Minnesota made sure the opening weekend of women's March Madness was blocked off at its home court months before the NCAA Tournament began.
The hunch was right, as the Gophers relished the roar of their fans at The Barn all the way through Amaya Battle’s epic game-winner.
Battle hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 0.7 seconds left, lifting Minnesota past Mississippi 65-63 in the second round on Sunday to send the Gophers to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years.
“I have never been in an environment that was that loud, ever,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.
Battle, who finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, took the inbound pass near the paint and dribbled out along the baseline for more space before turning to swish the winner. The senior guard landed on her back to look up at a swarm of teammates in a frenzied celebration by the No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8).
"Honestly, this whole season is a perfect way to wrap up the four years here," said Battle after the game. "We had a lot of ups and downs, but we all stuck together and the fans stuck with us. I'll never play at the barn ever again, but we're leaving it, or I'm leaving it, with a win. We're leaving it with a win, and we're about to go to the Sweet 16, so what better way."
Tianna Thompson's 3-point try at the buzzer for the No. 5 seed Rebels (24-12) off an inbound pass on the other end hit the front of the rim and fell short.
Mara Braun scored 17 points for the Gophers, including the tying 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining. Minnesota forced a shot-clock violation by Mississippi on the ensuing possession. Sophie Hart, who added 10 points, gave the Gophers their first lead since early in the third quarter with a determined drop-step to the basket for a short bank shot with 18 seconds left.
"It's just the pride we have for our state and honestly just not wanting to let that crowd down," Braud added. "I mean they came out, they showed out for us. Like Amaya said, when we really needed them and we love this place. That's why we stayed. We stuck together and I'm just so happy that we could do what we just did in front of that crowd."
Latasha Lattimore answered with the tying layup with 3 seconds remaining, before Battle coolly sent the Gophers to Sacramento, California, to face the winner of the game on Monday between No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State.
“I'm not discrediting their play, with an awesome shot by the Battle kid at the end, but their fans won them that game,” Rebels coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “You couldn’t hear. Just an incredible environment.”
Cotie McMahon fouled out for Mississippi with 4:22 left with 15 points, putting the senior transfer and leading scorer on the bench for the crucial final stretch, as the Rebels went the next 3:41 without scoring. McMahon was limited to 21 minutes by the foul trouble.
“It was all in our hands,” said McMahon, who spent her first three seasons at Ohio State. “I feel like in the first half, we just didn’t want it. We put ourselves in the position that we got put in.”
Gopher coach Dawn Plitzuweit also credited the energy in Williams Arena, but said there is a toughness for this team that allowed them to stay in the game, and eventually make enough plays to win it in the end.
"But for us toughness is also doing little things well," she said. "This group of young ladies really played with that discipline, which is also part of our toughness. So that was really fun to see. So what a day for the Gophers."
Home sweet home
After drawing a season-high 10,355 fans for the first round games on Friday, the biggest crowd for the women in more than two years since Caitlin Clark played here with Iowa on Feb. 28, 2024, the Gophers again had a roaring Williams Arena behind them. The attendance was 10,763.
“I just feed off of it so much," Braun said. "I’m just waiting to make a shot just so I can turn to the crowd and get them going. I love it. It’s something I’m always going to remember.”
