Gophers Defeat Rutgers 85-72

Minneapolis, MN (gophersports.com) -- The Gophers welcomed Rutgers to Williams Arena for the first time, and beat the Scarlet Knights for the first time Thursday by a final score of 85-72.

Rachel Banham scored 24 points for the Gophers (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten), and Carlie Wagner added 22 points in the win. This was Banham's career-best 10th straight game scoring over 20 points, breaking her previous record of nine set earlier this season. The game also marked the 11th time this year in which Banham and Wagner each scored 20 points in the same game.

Shayne Mullaney and Joanna Hedstrom also recorded double-digit points for the Gophers, with 17 and 11 points respectively. Jessie Edwards had eight points and led the team with eight rebounds.

Minnesota outrebounded Rutgers (13-10, 4-7 Big Ten) 41-32 and scored 30 more points against the Scarlet Knights than it did in the teams' first meeting this season. The Gophers led for most of the game. They made 22 free throws, their most this season, to help seal the win.

Kaleah Copper lead the Scarlet Knights with 31 points and nine rebounds. Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer missed the game due to her mother's death.

*Banham moved into the NCAA's top 30 scorers of all time. She passed Chandi Jones (Houston), Cindy Brown (Long Beach State) and Seimone Augustus (LSU) and is 28th all-time with 2,713 points.
*Barnes tied a season high with two blocked shots in the game. This was her third game with multiple blocks.
*Hedstrom was 2-of-2 from 3-point range. She has gone 7-for-10 from beyond the arc across the last two games and has three straight games scoring in double figures.
*Minnesota's bench outscored Rutgers' bench 38-18. The Maroon and Gold bench has outscored its counterparts in the past five games in a row.

UP NEXT The Gophers will head to Evanston to face Northwestern to complete their season series. The game will air on BTN at 2 p.m. on Sunday.