Women’s March Madness second-round takeaways: Can Minnesota keep its March magic going?

From The Athletic (Chantel Jennings)

Here are some highlights from Sunday’s second-round action.

No. 4 Minnesota 65, No. 5 Ole Miss 63​

Sweet 16 opponents: Winner of No. 1 UCLA,No. 8 Oklahoma State

Before Amaya Battle had knocked down that now-epic game-winner against Ole Miss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, she had attempted 806 field goals at home while wearing a Minnesota uniform. That’s a lot of shots. And it’s impossible to know how many she can recall perfectly.

But it’s a fair bet to think that Battle will remember No. 807 forever. In her final field goal attempt at Williams Arena, Battle hit a historic bucket to send the Gophers to their first Sweet 16 since 2005.

Battle is a rare breed in today’s college hoops world — a former top-40 recruit who lived through three NCAA Tournament-less seasons and a coaching change … and decided to stay put. Now, she’s being rewarded for that.

“This whole season is a perfect way to wrap up the four years here,” Battle said. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but we all stuck together and the fans stuck with us. They filled it out today when we needed them. Today, it’s bittersweet. I’ll never play at The Barn ever again, but we’re leaving it — I’m leaving it — with a win.”

When Minnesota’s senior class arrived on campus in the fall of 2022, players — led by Battle and Mara Braun — had a goal to restore Minnesota women’s basketball to its prestige of yesteryear. Neither player remembers the Gophers’ run from 2003-05 when they made three consecutive Sweet 16 runs, including a 2005 Final Four appearance (as a No. 7 seed). Understandable since they were both still in diapers at the time. But the vaunted history is well-known around the state, and the player who led the first of those two runs — Lindsay Whalen — recruited Battle and Braun to Minnesota as the program’s former coach before Dawn Plitzuweit took over three seasons ago.

With a gutsy comeback finish down the stretch that required the Gophers to play with almost no margin for error, Minnesota has already made history.

Now, the Gophers have a chance to take it another step further, potentially against a familiar foe. If UCLA, the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region, beats No. 8 seed Oklahoma State, then a Big Ten battle will be on the docket for this Sweet 16 matchup.

Since the Bruins joined the Big Ten last season, UCLA and Minnesota have met only twice. This year, UCLA won by 18 as senior guard Kiki Rice poured in 25 points while shooting 89 percent from the floor. Last season, the Bruins won by 26. However, the game had a four-point margin at the half before the Bruins outscored the Gophers 46-25 through the final two quarters. — Chantel Jennings

Would like to see the Gophers and Ole Miss schedule some non-conference home and home games in the future. What a fun program to play. The Rebel fans were really nice too, enjoyed their band and cheer team. They were very gracious at the end, and I thought played a damn good game. Gophers were very fortunate to get to host and play at home, and it was a blessing to get to host. Well earned by the Gophers. It was a fantastic and enjoyable weekend.