Minneapolis, MN (gopherSports.com) - The 2015/2016 season is over for the Gophers women’s basketball team.

Carlie Wagner scored her 1,000th career point as the Golden Gophers (20-12, 11-7 Big Ten) came up short in the WNIT Second Round, falling to South Dakota (28-6, 15-1 Summit) by a final score of 101-89. With the loss at Williams Arena, Minnesota’s 2015-16 season came to an end.

Playing in her final collegiate game, Rachel Banham led the Gophers with 37 points in the loss. She ends her career in sixth place on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list with 3,093 points. She made a school-record 354 3-pointers during her career, including six in Sunday’s game.

Banham’s fellow seniors Shayne Mullaney and Mikayla Bailey also ended their college careers at Williams Arena Sunday. Mullaney scored eight points and brought her career assists total to 544, and Bailey made her 145th career 3-pointer. Mullaney

Wagner had 18 points and Karley Barnes scored 10. Wagner and Barnes also each grabbed eight rebounds, leading the team. Every Gopher player who appeared in the game scored a point.

Kelly Stewart led South Dakota with 19 points and nine rebounds. Four other Coyotes also scored double-digit points. South Dakota held a 47-43 rebounding advantage and shot 46.4 percent. The Coyotes made 13 3-pointers, and the Gophers made 11 as part of overall 40-percent shooting.

The Gophers averaged a school-record 83.6 points per game this season, breaking the 1981-82 team’s mark of 80.2. Banham individually set a season record, scoring at a 28.6-point-per-game clip to top Laura Coenen’s 1984-85 average of 25.3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: The Gophers started rolling early in the game. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Bailey, Wagner, and Banham pushed the lead to 13 with just over four minutes to play in the quarter. The Coyotes would battle back late in the period, closing the gap to just three points with under two minutes left in the first. Minnesota led 26-19 at the end of the opening quarter.

Second Quarter: A run by the Coyotes saw them take the lead halfway through the second quarter. Banham had 11 points in the quarter, including three baskets from beyond the arc, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Gophers went into the locker room facing a two-point deficit.

Third Quarter: Banham opened the second half with a jumper, followed by a steal and breakaway layup to briefly reclaim the lead for the Gophers. Minnesota made a run in the second half of the quarter coming within two points of the lead, but South Dakota held a 70-58 lead going into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter: A barrage of Minnesota 3-pointers helped close the gap to five points. The Gophers hit five triples in the fourth quarter, with Banham and Shayne Mullaney hitting two each. That was as close as the Gophers would come though, as South Dakota sealed their win at the free throw line.

MORE NOTES

*Banham and Wagner both scored double-digit points in every Gopher game this year.

*Wagner became the 22nd player in program history to pass the 1,000-point mark.

*Barnes had her second game of the season with double-digit points.

*Barnes also had her second straight game with multiple blocks. She blocked at least two shots in five games this season.

*Minnesota made 11 3-pointers in the game. They had at least 10 treys in 15 of their 32 games this year.

 

More From KOLM - 1520 The Ticket