The Gophers have, to this point, taken care of business against the teams they are supposed to beat. They haven’t, to this point, beaten top competition. Minnesota headed into Wednesday’s contest with just two losses — one to then No. 25 Nebraska and the other just last week to No. 8 Maryland. It was handed its third defeat of the season on Wednesday — and it came in its third game against a ranked opponent. No. 24 Michigan walked away with a close 70-65 victory over No. 23 Minnesota on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in a game that the Wolverines pulled out late. “I thought we competed, competed at a high level, but Michigan was just a little bit better and hit a couple more shots,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “They deserve credit for doing that.” The Gophers, who had a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, fell into a hole as Michigan went on a run near the beginning of the fourth quarter and could not shoot their way out of it. “We know that defense leads into offense,” forward/center Annika Stewart said. “I just think we kind of struggled to get quick stops. We weren’t as aggressive and that just led to a slow-paced offense, which is not what we want.” Minnesota (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten) finished with just 11 fourth-quarter points, going just 4 for 15 from the field in the final quarter of the game and 1 for 7 from beyond the arc. On the night, the Gophers were just 6 for 25 from three, while Michigan (17-6, 5-3 Big Ten) hit 11 shots from long range. Stewart had three of those as part of a 16-point night for her. Grace Grocholski chipped in 12 points in the loss and Amaya Battle led the Gophers with 25. For Michigan, a majority of the offense ran through a trio of freshmen. Syla Swords, one of the top-ranked players in the recruiting class, led the Wolverines with 23. Benilde-St. Margaret’s alum Olivia Olson, playing in front of her hometown crowd, had 19 and Mila Holloway added 12 as the trio accounted for 54 of Michigan’s 70 points. The Gophers held the Wolverines to just seven points in the second quarter but were outscored in the other three in the loss. Still, they were well-positioned to take home their first win against a ranked opponent before the offense went cold in the waning minutes of the game. “I think it showed that when we really do lock in and play hard, we can hang around, but it’s just a matter of we have to play consistently throughout the whole game,” Battle said. That’ll be particularly important for the Gophers as the schedule toughens up in the next week in a half. Minnesota takes on Wisconsin on Sunday before heading out to California to play two top-five opponents in USC and UCLA. “I think we’re entering the toughest stretch of our schedule. … We’ve got to find a way to get recovered … and get ready for a really tough matchup on Sunday,” Plitzuweit said. “I think we’re learning, we’re improving and we’re progressing and that’s important for us.” Related Articles Sports | Gophers women’s basketball: Minnesota is missing star Mara Braun again. This time the Gophers are learning how to win Sports | Women’s basketball: Gophers move up a spot in Associated Press poll Sports | Gophers women’s basketball: No. 24 Minnesota rallies from 16 points down in the fourth to edge Northwestern Sports | Women’s basketball: No. 8 Terrapins hold off late rally from No. 24 Gophers Sports | Women’s basketball: Gophers crack Top 25 for first time since 2019