Gophers women’s basketball plays Wisconsin-River Falls in exhibition

In most sensible methods, Sunday’s exhibition with Division III Wisconsin-River Falls at Williams Enviornment means little or no for the Gophers girls’s basketball workforce.

So why has that recreation stored Amaya Battle awake nights?

“I give it some thought on a regular basis, truly,” Battle mentioned after follow final week. Battle, from Hopkins, is a part of a four-player, all-Minnesota recruiting class that additionally consists of Mallory Heyer, Mara Braun and Nia Holloway.

“Truly, if I received to mattress and give it some thought, I can not get to sleep. It would preserve me up. It is so surreal. My final title goes to be on a Gophers jersey. After they do this Minnesota chant, they’ll be chanting for our workforce. It is so thrilling. I can not wait.”

Truly, it will not precisely be a brand-new uniform Gophers gamers don previous to Sunday’s 2 p.m. recreation. The workforce has ordered and is anticipating to get a restyled jersey for the upcoming season — which begins in opposition to Western Illinois on Nov. 7 — however these new uniforms have been held up by provide chain points.

However you get the concept. For Braun, Battle and Heyer, will probably be the primary time. Holloway, recovering from knee surgical procedure, must watch from the bench. However on a workforce with 11 new gamers and simply three holdovers, there shall be plenty of gamers carrying the jersey with their title on the again for the primary time, listening to the Williams Enviornment cheers.

“I am tremendous excited for the sport,” Heyer mentioned. “I have been fascinated by enjoying for the Gophers for a very long time. The truth that I am going to placed on the jersey for the primary time, I am tremendous excited. It is such an honor to symbolize the state of Minnesota.”

For coach Lindsay Whalen, the largest factor is getting the workforce used to the game-day routine: rise up early, undergo shootaround, watch movie, eat as a workforce. What works and what does not.

“We get to run via a recreation at house,” Whalen mentioned. “To do every thing over at Williams, I do know a variety of our workforce is happy about their first time there. So yeah, it is clearly a really thrilling time. We practiced so much, so will probably be good to go play in opposition to any individual else.”

The sport comes within the wake of reports that backup put up participant Aminata Zie was misplaced for the season with a leg harm. She had profitable surgical procedure Thursday.

The Gophers did not have a variety of depth within the put up to begin with. That scenario received worse when Holloway was misplaced for the 12 months with a knee harm. Zie’s harm simply exacerbated the issue.

“Clearly you hate it for these guys which are out for the 12 months,” Whalen mentioned. “It is actually unlucky. We’ve to step up. We have needed to transfer individuals round to totally different positions, issues like that. It is simply an unlucky a part of the sport.”

Sophomore Rose Micheaux is the beginning heart. Behind her is Destinee Oberg, a Minnesota native who transferred to the Gophers from Arkansas.

After that, minutes within the put up would possible fall on Heyer. She’s been enjoying like a stretch 4 for the Gophers thus far, doing a lot of her work on the perimeter in a high-low recreation with the put up. However she might need to slip inside — particularly on the defensive finish — ought to circumstances require.

For now, although, the largest emotion is pleasure.

“This would be the first time all of us have actually performed collectively [in a game],” Battle mentioned.

Mentioned Heyer: “It is going to be a chance to get a number of the nerves out. I am tremendous excited. However I am additionally type of anxious. It is simply a chance to construct our workforce chemistry.”