No. 22/22 Minnesota Wraps Up Big Ten Regular Season at RV/NR Illinois

MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 22/22 University of Minnesota women's basketball team (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten) wraps up its regular season on the road at RV/NR Illinois (19-9, 9-8 Big Ten). Tip off is set for 1 p.m. live on BTN with Sloane Martin on play-by-play and Sydney Parrish as the analyst. Fans can also listen on KFAN+ 96.7 FM or the iHeartRadio app with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist.

No. 22/22 Minnesota (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten) vs. RV/NR Illinois (19-9, 9-8 Big Ten)
TV: Big Ten Network (Sloane Martin - PxP, Sydney Parrish - Analyst)
Tip Time: 1 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN+ 96.7 FM, and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)
Location: State Farm Center

STARTING FIVE

No. 22/22 Minnesota fell to No. 15/15 Michigan State 75-61 on Sunday at Williams Arena.
Three Golden Gophers scored in double figures led by Tori McKinney's career high 29 point performance. Amaya Battle recorded her fourth consecutive double digit performance and 14th this season. Sophie Hart had 10 points, her fifth straight double figure game and 15th of the season.
On Feb. 18, Minnesota defeated the 10th-ranked Buckeyes with a seven-player rotation. Along with the Gophers' starters, only Finau Tonga and Brylee Glenn came off the bench. It's the first time since at least 2002-03 that the Gophers beat a top-10 team using seven or fewer players.
The ranked win over No. 10 Ohio State marked the first top-25 matchup victory for Minnesota at home since 2018 when No. 20 Minnesota took down No. 12 Syracuse 72-68 at Williams Arena. In addition, it's the first time the Gophers beat a top 10 opponent while ranked since 2006 when No. 12 Minnesota beat No. 3 Ohio State 66-63 in overtime at the Big Ten Tournament.
Only two other teams in the country have beaten a top-10 opponent with seven players. Duke defeated No. 6 Louisville 59-58 on Feb. 5 and UCLA defeated No. 8 Michigan 69-66 on Feb. 8.
With three top-25 wins and two top-10 victories, It's the first time since 2017-18 that Minnesota has defeated three ranked opponents in the same season and first time since 2003-04 it has defeated two top-10 opponents.

WHERE THEY RANK

The Gophers came in at No. 22 in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll, released on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Minnesota is ranked No. 8 in the NET and is one of nine Big Ten teams in the top 25. The only two Big Ten teams ahead are No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 Michigan.
Minnesota's 1.59 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten, only behind No. 1 UConn (1.83), No. 2 UCLA (1.74), and No. 3 Iowa State (1.65).
The Maroon and Gold's defense allows only 57.3 points per game, ranking them first in the Big Ten and 23rd in the nation.

ILLINOIS SERIES HISTORY

The Fighting Illini lead the all-time series 43-32, 26-10 at State Farm Center, and at neutral sites 2-1.
Minnesota leads the series at Williams Arena 21-15.
The Maroon and Gold defeated Illinois last year 68-61 at The Barn. Five Gophers scored in double figures led by Grace Grocholski who had 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block.
It marked the first time Minnesota defeated Illinois since 2022. The Gophers haven't won in Champaign-Urbana since 2018.

McKINNEY MAGIC

In the Maroon and Gold's last nine games, Tori McKinney has averaged 15.3 points per game, has tallied 32 assists and has a team-leading 21 steals during that stretch.
She's hit double figures in eight of the last nine games.
Against the Spartans, McKinney had a career high 29 points, 10 field goals made, and 19 field goal attempts.
McKinney recorded back-to-back 20-point games, scoring 23 points against Penn State on Jan. 28 after posting 20 against Wisconsin on Jan. 25.
It marked the first time a Gopher scored 20 or more points in consecutive games since Mara Braun did so in 2023 against Purdue (21 on Dec. 10, 2023) and Grambling (26 on Dec. 13, 2023).
This season, McKinney has improved her scoring average to 13.7 from 10.6 last season, and has scored 329 points in a span of 24 games compared to 372 in 35 last year. She's on track to surpass her 47 steals last season as she currently sits at a team-leading 47 this year.

BATTLE TIME

Against Ohio State, Amaya Battle officially surpassed Lindsay Whalen to be Minnesota's No. 2 all-time assists leader. She sits behind Debbie Hunter (1979-83) who ended her career with 633.
Battle is one of three active NCAA players with more than 1,000 career points, 700 career rebounds and 500 career assists along with Texas A&M's Ny'Ceara Pryor and TCU's Olivia Miles.
Battle's career total stands at 1,466 points, 736 rebounds, and 584 assists.
Along with Battle, Rachel Banham is the only other Golden Gopher to record at least 1,000 points, 600 career rebounds and 500 assists in a career.
This season, the Hopkins, Minn., native has increased her rebounding from averaging 5.1 rebounds per game last season to 7.4 this season. Notably, she's recorded 208 rebounds this season, an improvement from 182 last season.
In addition, Battle leads the Gophers with four double-doubles on the year: (13 points, 12 rebounds vs. Maryland on Dec. 7, 2025), (12 points, 10 rebounds at Penn State on Jan. 28, 2026), (12 points, 14 rebounds at Iowa on Feb. 5, 2026), (13 points, 12 rebounds against Ohio State on Feb. 18, 2026).

THE ORIGINAL G-MONEY

This season, Grace Grocholski leads Minnesota with 347 points and is second at 12.9 points per game.
The guard-forward is shooting 50.0% from the field, 46.3% from 3-point range and 71.9% from the free throw line.
The North Prairie, Wis., native has 214 career made 3-pointers, ranking No. 7 all time in Minnesota program history.
Grocholski is ranked No. 14 in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage.
Grocholski also ranks second on the Gophers' roster with 79 assists.
Against No. 7 Maryland on Dec. 7, Grocholski knocked down a career-high nine 3-pointers on her way to a career-best 31 points, tying for the second-most 3-pointers made in a single game in program history.
In Minnesota's win over Ohio State, Grocholski went 4-8 from the arc. She hit two 3-pointers in 28 seconds in the third quarter to extend Minnesota's lead to eight.

SOPH THE GOPH

Graduate center Sophie Hart recorded her third double-double of the season against the Buckeyes, recording team highs with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Hart also had double-doubles against Rutgers on Feb. 8 (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Samford on Dec. 1, 2025 (17 points, 10 rebounds).
The game marked her sixth this season grabbing 10 or more boards.
The Farmington, Minn., native has increased her scoring average to 10.6 points per game compared to last season's 8.9.
Hart has matched her season high in steals this season with 18, she previously set it during the 2023-24 season.
Hart is 29 points from reaching the 1,000 points milestone. She would be the 31st Gopher to do so.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Brylee Glenn

Grace Grocholski

Sophie Hart

Tori McKinney

Finau Tonga