Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, January 8
Minneapolis, Minn.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
6-10,0-5Big Ten
47
at
79
Minnesota
11-4,2-2Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Northwestern
11
7
9
20
47
Minnesota
23
25
17
14
79
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern Falls On The Road At Minnesota
1/8/2026 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Walton leads ‘Cats with 16 points
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (January 8, 2026) – Playing its third game in seven days, Northwestern (6-10, 0-5 B1G) dropped a 79-47 decision to Minnesota (11-4, 2-2 B1G) this evening inside Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.
How It Happened
Northwestern dialed in early from distance, as Caroline Lau and Casey Harter connected on threes, with Harter's trey knotting the score at 7-7 at the 6:07 mark. Following a 7-0 spurt by the hosts, Grace Sullivan looked to stem the tide, draining her first bucket of the night to trim Minnesota's lead to 14-9. The Golden Gophers countered with a quarter-ending 9-2 surge to extend their advantage to 23-11 at the end of the opening frame.
Buckets on consecutive trips from DaiJa Turner and Sullivan, respectively, brought the hosts' lead back down to single digits, 23-15, with 90 seconds gone in the second quarter. Minnesota ratcheted up its pressure on the defensive end following Sullivan's make, holding the 'Cats scoreless for just over seven minutes en route to racing into halftime with a 48-18 lead.
Northwestern continued to battle in the second half, but struggled to make a dent in the Golden Gophers' lead as Minnesota picked up its second conference win of the year.
Gallery: (1-8-2026) Women's Basketball vs. Minnesota
Inside The Box Score
- Bolstered by a career-high tying four threes, Xamiya Walton paced Northwestern with 16 points (5-9 FGs, 4-7 3FGs, 2-2 FTs).
- Sullivan reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time in 2025-26, adding 11 points (5-13 FGs, 1-2 FTs).
- Lau ripped down eight rebounds and dished out seven assists, both of which were team-high marks.
- Tori McKinney led all scorers with 20 points (8-15 FGs, 2-5 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) for Minnesota.
Up Next
Northwestern kicks off a two-game homestand against Rutgers on Sunday, January 11. Tip-off from inside Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 2 p.m. CT.
How It Happened
Northwestern dialed in early from distance, as Caroline Lau and Casey Harter connected on threes, with Harter's trey knotting the score at 7-7 at the 6:07 mark. Following a 7-0 spurt by the hosts, Grace Sullivan looked to stem the tide, draining her first bucket of the night to trim Minnesota's lead to 14-9. The Golden Gophers countered with a quarter-ending 9-2 surge to extend their advantage to 23-11 at the end of the opening frame.
Buckets on consecutive trips from DaiJa Turner and Sullivan, respectively, brought the hosts' lead back down to single digits, 23-15, with 90 seconds gone in the second quarter. Minnesota ratcheted up its pressure on the defensive end following Sullivan's make, holding the 'Cats scoreless for just over seven minutes en route to racing into halftime with a 48-18 lead.
Northwestern continued to battle in the second half, but struggled to make a dent in the Golden Gophers' lead as Minnesota picked up its second conference win of the year.
Inside The Box Score
- Bolstered by a career-high tying four threes, Xamiya Walton paced Northwestern with 16 points (5-9 FGs, 4-7 3FGs, 2-2 FTs).
- Sullivan reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time in 2025-26, adding 11 points (5-13 FGs, 1-2 FTs).
- Lau ripped down eight rebounds and dished out seven assists, both of which were team-high marks.
- Tori McKinney led all scorers with 20 points (8-15 FGs, 2-5 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) for Minnesota.
Up Next
Northwestern kicks off a two-game homestand against Rutgers on Sunday, January 11. Tip-off from inside Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 2 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
NU
MINN
FG%
.291
.500
3FG%
.269
.250
FT%
.667
.714
RB
27
47
TO
16
12
STL
4
12
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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