Guaynabo, Puerto Rico -- It is only the month of November, but the intensity of Friday's seesaw affair between the Hatters and Golden Gophers made it feel a little like March.
In the end, Minnesota outscored Stetson 15-4 over the final seven minutes of the game to claim a narrow 72-69 victory in the first day of the San Juan Shootout.
Breana Bey led the Hatters (3-2) with 17 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Brianti Saunders scored 15 points and Sarah Sagerer added 11.
The game featured nine ties and 11 lead changes, including a one-possession finish.
"I thought we had our chances but we didn't execute down the stretch," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "We turned the ball over, we missed a couple of layups, and I thought they hit a couple of big shots that got the win for them. We just missed a really good opportunity."
Stetson led 56-54 going into the fourth quarter, and quickly extended the lead to seven on a layup by Bey. Minnesota hit their next three shots, however, including a two from behind the arc, to take a 64-63 lead.
Aisha Turner hit a runner in the lane to put Stetson back ahead by one, but Minnesota took advantage of a putback on its next possession to grab the lead for good.
Stetson stayed close and had a chance to tie on its final possession, but a 3-pointer from the corner failed to connect in the game's final seconds.
The Golden Gophers hit 11 3-pointers on 33 attempts and improved to 4-0 on the season.
"I thought the transition 3s in the first half really hurt us," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "They had six 3s in the first half and five were in transition - they were wide open. That is 15 points, if we just take away two of those or three of those, the game changes."
Stetson's offense was effective for most of the game against Minnesota's zone defense. Aisha Turner dished out seven of the team's 20 assists, many of those were back door passes to Bey in the low post.
"I thought we were much better against the zone and much more aggressive today," Bria said. "We still have to learn how to win the close ones."
Stetson outshot Minnesota 44 percent to 38 percent. The Golden Gophers, who had been averaging over 90 points per game, held the advantage on the glass 45-38.
The Hatters will conclude play in the San Juan Shootout against Boise State at 4:45 p.m. Friday. The Broncos (2-2) fell by two points to Arkansas Friday night.
