Gophers Women’s Basketball Returns to March Madness for First Time Since 2018

For the first time since 2018, the University of Minnesota women’s basketball team is competing in the NCAA March Madness tournament. 

Going 13-5 in the Big Ten in the regular season, the Gophers played to the quarterfinals in the tournament to earn themselves the No. 4 seed in the Sacramento region and a host bid in the Big Dance. Minneapolis and Williams Arena will hold first- and second-round games for the first time since 2005. The team is set to play Green Bay on Friday, March 20, and the winner will face Ole Miss or Gonzaga on Sunday, March 22.

Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, in a press conference on Selection Sunday, said, “For our young ladies, this is really special, for our team, for our program, for our university, for our community, for our region, and now to have an in-region matchup is something that hopefully will continue to grow the sport of women’s basketball.”

The squad, boasting big stat numbers and All-Big Ten accolades, represents Minnesota not only in maroon and gold, but in heart and hometown. Eight of the 14 players suiting up for March Madness are from Minnesota, including Amaya Battle, Tori McKinney, and Mara Braun, who are all players to watch for under the big lights.

Hopkins-hero Battle carries more than 1,000 career points, 700 career rebounds, and 500 career assists—one of five active NCAA players with those numbers—ranking second all-time in assists in program history.

McKinney, the Minnetonka sophomore named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and Defensive Team, racked up 15.9 points per game, 33 assists, and a team-leading 24 steals during the last 11 games of the regular season.

A four-star recruit from Wayzata High School, Braun averaged 13.2 points per game for the Gophers this season and an honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team. Braun also has Team USA on her resume, competing at the U23 FIBA 3×3 tournament, scoring 66 points across 13 games. 

The team, preparing for this moment since last summer, has been working towards a tournament campaign for far longer. Plitzuweit came to Minnesota in 2023, and began building the program from the ground up. Battle and Braun—alongside Grace Grocholski, named to the Big Ten Second Team this year—were on Plitzuweit’s first season roster, going 5-13 in conference play. 

From then on, they only got better. Today, Minnesota plays with a distinct “balanced” style, highlighting individual talent while never losing sight of the team, its strengths, and its goals, taking everything they’ve learned into this moment.

“Now it’s time to play basketball,” Plitzuweit said.