Year one of the Gophers’ Dawn Plitzuweit era is promising

Gophers women’s basketball was knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament after a second round round loss to Michigan Thursday. In the first season with new head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, they complied a 16-15 record and have a good chance of receiving an invite to the WNIT. But it now has been six seasons since Minnesota has played in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Was this season a step in the right direction?

Mara Braun Injury:

I think it would be incredibly naive to tell the story of the Gophers’ 2023-24 season without mentioning they were without their best player for some of their most important games. Star sophomore guard, Mara Braun suffered a foot injury on in late January vs. Illinois, resulting in her missing the final 11 games of the season. Before suffering a five-point loss in Champaign on Jan. 28, the Gophers were 14-5 and a projected 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament field. Without Braun, they finished the season 2-9.

There are obviously more players than just Braun on the roster, but it an incredibly difficult task for a head coach in her first year at a new job to replace a 17.8 PPG scorer in February. Their entire offense ran through Braun, then Plitzuweit was asked to build a completely new identity amidst the most important part of the season. There is no argument that this season would’ve likely had a different result if Braun was healthy.

Projecting to 2024-25:

Appalachian State transfer guard Janay Sanders was the lone Gophers player to partake in Senior Day, and she is the only player that will have no eligibility remaining after the season. She started the final 11 games of the season, but Minnesota has a chance to have their entire starting lineup from the first 20 games of the season to return.

Amaya Battle had a tremendous finish to the season, with a 32-point (career-high) performance vs. Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and a 22-point performance in round two. After averaging 11.1 PPG, true freshman Grace Grocholski was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Sophomore Mallory Heyer also proved that she is one of the most talented young post players in the conference, averaging 9.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG.

Junior, Farmington, Minnesota native Sophie Hart missed the final six games of the season after starting the first 25 games of the season. Her injury opened the door for true freshman Ayianna Johnson to get some experience starting at the five spot, scoring 10+ points two times in her final six games.

Ultimately, if everyone opts to return and not enter the portal, the Gophers will have a roster more than capable of making a run to the NCAA Tournament next season. If they don’t have any portal entries, there would currently be only one scholarship open. There is certainly room for another veteran reserve ball handler on the roster, but there is no glaring need for Plitzuweit to find in the portal herself.

Conclusion:

Overall, the Dawn Plitzuweit opened her tenure with a 10-1 record in non-conference play and it looked like they were well on their way to the NCAA Tournament. She showed that this roster is more than capable with competing atop the Big Ten. Calling this season a success would be a stretch, but there is no reason Gophers fans can’t enter next year with the expectation of returning the NCAA Tournament, which is a promising step in the right direction.