The Gophers were looking to pad their resume before the NCAA tournament selection committee considered it, and a run in the Big Ten tournament would have gone a long way for their chances.

But ultimately, on Wednesday, they were unable to come away with a win they really needed, and now, they must endure a tense wait to find out their fate.

The Gophers, on the NCAA tournament bubble — ESPN had them as one of the last four teams in before conference tournament play kicked off — fell 79-65 to the Washington Huskies on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“Washington might be the hottest team in the country at this point in time,” Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “I think they’re firing on all cylinders. I thought they played extremely well. We had a hard time disrupting them.”

While Minnesota, the 13th seed in the tournament, hung tough with Washington, the 12th seed, in the first half, they were unable to keep up in the second.

Midway through the third quarter, the Huskies began a 12-0 run, turning a two-point lead into a 14-point advantage and seizing control of the game for good, even though the Gophers went on a 7-0 run of their own at the end of the third.

“Right off the bat, we weren’t executing what we wanted to be executing at the start of the second half,” sophomore Grace Grocholski said. “That doesn’t give you momentum continuing the game.”

The Gophers, who lost to the Huskies a week earlier at Williams Arena, were yet again hurt by Washington beyond the arc. Washington, which entered the day top-10 in three-point shooting percentage in the country, drained 10 of them on the day, including three from Elle Ladine.

Ladine had 15 of Washington’s 32 points in the first half and finished with a finished with a team-high 21 points. Dalayah Daniels and Sayvia Sellers also chipped in 15 and Hannah Stines had 14, creating a balanced attack that was difficult for the Gophers to contain.

“They swing the ball around and every single one of them can shoot and every single one of them can drive,” Grocholski said. “I think it’s hard when every single person on their team is hard to guard.”

Grocholski had a team-high 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Mallory Heyer added 11 points and freshman Tori McKinney had nine. Amaya Battle, meanwhile, was limited to nine points in the game after landing in early foul trouble that forced her to the bench in the first quarter.

Knocked out of the tournament in the first round, the Gophers will now have to wait until March 16 to find out if their resume has earned them a trip to the NCAA tournament or if they’ll be on the outside looking in.

“We do have a while until Selection Sunday and to see what tournament we’re going to make but I think that’s just a great opportunity for us to get back in the gym and to work on the little things, working on scoring around the rim, passing and then just as a team all together just getting back on the court and just really working on those little things that are going to make us better going into tournament time,” Heyer said.