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Braun, Battle and Grocholski Earn All-Big Ten Honors
3/5/2024 10:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota sophomores Mara Braun and Amaya Battle along with freshman Grace Grocholski have all earned All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced Tuesday on Big Ten Network.
Braun, who missed the final nine games of the regular season with a foot injury, earned the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention distinction from both the league's coaches and the media. For Battle, her All-Big Ten Honorable Mention nod comes from the league's media. Grocholski earned a spot on the league's All-Freshman team as a unanimous choice on the coaches' side and was also one of the five freshmen on the media side as well. In addition, junior Maggie Czinano was tabbed as the school's Sportsmanship Award representative.
Braun's All-Big Ten nod comes after the sophomore earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team a season ago. The Wayzata, Minn., native was one of the Big Ten's top scorers at 17.8 points per game, which was fourth in the conference, while shooting a career high 37 percent from three. She hit 60 triples this season, which was the ninth most in the country at the time of her injury. Braun is also, as of March 3, No. 2 in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 95 percent (57-of-60) and is the team's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.0, which is fifth among individuals in the Big Ten.
Battle also made the jump from All-Freshman Team a season ago to Honorable Mention in 2023-24. The Hopkins, Minn., native is third in the Big Ten this season in assists per game with a career high of 5.5 per contest. Battle upped her scoring output from 9.0 a season ago to 10.8 this season and has also pushed her free throw percentage from 73 percent to 80.7 percent this year. At 293 career assists Battle is swiftly approaching the program's all-time top 10 in assists as just a sophomore. This season Battle has posted career highs in points (20 vs. NDSU), rebounds (12 vs. Stony Brook) and posted three 10 assist games to give her four for her career.
For the second straight year the Maroon and Gold are represented on the conference's All-Freshman Team with Grocholski earning a unanimous spot on the coaches' All-Freshman Team while also getting the nod on the media side. Grocholski earned three Freshman of the Week honors this season, becoming the fourth Gopher to earn three or more in a single season. The North Prairie, Wis., native led all Big Ten freshmen in overall scoring (11.4) and scoring in conference play (11.3). Her five games with 19 or more points this season are two more than any other freshman in the conference, and her 18 games with double figure scoring leads the team and is tied for the most in the conference this season among freshmen. Grocholski has been deadly from beyond the arc this season with 69 made threes, the second most in a single season by a freshman in Minnesota history and is the only freshman in the country with five games with five or more made threes which includes Grocholski's career high of seven against Rutgers. Grocholski has also proven she can play against some of the top teams in the country, scoring an average of 11.4 points per game against ranked opponents while adding an average of 4.8 rebounds.
Czinano's Sportsmanship Award is the first time the Watertown, Minn., native has been honored by the conference. This season Czinano has played in 28 of the team's 29 games and has played in an average of 13.7 minutes per game. The junior hit a career high two threes in Minnesota's win over Michigan State and registered a career high three steals against Nebraska and Iowa. She dropped a season-high 12 points against Lindenwood earlier this season, a game in which she secured her first career double double with 10 rebounds.
As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Golden Gophers (15-14, 5-13 B1G) will open play Wednesday at approximately 8 p.m. against No. 14 seed Rutgers (8-23, 2-16 B1G) on Peacock.
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.
Braun, who missed the final nine games of the regular season with a foot injury, earned the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention distinction from both the league's coaches and the media. For Battle, her All-Big Ten Honorable Mention nod comes from the league's media. Grocholski earned a spot on the league's All-Freshman team as a unanimous choice on the coaches' side and was also one of the five freshmen on the media side as well. In addition, junior Maggie Czinano was tabbed as the school's Sportsmanship Award representative.
Braun's All-Big Ten nod comes after the sophomore earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team a season ago. The Wayzata, Minn., native was one of the Big Ten's top scorers at 17.8 points per game, which was fourth in the conference, while shooting a career high 37 percent from three. She hit 60 triples this season, which was the ninth most in the country at the time of her injury. Braun is also, as of March 3, No. 2 in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 95 percent (57-of-60) and is the team's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.0, which is fifth among individuals in the Big Ten.
Battle also made the jump from All-Freshman Team a season ago to Honorable Mention in 2023-24. The Hopkins, Minn., native is third in the Big Ten this season in assists per game with a career high of 5.5 per contest. Battle upped her scoring output from 9.0 a season ago to 10.8 this season and has also pushed her free throw percentage from 73 percent to 80.7 percent this year. At 293 career assists Battle is swiftly approaching the program's all-time top 10 in assists as just a sophomore. This season Battle has posted career highs in points (20 vs. NDSU), rebounds (12 vs. Stony Brook) and posted three 10 assist games to give her four for her career.
For the second straight year the Maroon and Gold are represented on the conference's All-Freshman Team with Grocholski earning a unanimous spot on the coaches' All-Freshman Team while also getting the nod on the media side. Grocholski earned three Freshman of the Week honors this season, becoming the fourth Gopher to earn three or more in a single season. The North Prairie, Wis., native led all Big Ten freshmen in overall scoring (11.4) and scoring in conference play (11.3). Her five games with 19 or more points this season are two more than any other freshman in the conference, and her 18 games with double figure scoring leads the team and is tied for the most in the conference this season among freshmen. Grocholski has been deadly from beyond the arc this season with 69 made threes, the second most in a single season by a freshman in Minnesota history and is the only freshman in the country with five games with five or more made threes which includes Grocholski's career high of seven against Rutgers. Grocholski has also proven she can play against some of the top teams in the country, scoring an average of 11.4 points per game against ranked opponents while adding an average of 4.8 rebounds.
Czinano's Sportsmanship Award is the first time the Watertown, Minn., native has been honored by the conference. This season Czinano has played in 28 of the team's 29 games and has played in an average of 13.7 minutes per game. The junior hit a career high two threes in Minnesota's win over Michigan State and registered a career high three steals against Nebraska and Iowa. She dropped a season-high 12 points against Lindenwood earlier this season, a game in which she secured her first career double double with 10 rebounds.
As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Golden Gophers (15-14, 5-13 B1G) will open play Wednesday at approximately 8 p.m. against No. 14 seed Rutgers (8-23, 2-16 B1G) on Peacock.
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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