Gophers Headed to Fargo for First Road Test

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (2-0, 0-0 B1G) looks to begin the season 3-0 for the first time since 2018-19 when the team visits North Dakota State (2-0, 0-0 Summit) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game can be watched on ESPN+ and can be heard on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THIS GAME

The Golden Gophers and Bison have met seven times in their history, with Minnesota holding a 1-1 record in Fargo. The last time the two faced off at the Scheels Center was in 2006 when the Bison won 62-48. Minnesota's only win in Fargo came back in 1982.
The Bison are led by third-year head coach Jory Collins who has led NDSU to one Summit League semifinal in his first two years.
NDSU was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Presesaon Poll.
Last season NDSU finished 11-18 (7-11 Summit) and lost in the first round of the Summit League Championship.
Senior guard Heaven Hamling was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. Hamling was an Honorable Mention honoree last season. This season she is averaging 20.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the first two games.
Of the Bison 14 student-athletes, three come from the great state of Minnesota. Those include Hamling (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Taylor Brown (Lakeville, Minn.) and Abby Schulte (Maple Grove, Minn.).

GOPHER NOTABLES

Last time out the Maroon and Gold came from behind in thrilling fashion to defeat Lehigh 101-99 at Williams Arena. The 10-point comeback win was led by a 32-point fourth quarter from the Gophers and was capped off by a Mara Braun three at the buzzer. Braun led the way with 34 while fellow freshman Amaya Battle scored 17 off the bench and Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux secured her second straight double double with 13 and 10 rebounds.
Braun, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, led the Gopher freshmen who combined for 75 of the 101 points scored against Lehigh. Battle's 17 was paired with an incredible nine rebounds in just under 32 minutes while also not committing a single turnover. Mallory Heyer secured her first double digit performance with 12, including seven in the fourth. Katie Borowicz scored in double figures for the second straight game and added a career high five steals, incluidng a scoop and score one with 8.3 seconds left.
Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux continued her fast start to the season with her 13 points and 10 rebounds against Lehigh. Micheaux brought down six offensive rebounds in the win in just 23 minutes on the floor. Micheaux is the first player since Taiye Bello in 2018-19 to start the season with back-to-back double doubles.
Minnesota secured 26 offensive rebounds against Lehigh, the most during the Lindsay Whalen era and tied for the 10th most in school history. The Gophers 96 attempted field goals against Lehigh go down as the third most in school history, just one shy of the school record that was set all the way back in the 1980s. Mara Braun's 26 attempted shots go down as a tie for the most in a single game by one player under Whalen.
The Maroon and Gold's 11 newcomers are broken up by five transfers, four incoming freshmen and two walk-ons. Minnesota's transfers include Destinee Oberg (Arkansas), Mi'Cole Cayton (Nebraska), Isabelle Gradwell (Cleveland State), Angelina Hammond (Miami Dade) and Aminata Zie (Western Nebraska CC). Among the transfer group Isabelle Gradwell has the most experience at the Division I level with now 117 games played while Cayton has played in 81 career games and Oberg at 41.
Minnesota's incoming freshman class has been heralded as one of the most highly touted recruiting classes in program history. All four hail from the great state of Minnesota with Mara Braun (Wayzata, Minn.), Amaya Battle (Hopkins, Minn.), Mallory Heyer (Chaska, Minn.) and Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie, Minn.). The group comes in as the No. 10 ranked class in the nation, and the No. 1 in the Big Ten, according to ESPN's HoopGurlz Rankings.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Mara Braun is No. 1 in scoring average in the Big Ten at 27.5 points per game, which ranks No. 7 nationally.
2 - Minnesota will be without two student-athletes for the 2022-23 season after Niamya Holloway and Aminata Zie both suffered season-ending injuries prior to the start of the season.
75 - The Golden Gophers got 75 of their 101 points from their freshmen group in the comeback win over Lehigh.
11 - Led by Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux and Amaya Battle, the Golden Gophers are 11th in the nation in rebounds per game at 52.5.
0 - True freshman Amaya Battle committed zero turnovers in the win over Lehigh in 31 minutes off the bench.

The University of Minnesota returns home for a matchup against Presbyterian on Sun, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. That game can be seen on B1G+ and also can be heard on KFAN+, as all games can be all season long.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2022-23 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Katie Borowicz

Mara Braun

Mi'Cole Cayton

Isabelle Gradwell

Angelina Hammond

Mallory Heyer

Niamya Holloway

Destinee Oberg

Aminata Zie