Minnesota Headed to Ann Arbor for Matchup with Wolverines

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's basketball team (11-3, 1-2 B1G) is headed to Ann Arbor for its second Big Ten road test against the Michigan Wolverines (11-3, 2-1 B1G). The Jan. 9 matchup is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network while Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist will broadcast the game on KFAN+.

GAME INFORMATION
TV/Stream: BTN
Tip Time: 7:00 P.M.
Radio: KFAN+ (96.7 FM) and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)

ABOUT THE MICHIGAN GAME

Minnesota and Michigan are meeting for the 68th time on Jan. 9, with the Golden Gophers owning a 35-32 advantage in the series. Last season Minnesota faced Michigan just once, with the then-13th ranked Wolverines winning at Williams Arena, 77-41.
Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit spent five seasons in Ann Arbor as associate head coach under Kevin Borseth (2007-12) prior to Kim Barnes Arico taking over in 2012. Taylor Woodson and Minnesota's Amaya Battle played together at Hopkins High School, combining for a pair of state titles.
This matchup between Minnesota and Michigan features two of the top three scoring defenses in the Big Ten. Michigan comes in at No. 1, yielding just 56.9 points per game.
Michigan is 2-2 in its last four games, picking up wins over Florida A&M and then-No. 17 Ohio State at home paired with losses against No. 14 Indiana and Florida. Michigan has won eight straight games in Ann Arbor dating back to last season with the last loss coming against the Buckeyes of Ohio State on Feb. 20, 2023.
Individually the Wolverines are led by Laila Phelia, a junior guard from Cincinnati, Ohio, who averages 15.7 points per game and leads the team on the defensive end with 20 steals this season. Lauren Hansen, a transfer from Missouri, is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 per game and shoots an efficient 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and leads the team in threes made at 25.
Among conference ranks, Michigan's best team stat this season is their ability to hit the offensive glass and their scoring defense. Michigan's No. 1 scoring defense in the conference ranks them No. 55 in the country while their 14.7 offensive rebounds per game ranks them No. 40 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the Big Ten. Michigan also ranks No. 22 in the country in rebound margin at 9.8, and No. 30 in three-point percentage on the offensive end at 36.2 percent.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Minnesota dropped just its second home game of the season to Maryland (10-4, 2-1 B1G) on Jan. 3. The Gophers got 20 points from sophomore Mara Braun, who made five threes, while Sophie Hart contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Minnesota was able to dominate on the boards with a 46-30 advantage over the Terrapins, but 20 turnovers for the Maroon and Gold led to 17 points off turnovers for Maryland who claimed the victory by a score of 72-64.
Through Jan. 4, Mara Braun is one of four players in the NCAA to have hit five or more threes in five or more games this season. She's hit five or more threes in 35.7 percent of her games this year, which is tied for the third-best rate in the country behind Caitlin Clark (53.3 percent) of Iowa and Madison Conner (42.9 percent) of TCU.
Mara Braun is third in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 93.6 percent, making 44-of-47 attempts this year. This season Braun is 25th nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten in scoring average (19.9), she's fourth nationally in threes made (48) and among Big Ten players she is No. 7 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).
Last season the Gophers were ranked 291st in the NCAA and 13th in the Big Ten in turnovers per game at 17.7 per game but through 14 games of the 2023-24 season are ranked 42nd in the country and No. 4 in the Big Ten at 13.6. Minnesota is 30th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio as a team at 1.28, which is No. 4 in the conference while the team's plus-5.4 turnover margin ranked No. 33 in the NCAA and No. 3 in the Big Ten.
In her first full season with the Maroon and Gold Sophie Hart has been steady in the team's three Big Ten contests, averaging 13.3 points per game and shooting 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the floor while adding an average of 6.7 rebounds.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Amaya Battle posted her fourth straight game with five or more assists against Maryland, the longest streak of her career.
1 - Minnesota has had the same starting lineup of Battle, Braun, Grocholski, Heyer and Hart in all 14 games this season.
43 - Mallory Heyer has started all 44 games of her career, the fifth-longest streak to start a career at Minnesota.
11.6 - On average, Minnesota has outscored their opponents by 11.6 in the first half this season.
20 - Minnesota has scored an average of 20.5 points per game off of turnovers this season.

Minnesota returns home on Sunday, Jan. 14, to take on Nebraska (11-4, 3-1 B1G). The game against the Cornhuskers is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. on B1G+.

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 (X.com), Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2023-24 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Sophie Hart

Mallory Heyer