Gophers: Dawn Plitzuweit talks Mara Braun, foreign tour to Croatia & Greece

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit met with reporters Wednesday at Athletes Village for the first time since her introductory news conference, and you’ll have to forgive her if she looked a little tired.

Plitzuweit was one of several with the Gophers up at 3 a.m. watching soon to be sophomore Mara Braun play for Team USA in a 3-on-3 tournament in China. She scored eight of USA’s 19 points in a win over China at the FIBA 3-on-3 tournament to help the Americans win an Asia-Pacific title.

She’s had other games of nine points, 13 and six points as the Americans are playing three games per day. She’s having success at a high level on the international stage.

"Mara is playing really well, it’s been really fun to watch her compete and be in a different environment. The games are very physical games, they’re very fast-paced games," Plitzuweit said. "I think she’s growing, she’s learning, she’s having a great experience. Every little thing you do adds up to impact how you play, those are all great lessons for her."

Back on campus, the Gophers and Plitzuweit are 2.5 weeks into an eight-week summer program. They have 12 of their 14 players, with Braun in China and Ajok Madal joining in August after graduating and playing for Team Canada.

The NCAA allows teams four hours per week for on-court activities, and four hours in the weight room. They’ll also have 10 practices in August before heading on a foreign tour to Croatia and Greece, Aug. 17-27.

It’s been about three months since Plitzuweit replaced Lindsay Whalen as head coach. Since then, she’s had to assemble a new coaching staff, hit the recruiting trail and assemble a roster for the 2023-24 season.

"It’s been a lot, honestly. But the great part is our staff has been tremendous. The support from our student-athletes has been incredible. They are really, really hungry, they’re like sponges right now," Plitzuweit said. "They’re continuing to grow and get better. It has been a lot, but it’s been really positive."

The good news for Plitzuweit is her now sophomore class of Braun, Amaya Battle, Mallory Heyer and Nia Holloway all returned. Holloway missed all of last season with a knee injury, but has been cleared to play up to 2-on-2 and could be full-go by their foreign tour.

Plitzuweit has another talented freshmen class that includes Wisconsin standout Grace Grocholski, and local stars Kennedy Klick, Brynn Senden and Ayianna Johnson. The Gophers also added Sophie Hart and Janay Sanders out of the NCAA transfer portal.

So what will the new Gophers look like? It’s hard to know until games, but they want to play fast, and they want to create their offense from their defense.

"If you do things the way we want to do them, if you compete at a really high level, then it is entertainment. It’s really fun," Plitzuweit said. "The reality for us is we want our players to play really, really hard. That’s really important for us, we also want them to love what they’re doing. That’s also really important."