Apparently, in Minnesota, the bank is open on Sundays.

Golden Gopher junior guard Brittney McCoy banked a 3-pointer off the backboard with just 1.9 seconds left in the Michigan women's basketball team's game last night at Crisler Arena.

The basket clinched a 60-59 win for the Gophers (10-4 Big Ten, 18-7 overall), and caused the Wolverines' record in their last 12 games to fall to 2-10.

Only moments earlier, it seemed as though Michigan (3-11, 10-15) had secured the victory when Minnesota senior guard Emily Fox, the team's leading scorer, fouled out, after jostling senior Jessica Minnfield.

“Minnfield was the last person we wanted to foul, because she’s shooting a ridiculous percentage at the free throw line,” Minnesota coach Pam Borton said.

With 15 seconds left and a chance to extend the Wolverines’ one-point lead, Minnfield calmly walked to the line and knocked down the first shot from the charity stripe. But the 83-percent free throw shooter uncharacteristically missed the second. The ball hit the heel of the basket and clanked off towards the left side of the court.

Racing down her own rebound, Minnfield secured the ball before being fouled by junior Katie Ohm. And Minnfield once again stood at the line hoping to extend the lead out of the Gophers' reach.

But this time, she missed to the right. Minnesota junior forward Ashley Ellis-Milan grabbed the board and quickly outletted the ball to McCoy, who raced down the court for the game-winning shot.

“It seemed like we were doing everything we could to lose that basketball game today.” Borton said. “And we got a break at the end. That’s all it was.”

Although Minnesota may have won the game on McCoy’s last-second shot, it was the Gophers' suffocating 2-3 trapping zone defense that led the charge.

“It’s almost like a man (defense),” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. “Like a chasing man (defense).”

In the zone, Minnesota’s top two defenders wreaked havoc on the Wolverine guards, forcing them to make bad passes and quick, ill-advised decisions.

The Gophers were coming off a bye week which they used to work on their stifling zone defense, hoping to create more offense from their defense. It worked. They forced 22 Michigan turnovers that resulted in 27 of their 60 points.

The game had all the makings of a blowout when the Wolverines took a 13-point lead, but the Gophers went on a 17-2 run in the final six minutes of the first half.

And in a game that was dependent on runs, that one was crucial, giving Minnesota a two-point lead heading into halftime. Even though the Michigan outscored the Gophers 35-34 in the second half, Minnesota’s feeble 2-point cushion at halftime gave them the necessary padding needed.

As the team sinks lower in the Big Ten standings, Borseth can take comfort in the fact that his underclassmen are stepping up. Against Minnesota, freshman Carmen Reynolds led the underclassmen with 14 points.

“They’ve lost a lot of close games and I don’t think their record indicates what type of basketball team they are,” Borton said. “They are very balanced. They got shooters. They got great post players. They got kids that can get in the lane.

"I think it’s just a matter of time (before they) put things together.”

Note: Michigan donned pink-and-white uniforms as a part of the WBCA's Pink Zone initiative to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The team auctioned off these uniforms, and did other fundraisers to raise money for the University of Michigan Women's Health Program.