Women’s basketball: Gophers open with rout of North Dakota

The Minnesota women’s basketball team is picking things up where they left them to end the 2024-25 season.

The reigning Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament champions played host to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Tuesday night to open the new season and won, 91-47, at Williams Arena.

“Defensively, our young ladies played really, really hard,” head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “They were really disruptive. It was really fun to watch. And then on the offensive end, we didn’t make as many shots as we wanted to, but our offensive rebounding was absolutely outstanding.

“The energy really propelled us, and I thought this was a great way to open the season and get things started.”

The Gophers have high expectations after going 25-11 in 2024-25, the last five while winning the WBIT after being snubbed for an NCAA tournament bid. Minnesota struggled in Big Ten play, going 8-10, but was dominant against nonconference opponents, going 17-1.

While the challenges against other Big Ten teams are still a month out, they had a roster shake-up that provided new challenges for the foreseeable future.

Forward Mallory Heyer announced on social media last week that she was leaving the team and entering the transfer portal for ‘personal reasons.’ Heyer’s decision to leave was a shock to many on the team, but her departure led to other players being the stars on both sides of the ball in the season opener.

Senior guard Amaya Battle stepped up where Heyer was best, leading the team with 10 defensive rebounds, while freshman guard Makena Christian made a strong first impression, leading the way with 23 points and making 50% of her 3-point attempts.

The reigning Wisconsin Player of the Year was ranked as the best guard in the state last season, and her play on Tuesday showed 3,300-plus Gophers fans the excitement around their newest starter was well worth it.

“I thought she handled the emotions of playing in her first home contest at a really high level,” Plitzuweit said of Christian’s performance. “I think she’s someone who’s very calm and steady, anyway, but I thought she did some really good things on both end of the court.”

“I was excited to play with all my teammates,” Christian said. “Being in the Barn was really cool. I think the energy was really cool. But the main thing was I was really excited to play with my teammates.”

“Big shoutout to Amaya,” center Sophie Hart said. “Because 10 defensive rebounds, oh my gosh. She has really stepped up in that category. I mean, obviously tonight, but even in practice. So, I’d say it was a team effort.”

Hart scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and grad forward Finau Tonga added 14 points. She was 6 for 8 at the free throw line and corralled seven rebounds.

The Gophers are back in action at 7 p.m. Friday against Manhattan at Williams Arena.