No. 4 Seeded Minnesota to Face No. 5 Seeded Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal

MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 19/20 University of Minnesota women's basketball team (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten) has earned the four-seed in the 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament and will face No. 11/11 Ohio State (25-6, 13-5 Big Ten) in the quarterfinal round. Tip off is set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT live on Big Ten Network (or 25 minutes following game one) with Krista Blunk on play-by-play, Elise Woodward as the analyst, and Autumn Johnson as the sideline reporter. Fans can also tune in with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on KFAN+.

No. 19/20 Minnesota (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten) vs. No. 11/11 Ohio State (25-6, 13-5 Big Ten)
TV: Big Ten Network (Krista Blunk - PxP, Elise Woodward - Analyst, Autumn Johnson - Sideline)
Tip Time: 1:30 p.m. CT (or 25 minutes after game one ends)
Radio: KFAN+ 96.7 FM, and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)

STARTING FIVE

The Golden Gophers picked up their 13th win in Big Ten play on Sunday, defeating Illinois 78-73 on the road. It marked the third time in program history Minnesota reached 13 wins in conference play, also doing so in 1984-85 (18-10, 13-5 Big Ten) and 1982-83 (20-7, 13-5 Big Ten).
Five Gophers scored in double figures against the Illini, led by Sophie Hart, who had 17 points and six rebounds. Amaya Battle tacked on 16 points and eight rebounds and Finau Tonga chipped in, as well, with 11 points from the bench. Mara Braun contributed 11 points followed by Tori McKinney's 10.
Braun's five assists paced Minnesota's roster while McKinney's three steals led the way for the Maroon and Gold.
With the win, Minnesota earned a No. 4 seed and double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. It's the highest finish the Gophers have had since earning a three-seed during the 2017-18 season.
The 13 Big Ten wins this season match the combined total for head coach Dawn Plitzuweit in her first two seasons at Minnesota. Plitzuweit's 26 league wins in her first three seasons rank as the third most in program history behind only Pam Borton (33) and Marlene Stollings (27).

WHERE THEY RANK

The Gophers came in at No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 USA Today Coaches Poll, released on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Minnesota is ranked No. 8 in the NET and is one of nine Big Ten teams in the top 25. The only two Big Ten teams ahead are No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 Michigan.
Minnesota's 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten, only behind AP No. 1 UConn (1.85), No. 2 UCLA (1.72), and Iowa State (1.60).
The Maroon and Gold's defense allows only 57.9 points per game, ranking them second in the Big Ten and 32nd in the nation.

ALL-BIG TEN GOPHERS

Four Minnesota standouts, Mara Braun, Amaya Battle, Tori McKinney and Grace Grocholski, have earned All-Big Ten recognition, the Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday.
Grocholski was a consensus All-Big Ten Second Team honoree, while Battle was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team by both the league's coaches and media. McKinney was placed on the Second Team by the coaches, while the media put her on the Third Team. Braun was tabbed as an Honorable Mention honoree by both the coaches and media.
It marks the most individual honors Minnesota has received since 2020, when four Gophers were selected (Taiye Bello (Coaches & Media 2), Jasmine Powell (Coaches & Media HM), Gadiva Hubbard (Coaches HM), Sara Scalia (Coaches HM)).
Additionally, Battle and McKinney were named to the league's All-Defensive Team, marking the first time Minnesota has had two on the team in program history.
Sophie Hart was selected as Minnesota's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.

MINNESOTA IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

The Gophers are 11-32 overall in the Big Ten Tournament, with their only appearance in the final occurring in 2005.
Last season, Minnesota was the 13 seed and fell to 12-seeded Washington 79-65.
The double-bye puts Minnesota into the quarterfinals for the first since 2018. That season was also the last time the Gophers reached the semifinals.

TOP TEN WINS

On Feb. 18, Minnesota defeated the 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 74-61, with a seven-player rotation. Along with the Gophers' starters, only Finau Tonga and Brylee Glenn came off the bench. It was the first time since at least 2002-03 that the Gophers beat a top-10 team using seven or fewer players.
The ranked win over No. 10 Ohio State marked the first top-25 matchup victory for Minnesota at home since 2018 when No. 20 Minnesota took down No. 12 Syracuse 72-68 at Williams Arena. In addition, it was the first time the Gophers beat a top 10 opponent while ranked since 2006 when No. 12 Minnesota beat No. 3 Ohio State 66-63 in overtime at the Big Ten Tournament.
Only two other teams in the country have beaten a top-10 opponent with seven players this season. Duke defeated No. 6 Louisville, 59-58, on Feb. 5 and UCLA defeated No. 8 Michigan, 69-66, on Feb. 8.
With three top-25 wins and two top-10 victories, It's the first time since 2017-18 that Minnesota has defeated three ranked opponents in the same season and first time since 2003-04 it has defeated two top-10 opponents.
The 91-85 win over Iowa on Feb. 5 marked Minnesota's second victory over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, its first outright win over a top-10 team since a 93-74 victory over No. 10 Maryland at Williams Arena in 2018 and its first top-10 road win since 2003, when the Gophers defeated No. 9 Stanford 68-56 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was also Minnesota's first regular-season top-10 road win since beating No. 5 Wisconsin 92-85 in 2002.
Minnesota snapped an 11-game losing streak against Iowa, earning its first win over the Hawkeyes since a 90-89 victory in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament.

