Women's Basketball

Days after missing the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year, the Gophers women’s basketball team ended its season with a 54-51 home loss to Ball State in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Friday’s loss concluded another disappointing season for Minnesota.

The Gophers (18-14) opened the season with six straight wins and took an 11-3 record into Big Ten play.

But Minnesota struggled in the conference, losing seven of nine games at one point.

Pam Borton’s Gophers packed for a four-day stay at the Big Ten Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

They only lasted one.

Minnesota’s women’s basketball team fell to Ohio State 58-47 in the first round of the conference tournament.

At 18-13, the Gophers are a long shot to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They haven’t earned a berth since 2009.

Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx know a thing or two about postseason success.

The duo, both members of the Gophers’ 2004 Final Four team, practiced with the Gophers women’s basketball team Tuesday in advance of its first-round Big Ten tournament game.

The Gophers, the No. 8 seed in the 12-team conference tournament, will face No. 9 seed Ohio State on Thursday. They’re 2-0 against the Buckeyes this season.

Gophers head women’s basketball coach Pam Borton received a two-year contract extension shortly before former athletics director Joel Maturi’s tenure ended in June 2012, current AD Norwood Teague confirmed Thursday.

Contract extensions happen all the time, but this particular extension was strange because it wasn’t announced publicly. Borton confirmed the extension to the Star Tribune on Wednesday.

The topsy-turvy Gophers women’s basketball regular season is over.

And while there have been plenty of lows, especially in Big Ten play, Minnesota finished the regular season on a high note that could help propel it into the NCAA tournament.

Minnesota followed up its upset of No. 7 Penn State on Thursday with a 59-53 road win over conference cellar dweller Indiana.

The Gophers (18-12) won three of their past four Big Ten games to finish the conference season 7-9, a one-game improvement from their 2011-12 record.

The Gophers women's basketball team has longed for a marquee win all season. And with the team's postseason chances quickly fading, it couldn't have picked a better time to get one.

Minnesota upset No. 7 Penn State 89-81 on Thursday's Senior Night at Williams Arena.

The Gophers will conclude their regular season at Indiana on Sunday, and a win, coupled with a run in the Big Ten tournament, could put them in play for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Women’s basketball players Katie Loberg and Leah Cotton make up the only one of Pam Borton’s senior classes at Minnesota that’s never played in an NCAA tournament.

But both will have a lot to play for Thursday when the unranked Gophers face No. 7 Penn State on Senior Night at Williams Arena.

“It would mean so much,” Cotton said of a possible upset. “This is one of the games you remember — what happens Senior Night, your last time playing at the Barn.”