin held Minnesota to only four points in the final five minutes of the game and used an 11-4 run to narrow the lead to two points, 76-74, with a minute left to play. The Gophers opened the door for Wisconsin with missed shots, but the Badgers committed two inopportune turnovers in the game’s final minute and were unable to get any closer.

“Down the stretch I thought we made some big defensive plays,” said Wisconsin Head Coach Jane Albright. “You don’t really lose a game like this on the last play, though. We were up by 11 in the first half, and then we made some turnovers and couldn’t score. That was the part of the game I was most upset about.”

Leah Hefte, who left late in the second half with an ankle injury, sparked the Badger offense with a career-high 19 points. Hefte came off of the bench to nail 5 of 8 from long distance and help Wisconsin keep the game close. Moore just missed a rare collegiate triple-double with a game-high 12 assists and nine rebounds to complement her 16 points. Jesse Stomski contributed 12 points and added eight rebounds, while Kyle Black was the final Badger in double figures with 10 points. Candas Smith logged 26 quality minutes off the bench for the Badgers and notched career-highs with seven assists and five steals.

“Leah Hefte had the best game of her career tonight,” said Coach Albright, “and that really gave us a boost. We weren’t as consistent as I would like to be, but we had some more scoring from our bench, and that will really help us.”

Whalen led the Gophers with 21 points on 9-18 shooting, and McCarville gave the Badgers trouble in the paint throughout the game, finishing with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Lindsey Lieser and Kim Prince both chipped in with 12 points for Minnesota to round out the double-digit scorers.

Wisconsin wraps up its regular season on the road Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1:00 p.m. against Ohio State.

— compiled from staff reports