It’s a rare thing in the era of the transfer portal that a team in a power conference can return all five starters. While, at the same time, knowing the roster is quite different.
The starters: Braun was the leading scorer. Battle, the point guard, was sixth in the Big Ten in assists (5.4), averaged 12.1 points, scored in double figures in 10 of the team’s final 12 games. Mallory Heyer was fourth in the conference in rebounding (8.5) to go with 9.5-point-per-game scoring. Hart (10.6) and Grocholski (10.8) — a member of the Big Ten all-freshman team — were also in double figures.
But the team has changed. Grad transfers Alexsia Rose and Annika Stewart have added depth at point guard and center, respectively. Taylor Woodson — Battle’s former Hopkins High School star teammate — transferred from Michigan. Nia Holloway and Maggie Czinano are back. Freshmen McKenna Johnson and Tori McKinney figure to contribute. Braun and Stewart both raved about McKinney’s quickness this week.
“We’re better than we were last year,” said coach Dawn Plitzuweit, about to enter her second season at Minnesota. “We’re deeper, we have more athleticism and we’re stronger, too. It takes time to build some of those things.”
Off the bench Stewart, who played four seasons at Nebraska, adds a stretch-five component to the bench. McKinney figures to be a disruptive defender. The 6-0 Woodson can score from the outside, but is strong enough to work in the post.
