Gophers' season ends in 76-57 loss to Michigan at Big Ten Tournament
Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit of the Minnesota Golden Gophers looks on during a game against the Michigan Wolverines in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center on March 07, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota women’s basketball season ended Thursday night in a 76-57 loss to Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center.
On the final game of the day, the Gophers got down 17-5 to the Wolverines three minutes in and never recovered. They missed lay-ups, they airballed 3-pointers. Amaya Battle, coming off a career-high 32 points, tried to keep the Gophers in it with a team-high 22 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough against a deep and talented Michigan team that is the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
Dawn Plitzuweit’s first season at Minnesota comes to a close with a 16-15 record, and a win over Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers were 14-5 and a possible NCAA Tournament team when star guard Mara Braun went down with a season-ending foot injury at Illinois. They lost 10 of their last 12 games after she went down. The Gophers also lost Sophie Hart to injury during that stretch. They've vastly improved from the team that won 11 games last year.
"We’ve said this from the beginning, we have a group of young ladies that cares a great deal. They want to be good, they care. But it doesn’t always happen as fast as you want it to happen," Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said after the loss. "There’s a growth process with it. The fact that we’re continuing to see growth even when things are really hard is something that is a tribute to who they are and how badly they want to be good."
The Wolverines had nine players score, led by Laila Phelia’s 23 points. Lauren Hansen added 14 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Ayianna Johnson added 12 points for Minnesota. Mallory Heyer and Grace Grocholski had a tough night offensively, combining for just five points on 2-of-12 shooting. Heyer did have 17 rebounds to lead Minnesota. The Gophers trailed by 13 at half and didn’t get any closer. The Gophers committed 16 turnovers and got out-scored 36-24 in the paint.
What did the Gophers learn from their first season under Plitzuweit? Stay together and stay positive through the tough times.
"Sticking together, that was the biggest thing. Obviously we went through some injuries this year and had some bumps in the road, but just sticking together and bringing energy every single day and continuing to be optimistic and have a positive attitude," Heyer said.
Now, the Gophers wait to see if they get a bid to the WNIT. If they get offered that chance, they will take it.
"I’m hopeful that we have a chance to keep playing in postseason. I think these young ladies have earned that, when we look at kind of the body of work for the whole season, I think they’ve put themselves in a position to continue playing and we hope we have a chance to keep doing that," Plitzuweit said.