Minnesota's Rachel Banham scores 60 in 2OT win, ties NCAA mark

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

In matching the 60 points put up by Cindy Brown of Long Beach State against San Jose State 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 had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Golden Gophers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten).

Along the way, the senior from Lakeville, Minnesota, shattered school (44) and Big Ten records (49).

"Just to take over,'' Banham said when asked postgame what was going through her head. "It was crazy. My teammates set me up so well, and I was just feeling really good."

Maggie Lyon tied her career high with 31 points. She also grabbed 12 rebounds and was the only Wildcats starter who didn't foul out. 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."

Banham had 11 points in the first quarter, which ended with the game tied at 22. She had nine in the second quarter, but Northwestern (14-10, 3-9 Big Ten) 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 to 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 quarter.

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. She has 92 points in two games against Northwestern this season, after she scored 32 in Minnesota's 95-92 win Jan. 20. She was 12-of-24 shooting, including 6-of-10 from distance, in the first contest.

Banham moved into 24th place on the NCAA's all-time scoring list with 2,773 career points. She passed Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford), Becky Hammon (Colorado State) and Karen Pelphrey (Marshall).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.