Gophers' Laura Bagwell-Katalinich hits stride — just as college career nears end

The Gophers women's basketball team was leading Michigan State by four in the third quarter at Williams Arena on Feb. 6, when Minnesota took control of the game for good.

Alexia Smith drove, scored, was fouled. Three-point play. Baily Helgren scored. And then, this:

Gadiva Hubbard stole the ball from the Spartans' Alisia Smith and got the ball to Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, who was running the floor, for a fast-break layup.

Michigan State called a timeout. Bagwell-Katalinich sprinted towards her teammates, grinning. She jumped, spun around in the air.

"It was a huge momentum swing,'' she said. "And it was certainly a fun moment.''

A moment that made it all worthwhile.

The Gophers are heading down the home stretch of the regular season, with four more games to go before the Big Ten tournament starts, including Thursday's home game against Rutgers. Bagwell-Katalinich, the former Holy Angels High School standout, is nearing the finish line of a six-year college career. It started at Penn, then a year of sitting after transferring to Cornell, two seasons with the Big Red followed by a graduate transfer back home before last season.

That's a circuitous route home.

After fighting through injuries that hampered her both last season and to start this season, Bagwell-Katalinich, a 6-foot forward, is relatively healthy. Productive. Happy. Against Michigan State that day, joyful. But:

"It's bittersweet,'' she said, "to finally be coming into my own with a few weeks left. But I'm also super grateful to be back out here, to be playing in front of my friends and family, to be helping the team win.''

Bagwell-Katalinich hurt her right (shooting) wrist in her final year at Cornell. The strange circumstances last season, played in the pandemic, prompted her to attempt to play through the pain. After the season ended, with the NCAA having granted an extra year of eligibility, Bagwell-Katalinich had surgery, rehabbed all last summer and was ready for camp in the fall.

And then, in a practice, she slipped on a wet spot on the floor, fell, and hurt her leg. And the pain lingered. Bagwell-Katalinich's game has always been built on the ability to hit a mid-range jumper and the quickness to take someone off the dribble if that shot is closely contested. For a long time this season, that quickness was missing. And it was frustrating.

"We've all been through it,'' Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said. "When you're in pain, it's harder to have fun. What we're seeing now is her freed up a little bit. She's playing free and open. You're seeing smiles.''

Always a team leader — Bagwell-Katalinich, Hubbard and Helgren were instrumental in bringing the players together after point guard Jasmine Powell left the team — Bagwell-Katalinich has grown as a leader on the court as she's gotten healthier.

She has scored in double figures in three of the past five games, averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds and shooting better than 51%. She moved into the starting lineup three games ago. Sunday against Northwestern, she scored 19 points with 12 rebounds, her first double-double with the Gophers.

Bagwell-Katalinich is not 100% healthy. But she's closer. "In the last few games I've felt more confident in how I'm moving and shooting,'' she said. "And I think my teammates are a big part of that. I think anybody who is watching can see how much fun we're having.''

Bagwell-Katalinich is. When Powell left, she said her message to her teammates was this: There are two ways to react, fall apart or come closer together and prove people wrong. "I hope we've proved some people wrong in the past month,'' she said.

The Gophers have won three of their past five games, a stretch that coincides with Bagwell-Katalinich's rise in playing time. And it's been fun. Sunday against Northwestern the Gophers led by seven at the half before opening the third on an 11-0 run to go up 18.

Bagwell-Katalinich had five points, three rebounds and a steal in that stretch.

"Those moments are the ones I'll remember,'' she said.