2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Golden Gophers, led by first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, played their home games at Williams Arena and compete as members of the Big Ten Conference. Plitzuweit was hired in March 2023 after she spent one year at West Virginia.[1]

2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record0-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachJason Jeschke
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
2023–24 Big Ten women's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 23 Illinois00 00  
No. 9 Indiana00 00  
No. 3 Iowa00 00  
No. 14 Maryland00 00  
Michigan00 00  
Michigan State00 00  
Minnesota00 00  
Nebraska00 00  
Northwestern00 00  
No. 7 Ohio State00 00  
Penn State00 00  
Purdue00 00  
Rutgers00 00  
Wisconsin00 00  
2024 Big Ten Tournament winner
As of October 17, 2023
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2022–2023 season with a 11–19 record and 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in twelfth place. As the twelfth seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were defeated by Penn State in the First Round.[2] They were not invited to the NCAA Tournament or chosen for the WNIT. Alanna Micheaux was named to the Big Ten Conference Honorable Mention Team, while Mara Braun was named to the All-Freshman Team by both the coaches and media.[3]

Following their loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers announced that head coach Lindsay Whalen had resigned and stepped down as head coach.[4] Dawn Plitzuweit was hired 2 weeks later as the new head coach for the Gophers.[5]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownNotes
Alanna Micheaux4F6'2"SophomoreWayne, MichiganTransferred to Virginia Tech[6]
Alexa Ratzlaff12G5'9"FreshmanRosemount, Minnesota
Destinee Oberg13C6'3"SeniorBurnsville, MinnesotaTransferred to North Dakota[7]
Isabelle Gradwell14G/F6'1"Graduate SeniorMarshalltown, IowaGraduated
Angelina Hammond15G/F6'1"Graduate SeniorHopkins, MinnesotaTransferred to St. Thomas[8]
Mi'Cole Cayton21G5'9"Graduate SeniorStockton, CaliforniaTransferred to Pepperdine[9]
Katie Borowicz23G5'7"Redshirt FreshmanRoseau, MinnesotaMedically Retired[10]
Maria Counts31G/F5'11"FreshmanPlymouth, Minnesota

Arrivals

NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownPrevious SchoolNotes
Janay Sanders30G5'11"Graduate SeniorCharlotte, North CarolinaApp State[11]

2023 Recruiting class

On November 16, 2023, the Gophers announced the signing of 4 players Kennedy Klick, MyKynnlie Dalan, Ajok Madol and Dominika Paurová to scholarships, while also Brynn Senden signed an Acceptance of Admission to be a walk-on for the 2023–24 season.[12] Following the resignation of Lindsay Whalen after the 2022–23 season, Paurová asked and granted her release from the Gophers, and then committed to Oregon State.[13]

After the hiring of Plitzuweit, she signed two players that she got to commit to West Virginia when she was there in - Grace Grocholski and Ayianna Johnson.[14][15]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kennedy Klick
G
Brooklyn Park, MN Maple Grove High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A Nov 16, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
MyKynnlie Dalan
F
Montesano, WA Montesano High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A Nov 16, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Ajok Madol
G/F
Regina, Saskatchewan Archbishop M.C. O'Neill High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A Nov 16, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Brynn Senden
G
Wayzata, MN Wayzata High School 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) N/A Nov 16, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Ayianna Johnson
F
Jefferson, WI Jefferson High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A May 4, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Grace Grocholski
G/F
North Prairie, WI Kettle Moraine High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A Apr 12, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 1 Ayianna Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) FrJefferson Jefferson, WI
G 3 Amaya Battle 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SoHopkins Hopkins, MN
G 5 Maggie Czinano 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) JrWatertown-Mayer Watertown, MN
G 10 Mara Braun 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) SoWayzata Wayzata, MN
F/C 11 Aminata Zie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) SrWestern Nebraska CC
Stony Brook
Paris, France
G/F 12 Ajok Madol 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) FrArchbishop M.C. O'Neill High School Regina, Saskatchewan
G 15 Brynn Senden 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) FrWayzata Wayzata, MN
G 22 Kennedy Klick 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) FrMaple Grove Brooklyn Park, MN
F 24 Mallory Heyer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) SoChaska Chaska, MN
G/F 25 Grace Grocholski 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) FrKettle Moraine North Prairie, WI
G 30 Janay Sanders 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) GSApp State Charlotte, NC
F 34 McKynnlie Dalan 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) FrMontesano Montesano, WA
F 41 Niamya Holloway 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS FrEden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN
C 52 Sophie Hart 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) JrNC State Farmington, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: August 12, 2022

