Gopher Womens BB beats Eastern Illinois

(Minneapolis, MN) — The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team beat Eastern Illinois last night 81-52, outscoring the visiting Panthers 29-6 in the second quarter and never looking back. Sophomore guard Grace Gracholski scored a team-high 16 points in the win, hitting four-of-seven three-points. Freshman Tori McKinney made her first career start and scored a career high 14 points, making seven-of-eight free throws in the victory. Star guard Mara Braun of Wayzata suffered an injury this week in practice and missed last night’s game. Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit says the injury occurred to the same foot that Braun injured last year and that they will need to play “a little bit differently” in her absence. She says they experienced this a year ago and will have to “get used to that again.” Plitzuweit says they are still diagnosing the severity of the injury and are not sure what the timetable for Braun’s return to the court is. The Gophers are 6-0 on the season and will host Montana on Sunday at 2 P-M at Williams Arena.