Gophers absorb blow, take down Nebraska for key Big Ten win

There aren't many days when Mara Braun makes just two of 17 shots and there are even fewer days when the Minnesota Golden Gophers win when Braun shoots that poorly, but Sunday was one of those rare occasions as Minnesota overcame their leading scorer's struggles and beat Nebraska 62-58.

The win at Williams Arena gets the Gophers to 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, while Nebraska falls to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

With Braun struggling, Mallory Heyer led Minnesota with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. And Amaya Battle was the hero as she connected on a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining to put a final dagger in the Cornhuskers.

Minnesota led 34-21 before the Cornhuskers went on a 17-0 run to take a 38-34 lead, only for the Gophers to absorb the blow and close the game on a 28-20 run.

AMAYA BATTLE WITH THE BIGGEST THREE OF HER CAREER! #GOPHERS LEAD 62-58! 8 seconds to go! pic.twitter.com/UtbBNCMYGI
— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) January 14, 2024

Battle finished with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Minnesota also got a big contribution off the bench from Janay Sanders, who provided 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting to go along with two assists and four rebounds.

Next up for the Gophers is a difficult game Wednesday against 14th-ranked Indiana. The Hoosiers are 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be available to watch on Peacock.