(AP) — The Gophers women’s basketball team didn’t talk much about its Women’s Basketball Invitational championship entering this season.

Sure, returning players liked the fact that they finished last season strong, with a postseason title and four straight victories at Williams Arena.

But their goal was to reach the NCAA tournament, not making a run in a third-tier tournament considered a notch below the NIT.

On Friday night, the Gophers clobbered Northern Iowa, their WBI final opponent from last season, 86-43 at Williams Arena behind 26 points from sophomore guard Rachel Banham.

Minnesota beat the Panthers 88-74 on March 25 in last season’s WBI title game.

With just one game left before the start of Big Ten Conference play, the Gophers (10-3) won their fourth straight game since suffering back-to-back losses to Virginia and Kansas. During that stretch, Minnesota coach Pam Borton has gotten comfortable with a starting lineup that she’ll likely take into the Big Ten opener Jan. 3 at Michigan State.

Freshman point guard Shayne Mullaney, the all-time scoring leader at Eden Prairie High School, started her sixth straight game and had her second consecutive double-figure scoring performance with 17 points. Mullaney was coming off a career-best 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting in an 82-60 win over Robert Morris on Dec. 9.

Mullaney, Banham and sophomore guard Sari Noga combined for 39 points and seven steals to lead the Gophers to a 50-16 halftime lead. Northern Iowa (4-7) committed 14 of its 22 turnovers in the first half.

Minnesota’s three-guard starting lineup has been even more dangerous offensively since Mullaney replaced fellow freshman Mikayla Bailey, who has mononucleosis. Bailey was a physical defender and rebounding presence in the frontcourt. But Mullaney is a better ball handler and shooter. Having her as a three-point shooting threat has left Noga open on the perimeter in the past two games.

Noga, who had her second straight game scoring in double figures, had 10 of her 12 points in the first half Friday. After scoring nine of her team’s first 15 points, Banham raced downcourt and toward the basket before flipping a pass over her head to Noga in the corner for a wide-open three-pointer to make it 18-6.

Borton said this week she was planning to redshirt incoming freshman center Amanda Zahui B., who is arriving from Sweden to join the team on Christmas Day. But Borton still has three talented freshmen in Bailey, Mullaney and Bemidji native Kayla Hirt, who had 12 points and a career-best 12 rebounds against Northern Iowa.

None of them was part of the team that won the WBI last season against the Panthers, so that’s why Friday’s victory meant more in the big picture. It showed the Gophers the potential they have.