Gophers women rally but come up short in loss to struggling Illinois

Four days after a shocking upset over ninth-ranked Ohio State, the Gophers women's basketball team couldn't carry over the momentum, falling 76-67 on Thursday night to an Illinois team that had lost 12 straight Big Ten Conference home games.

The skinny

The Gophers (12-12 overall, 4-6 Big Ten) and Fighting Illini (8-15, 2-8 Big Ten) were tied at 67 with one minute to play before Illini's Karisma Penn completed a three-point play with 39 seconds left on the clock.

Rachel Banham clanked a 3-pointer off the rim on the Gophers' next advance and the Illini grabbed the rebound. The Gophers fouled and the Illini missed the free throw, but the Gophers turned the ball over on their next possession to seal the decision.

Banham provided a much-needed spark late for the Gophers, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the second half. The five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week made all three of her free throw attempts and grabbed six rebounds.

Kiara Buford led the offense prior to Banham's surge, finishing with 26 points on 9-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-4 from the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Katie Loberg scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds.

The Gophers fell behind early -- trailing by as many as 14 in the first half and 13 in the second -- but fought back to pull within one on a jump shot by Buford with 13 minutes left to play. They took the lead with 8 minutes and 40 seconds left on the clock, the first time they had led since the 16:00 mark of the first half.

Turning point

Banham completed a solo 8-0 run to put the Gophers back in the game with 13½ minutes to play. But they couldn't seal the deal.

Numbers game

• 2:46: Time left in the first half when Banham made her first field goal.
• 10: Turnovers by the Gophers in the first half. They finished with 13.
• 4: Bench points by the Gophers. The Illini had 20.
• 1: Win for the Gophers on the road this season.

Health watch

Jackie Voigt remained out with a concussion for a third straight game. On Tuesday, Borton said Voigt hasn't experienced any change in symptoms since the injury occurred on Jan. 22.

Coming up

The Gophers return home to take on No. 19/21 Penn State at 2 p.m. Sunday at Williams Arena.