Minnesota’s Banham ties NCAA record with 60 points

EVANSTON, Ill. – Rachel Banham tied a NCAA record with 60 points – with 10 coming in the first overtime and eight in the second – to lead Minnesota to a 112-106 win over Northwestern on Sunday.

In matching the 60 points put up by Cindy Brown when Long Beach State beat San Jose State 149-69 on Feb. 16, 1987, the 5-foot-9 guard made 19 of 32 shots, including 8 of 15 from 3-point range, and hit 14 of 16 free throws. She also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Golden Gophers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten).

The senior from Lakeville, Minnesota, shattered the school (44) and Big Ten records (49) and moved within 47 points of breaking Lindsay Whalen’s school record of 2,285 career points.

“Just to take over,” Banham said after the game when asked what was going through her head. “It was crazy. My teammates set me up so well and I was just feeling really good.”

Carlie Wagner added 21 points for Minnesota.

Maggie Lyon tied her career high with 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and was the only starter who didn’t foul out for the Wildcats (14-10, 3-9). Her 3-pointer from the right wing rimmed out at the end of the first overtime. Banham had tied it at 92 with a driving layup with 2.4 seconds left.

“(Banham) hit some tough shots,” Lyon said. “She’s a good player, so she’s going to hit tough shots. We’ll work on that in practice.”

Nia Coffey added 28 points and 12 rebounds for Northwestern and Ashley Deary had 22 with 11 assists.

Banham had 11 points in the first quarter that ended tied at 22. She had nine in the second quarter but Northwestern went up by nine and led 46-60 at the break.

The Wildcats stretched their lead to 10 in the third quarter and led 63-56 going into the fourth quarter as Banham had just four points.

Banham made 11 straight Minnesota points during an 11-1 run as the Gophers went up 67-66 with 6:15 play. Northwestern surged up by six but Banham made three free throws at 46 seconds and Wagner made one with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 80.

Banham finished with 18 points in the fourth.

Minnesota was down five after two Lyon free throws with 42 seconds left in overtime but Barnham nailed a 3 at the 39-second mark. After a Northwestern miss, Barnham went coast-to-coast for the tie.

Banham’s 3-point play with 51 seconds left in the second overtime put the Gophers up 107-102. Lyon made one free throw before Wagner made two. Lyon hit a 3 with 14 seconds left but Banham iced it with two free throws three seconds later.