2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team

2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record18–5 (6–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachJason Jeschke
Assistant coaches
  • Aaron Horn
  • Aerial Braker
  • Tyler VanWinkle
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2024–25 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 UCLA 9 – 0   1.000 21 – 0   1.000
No. 8 Ohio State 9 – 1   .900 20 – 1   .952
No. 7 USC 9 – 1   .900 19 – 2   .905
No. 20 Michigan State 8 – 3   .727 18 – 4   .818
Illinois 7 – 4   .636 17 – 5   .773
No. 16 Maryland 7 – 4   .636 17 – 5   .773
Nebraska 7 – 4   .636 16 – 6   .727
Oregon 7 – 4   .636 16 – 6   .727
Indiana 6 – 4   .600 14 – 7   .667
Minnesota 6 – 5   .545 18 – 5   .783
Michigan 6 – 5   .545 15 – 7   .682
Iowa 5 – 6   .455 15 – 7   .682
Washington 4 – 6   .400 13 – 9   .591
Wisconsin 2 – 9   .182 11 – 11   .500
Penn State 1 – 10   .091 10 – 12   .455
Rutgers 1 – 10   .091 9 – 13   .409
Purdue 1 – 10   .091 8 – 14   .364
Northwestern 0 – 9   .000 7 – 13   .350
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner
As of February 2, 2025
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Golden Gophers, are led by second-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, and play their home games at Williams Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2023–24 season 20–16, 5–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eleventh place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Rutgers in the first round before losing in the second round to Michigan. They were invited to the WNIT to advanced to the championship game where they lost to Saint Louis.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Ayianna Johnson 1 F 6'3" Freshman Jefferson, WI Transferred to Colorado
Aminata Zie 11 F/C 6'1" Senior Paris, France Graduated
Ajok Madol 12 G/F 6'2" Freshman Regina, SK Transferred to Dayton
Janay Sanders 30 G 5'11" GS Senior Charlotte, NC Graduated
McKynnlie Dalan 34 F 6'1" Freshman Montesano, WA Transferred to Gonzaga

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Alexsia Rose 0 G 5'7" GS Senior Bloomfield, CT UMass
Taylor Woodson 20 F 6'0" Sophomore Minnetonka, MN Michigan
Annika Stewart 21 C 6'3" GS Senior Plymouth, MN Nebraska
Jordan Brooks 34 C 6'3" Senior Apple Valley, CA Cal State Bakersfield

2024 Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
McKenna Johnson
G 		Wilmot, WI Wilmot High School 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 93
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:

  • "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2024.

Recruiting class of 2025

College recruiting information (2025)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Makena Christian
G 		Hartford, WI Hartford High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 94
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

