Minnesota cut its deficit to six early in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans then put them away Thursday night.

Sophie Hart scored a career-high 18 points, and Mallory Heyer made five 3-pointers and scored 17 for Minnesota.

In the opening moments of the third quarter of a tied game, after Tori McKinney had missed a three-pointer, Gophers center Sophie Hart waded into the lane, got the offensive board, was fouled and went to the line.

There is late-night Big Ten basketball on Thursday, Jan. 30 when the Minnesota Golden Gophers visit the No. 4 USC Trojans at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST. Fans looking to watch this college basketball game can do so on Peacock, which offers exclusive access to Big Ten and Big East basketball.

Minnesota appears in line for an NCAA tournament berth, but hurdles remain, including No. 4 USC and top-ranked UCLA this week.

The 23rd-ranked Gophers women's basketball team let arch-rival Wisconsin hang around for a while through the first half but dominated the second half on its way to a 71-50 blowout victory Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Despite a close loss last week to #8 ranked Maryland, the Gopher Women's Basketball team has moved up one spot in the national rankings.

The Trojans (18-1, 8-0) have won 14 in a row since a 74-61 home loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 23. Watkins and No. 4 USC will look to end January with a second straight perfect month when they take on Minnesota (18-3, 6-3) Thursday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

But the Gophers (17-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) struggled to finish against Michigan’s physical defense, making only nine of 33 second-half shots and just four of 15 in the fourth q