Minnesota Golden Gophers Capture Women’s WBIT Championship

Golden Gophers Women Capture Prestigious WBIT Championship

story by: Steven Stremming, Excel H Sports/USBWA

photos by: Tony Harper, Excel H Sports/Indiana Sports Network

Minnesota Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s Gophers held off a determined comeback by the Belmont Bruins and their Head Coach Bart Brooks 75 to 63 in front of a large crowd for a 6 p.m. start time.

  Tori McKinney

The Gophers captured the trophy with a spirited effort by the team as they started off fast behind 6’1 Minnetonka, Minnesota Freshman, Tori McKinney, who was voted the MOP of the tourney.

McKinney torched the Bruins early and often as she drove to the basket and showed off her potential with real game efforts.

In fact, for the game, McKinney was ten out of fourteen from the floor, that included four of seven shots from behind the arc. McKinney also claimed three rebounds, handed out three assists and pilfered three steals for the winning Gophers.

Mallory Heyer

As McKinney was in go mode, Mallory Heyer, 6’1, Chaska, Minnesota junior, continued her assault on the boards as Mallory claimed a second straight sixteen rebound effort and a eighteen-point effort from the floor.

While McKinney and Heyer were on top of their game, Hopkins, Minnesota, 5’11 junior Amaya Battle kept up the surge within the paint with jump shots and pinpoint passing.

For the game, Minnesota outscored Belmont 26 points to 16 points.

Minnesota broke out on top of the Bruins with a 18 to eight first quarter lead and a 37 to 23 lead at the halftime break.

Minnesota would stretch the lead out to 24 points with 5:44 to go in the third stanza when Belmont said, enough and made a strong comeback, and cutting the lead late in the contest to nine points with an opportunity to decrease the margin to six.

Belmont’s comeback was led by Covington, Georgia, freshman Sanaa Tripp who launched multiple threes to decrease the margin rapidly. In fact, Tripp nailed three of her five attempts coming from three-point realm.

  Sanaa Tripp

While Tripp was connecting from outside, strong drives and pull up jumpers were going down for 5’9, Spring Hill, Tennessee sophomore Jailyn Banks.

Jailyn Banks

Banks would score a team-high seventeen points, on five of thirteen shots from the field and a solid five of six from the free-throw line.

While Tampa, Florida, 6’2 Senior Kendal Chessman was having a off-night shooting contributed with six boards and three assists, 5’7, Graduate Student Tuti Jones kept the Bruins going with four steals and three rebounds and timely baskets.

Kendal Cheesman

While Plainfield, Illinois Graduate, Kendall Holmes held in check with seven points.

Grace Grocholski

To close out the game North Prairie, Wisconsin, 5’10 Sophomore Grace Grocholski had an off-night shooting in her forty minutes of game time but was crucial by handing out a game-high eight assists and claiming three rebounds.

Minnesota Presser: courtesy of the WBIT

NIT & WBIT DMW

Belmont Presser: courtesy of the WBIT

NIT & WBIT DMW

EXCEL H SPORTS ALL-WBIT TOURNAMENT TEAM

Tori McKinney, Minnesota MOP

Mallory Heyer, Minnesota

Amaya Battle, Mineesota

Jailyn Banks, Belmont

Liv McGill, Florida

Grace Grocholski, Minnesota

Maddie Webber, Villanova