McKINNEY MAGIC

In the Maroon and Gold's last 11 games, Tori McKinney has averaged 15.9 points per game, has tallied 33 assists and has a team-leading 24 steals during that stretch.
She's hit double figures in nine of the last 10 games.
Against the Spartans, McKinney had a career-high 29 points, 10 field goals made, and 19 field goal attempts.
McKinney recorded back-to-back 20-point games, scoring 23 points against Penn State on Jan. 28 after posting 20 against Wisconsin on Jan. 25.
It marked the first time a Gopher scored 20 or more points in consecutive games since Mara Braun did so in 2023 against Purdue (21 on Dec. 10, 2023) and Grambling (26 on Dec. 13, 2023).
This season, McKinney has improved her scoring average to 13.6 from 10.6 last season, and has scored 339 points in a span of 25 games compared to 372 in 35 last year. She's surpassed her 47 steals last season as she currently sits at a team-leading 50 this year.
McKinney ranks sixth in the Big Ten, averaging 2.0 steals per game.

BATTLE TIME

Against Ohio State, Amaya Battle officially surpassed Lindsay Whalen to be Minnesota's No. 2 all-time assists leader. She sits behind Debbie Hunter (1979-83) who ended her career with 633.
Battle is one of five active NCAA players with more than 1,000 career points, 700 career rebounds and 500 career assists along with Texas A&M's Ny'Ceara Pryor, TCU's Olivia Miles, Washington State's Charlisse Leger-Walker and Belmont's Tuti Jones. Battle and Jones are the only ones to do it at one school.
Along with Battle, Rachel Banham is the only other Golden Gopher to record at least 1,000 points, 600 career rebounds and 500 assists in a career.
Battle's career total stands at 1,482 points, 744 rebounds, and 585 assists.
This season, the Hopkins, Minn., native has increased her rebounding from averaging 5.1 rebounds per game last season to 7.4 this season. Notably, she's recorded 216 rebounds this season, an improvement from 182 last season.
In addition, Battle leads the Gophers with four double-doubles on the year: (13 points, 12 rebounds vs. Maryland on Dec. 7, 2025), (12 points, 10 rebounds at Penn State on Jan. 28, 2026), (12 points, 14 rebounds at Iowa on Feb. 5, 2026), (13 points, 12 rebounds against Ohio State on Feb. 18, 2026).

THE ORIGINAL G-MONEY

This season, Grace Grocholski leads Minnesota with 362 points and is second at 12.5 points per game.
The guard-forward is shooting 47.4% from the field, 43.0% from 3-point range and 73.7% from the free throw line. The only other players in the country to post those percentages with as many attempts from each spot as Grocholski are UConn's Azzi Fudd and Indiana's Shay Ciezki.
A North Prairie, Wis., native, Grocholski has 215 career made 3-pointers, ranking No. 7 all time in Minnesota program history.
Grocholski is ranked No. 14 in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage.
Grocholski also ranks second on the Gophers' roster with 79 assists.
Against No. 7 Maryland on Dec. 7, Grocholski knocked down a career-high nine 3-pointers on her way to a career-best 31 points, tying for the second-most 3-pointers made in a single game in program history.
In Minnesota's win over Ohio State, Grocholski went 4-8 from the arc. She hit two 3-pointers in 28 seconds in the third quarter to extend Minnesota's lead to eight.

SOPH THE GOPH

Graduate center Sophie Hart recorded her third double-double of the season against the Buckeyes, recording team highs with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Hart also had double-doubles against Rutgers on Feb. 8 (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Samford on Dec. 1, 2025 (17 points, 10 rebounds).
The game marked her sixth this season grabbing 10 or more boards.
The Farmington, Minn., native has increased her scoring average to 10.9 points per game compared to last season's 8.9.
Hart has matched her season high in steals this season with 18, she previously set it during the 2023-24 season.
Hart is 12 points from reaching the 1,000 points milestone for her career and 46 points from becoming the 31st Gopher to reach the century mark.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Brylee Glenn

Grace Grocholski

Sophie Hart

Tori McKinney

Finau Tonga