Minnesota’s women’s basketball team is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2019.
In head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s second season, the Gophers are ranked No. 24 after starting the season 16-1 overall, the program’s best 17-game start in program history, and 4-1 in the Big Ten — their best conference start since 2014-15.
The Gophers play at No. 8 Maryland on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
The last time Minnesota’s women appeared in the AP poll was on Dec. 30, 2019, when the Gophers were ranked No. 24 after 12 straight wins. They earned 45 points in this week’s poll, which was released Monday.
Five other Big Ten Teams appeared in the rankings: No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC, No. 8 Maryland, No. 9 Ohio State, and No. 22 Michigan State.
Annika Stewart (11 ppg.), Grace Grocholski (10.7) and Tori McKinney (10.3) are scoring in double figures for the Gophers. Mallory Heyer leads with team in rebounding (6.9 per game), and Amaya Battle has a team-high 72 assists in 17 games.