2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Alexsia Rose 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) GS UMass Bloomfield, CT
G 3 Amaya Battle 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Hopkins Hopkins, MN
G 5 Maggie Czinano 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Watertown-Mayer Watertown, MN
G 7 McKenna Johnson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Wilmot Union Wilmot, WI
G 10 Mara Braun 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Wayzata Wayzata, MN
G 14 Tori McKinney 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Minnetonka Minnetonka, MN
G 15 Brynn Senden 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So Wayzata Wayzata, MN
F 20 Taylor Woodson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Michigan Minnetonka, MN
F/C 21 Annika Stewart 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) GS Nebraska Plymouth, MN
G 22 Kennedy Klick 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Fr Maple Grove Brooklyn Park, MN
F 24 Mallory Heyer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Chaska Chaska, MN
G/F 25 Grace Grocholski 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Kettle Moraine North Prairie, WI
C 34 Jordan Brooks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Cal State Bakersfield Apple Valley, CA
F 41 Niamya Holloway 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS So Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN
C 52 Sophie Hart 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Sr NC State Farmington, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Central Connecticut W 89–48  1–0
  18 – Stewart   7 – Battle   5 – Tied  Williams Arena (2,647)
Minneapolis, MN
November 8, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Vermont W 74–52  2–0
  21 – Tied   7 – Heyer   4 – Battle  Williams Arena (3,192)
Minneapolis, MN
November 12, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		UMass Lowell W 82–37  3–0
  13 – Johnson   10 – Heyer   3 – Braun  Williams Arena (2,616)
Minneapolis, MN
November 16, 2024*
2:00 p.m. 		vs. Oregon State
Briann January Classic 		W 73–38  4–0
  13 – Stewart   9 – Grocholski   5 – Battle  Desert Financial Arena 
Tempe, AZ
November 17, 2024*
1:00 p.m. 		vs. SMU
Briann January Classic 		W 65–56  5–0
  18 – Tied   13 – Grocholski   5 – Braun  Desert Financial Arena 
Tempe, AZ
November 20, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Eastern Illinois W 81–52  6–0
  16 – Grocholski   5 – Heyer   6 – Rose  Williams Arena (2,946)
Minneapolis, MN
November 24, 2024*
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Montana W 84–45  7–0
  16 – Hart   9 – Heyer   8 – Battle  Williams Arena (3,961)
Minneapolis, MN
November 29, 2024*
1:15 p.m., YouTube 		vs. Houston
Big Easy Classic Bayou Tournament 		W 61–44  8–0
  18 – Grocholski   11 – Heyer   3 – Tied  Alario Center (214)
Westwego, LA
November 30, 2024*
11:00 a.m., YouTube 		vs. Louisiana
Big Easy Classic Bayou Tournament 		W 68–48  9–0
  20 – Heyer   9 – McKinney   7 – Battle  Alario Center (132)
Westwego, LA
December 3, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		North Florida W 90–44  10–0
  15 – Tied   8 – Johnson   7 – Rose  Williams Arena (2,931)
Minneapolis, MN
December 8, 2024
1:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 25 Nebraska L 65–84  10–1
(0–1) 		 12 – Heyer   8 – Heyer   3 – Tied  Pinnacle Bank Arena (6,009)
Lincoln, NE
December 11, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Jackson State W 81–43  11–1
  14 – McKinney   6 – Johnson   5 – Battle  Williams Arena (2,812)
Minneapolis, MN
December 20, 2024*
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Prairie View A&M W 96–57  12–1
  20 – Stewart   9 – Heyer   6 – Battle  Williams Arena (2,570)
Minneapolis, MN
December 28, 2024
3:00 p.m., BTN 		Penn State W 90–54  13–1
(1–1) 		 25 – McKinney   6 – Battle   7 – Battle  Williams Arena (5,312)
Minneapolis, MN
December 31, 2024
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Wisconsin W 59–50  14–1
(2–1) 		 13 – Battle   8 – Tied   6 – McKinney  Kohl Center (4,480)
Madison, WI
January 5, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Illinois W 68–61  15–1
(3–1) 		 19 – Grocholski   10 – Heyer   5 – McKinney  Williams Arena (4,788)
Minneapolis, MN
January 8, 2025
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Rutgers W 76–50  16–1
(4–1) 		 21 – Battle   11 – Hart   8 – Grocholski  Williams Arena (2,924)
Minneapolis, MN
January 14, 2025
6:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 24т at No. 8 Maryland L 92–99  16–2
(4–2) 		 19 – Battle   9 – Hart   6 – Battle  Xfinity Center (5,049)
College Park, MD
January 19, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 24т at Northwestern W 87–82  17–2
(5–2) 		 27 – Grocholski   10 – Grocholski   6 – Battle  Welsh–Ryan Arena (1,854)
Evanston, IL
January 22, 2025
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 23 No. 24 Michigan L 65–70  17–3
(5–3) 		 25 – Battle   7 – Heyer   5 – McKinney  Williams Arena (4,344)
Minneapolis, MN
January 26, 2025
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 23 Wisconsin W 71–50  18–3
(6–3) 		 17 – Grocholski   11 – Heyer   4 – Hart  Williams Arena (7,554)
Minneapolis, MN
January 30, 2025
9:00 p.m., Peacock 		at No. 4 USC L 69–82  18–4
(6–4) 		 18 – Hart   8 – Hart   4 – Grocholski  Galen Center (5,243)
Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 2025
2:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 1 UCLA L 53–79  18–5
(6–5) 		 21 – Battle   8 – Grocholski   3 – Grocholski  Pauley Pavilion (6,184)
Los Angeles, CA
February 6, 2025
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Iowa       Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 9, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Indiana       Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 13, 2025
6:30 p.m., Peacock 		at Ohio State       Value City Arena 
Columbus, OH
February 16, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Oregon       Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 19, 2025
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Purdue       Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
February 26, 2025
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Washington       Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
March 1, 2025
1:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Michigan State       Breslin Center 
East Lasning, MI
Big Ten Women's Tournament
March 5–9, 2025
TBA 		vs. TBA       Gainbridge Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source:

Rankings

Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP————RVRV———RV24т23RVRV
Coaches—————————RV2524RV

References

  1. ^ "Ajok Madol will continue her college career at Dayton". USbasket.com. May 28, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Lee, Greg (May 16, 2024). "Gonzaga women pick up Minnesota transfer forward McKynnlie Dalan". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "2024–25 Women's Basketball Schedule". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2024.