Dec 4, 2008 10:56 pm US/Central
Minnesota Comes Back To Beat Boston College, 80-60
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
Slow starts are becoming the norm for Minnesota this season. So are comeback wins.
The Gophers trailed Boston College by 15 points in the first half, cut the deficit to five by halftime, then poured it on in the second half for an 80-60 win in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Katie Ohm kept the Gophers close early and put them in control late with seven 3-point baskets on the way to a career-high 23 points.
"If I'm open I'm going to shoot it," Ohm said. "I think every shot I take is going to go in."
Early on, Boston College (5-2) rarely missed, making 11 of its first 17 shots and taking a 29-14 lead. Mickel Picco made two baskets and a wide-open 3-pointer to build the Eagles' lead to 29-14.
But Minnesota (8-1), which rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat Massachusetts in the Colorado Coors Classic last month, got back into the game with a 10-3 spurt to close the first half, highlighted by two 3-point baskets by Ohm.
"We knew we were just shooting ourselves in the foot, it was nothing that they were doing," said Brittany McCoy, who scored 14 points. "Once we knew what we needed to improve upon, we just executed really well in the second half."
The turnaround started with that late first-half surge that cut the Eagles' lead to 35-30. The Gophers caught and passed the Eagles early in the second half, tying the score on a power move along the baseline by Jackie Voigt. Then they took a 41-39 lead on two free throws by McCoy. The Gophers were 17-of-18 from the foul line.
"Minnesota physically wore us out," said Boston College coach Sylvia Crawley. "I thought the game came down to 3-point shots and free throws."
Minnesota turned the game into a rout with Ohm leading the way. Her career-best seventh 3-pointer with 8:09 remaining pushed the lead to 63-51.
Ashley-Ellis Milan added 16 points for the Gophers, who won their eighth straight game. They haven't lost since dropping their season opener at Stanford, which was ranked second at the time.
Voigt picked up her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Picco led Boston College with 14 points, while Stephanie Murphy scored 11 and Carolyn Swords added 10.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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