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 8, 2023*
Long Island Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 12, 2023*
Chicago State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 15, 2023*
North Dakota State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 19, 2023*
UConn Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 22, 2023*
Cal State Northridge Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 26, 2023*
Stony Brook Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 29, 2023*
Norfolk State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 2, 2023*
Drake Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 6, 2023*
at Kentucky Memorial Coliseum 
Lexington, KY
December 13, 2023*
Grambling State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 21, 2023*
Lindenwood Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten
December 30, 2023
at Iowa Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
January 3, 2023
Maryland Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 9, 2023
at Michigan Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
January 14, 2023
Nebraksa Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 17, 2023
at Indiana Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
January 20, 2023
Michigan State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 23, 2023
at Wisconsin Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
January 28, 2023
at Illinois State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 31, 2023
Penn State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 31, 2023
at Michigan State Breslin Student Events Center 
East Lansing, MI
February 8, 2023
Ohio State Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 13, 2023
at Rutgers Jersey Mike's Arena 
Piscataway, NJ
February 17, 2023
Northwestern Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 20, 2023
Wisconsin Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 24, 2023
at Nebraksa Pinnacle Bank Arena 
Lincoln, NE
February 28, 2023
Iowa Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
March 3, 2023
at Penn State Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA
Big Ten Tournament
March 6, 2023
Target Center 
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source:[16]

Rankings

Regular Season Polls
PollPre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Final
AP
Coaches
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
(RV)   Received Votes
(NR)   Not Ranked and Did not receive votes

References

  1. Campbell, Dave (March 18, 2023). "Minnesota hires West Virginia's Plitzuweit to replace Whalen". The Eagles-Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  2. "Gophers Overcome 18-Point Deficit, Ultimately Fall to Penn State 72-67". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  3. "2022-23 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Honors" (PDF). bigten.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  4. Voepel, M.A. "Lindsay Whalen steps down as Minnesota coach after 5 seasons". ESPN.com. WNBA. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  5. Shipley, John. "Gophers hire Dawn Plitzuweit as next women's basketball coach". twincities.com. Pioneer Press. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  6. Berman, Mark. "College basketball notes: Virginia Tech women add Minnesota transfer Alanna Micheaux". Roanoke.com. Roanoke Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  7. "North Dakota Women's Basketball adds final transfer, Destinee Oberg". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  8. "Guard/forward Angelina Hammond to join Tommies in 2023-24". tommiesports.com. St. Thomas Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  9. "Waves Bolster Backcourt with Three Transfer Guards". pepperdinewaves.com. Pepperdine Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  10. Shipley, John. "Gophers point guard Katie Borowicz retiring from basketball". twincities.com. Pioneer Press. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  11. "Sanders Spent Three Seasons at App State, One at LaSalle". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  12. "Women's Hoops Sign Five for 2023-24". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  13. Daschel, Nick. "Oregon State women's basketball lands Czech Republic wing Dominika Paurova, a former Minnesota signee". oregonlive.com. Oregon Live. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  14. "Minnesota Adds Ayianna Johnson to 2023-24 Signing Class". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  15. "Plitzuweit Adds Grocholski to 2023-24 Signing Class". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  16. "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
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