Gophers women’s basketball opens WNIT play with 77-62 victory vs. Pacific

It was an interesting mix.

First, joy. Or, as Sophie Hart said after the game, joyous. She and Mara Braun were, for the first time in weeks, on the Williams Arena court, playing.

“It’s better to play than to have to sit and watch,” Braun said.

But also frustration. Braun (foot surgery) and Hart (hip) had missed weeks. They were under strict playing time restrictions, in and out. There were times when Braun, feeling impatient, would look at the Gophers staff. Is it time? Now?

But on Tuesday night, the gang was back together. And the Gophers — with some rust — beat Pacific 77-62 in a WNIT second-round game. The Gophers (17-15) will play host to North Dakota State in the tournament’s Super 16 round at 7 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena.

They won Tuesday even with Braun and Hart’s minutes limited. Braun — an arc shooter needing rhythm — found it hard with the shuttle approach to her playing time, but the Gophers looked a lot more like the team that started the season 14-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten Conference than the one that won just twice after Braun left the lineup and just once after Hart was injured.

“For me, it was learning how much I love to play, how much joy it brings me,’’ Braun said. “I tried to smile more on the court. I can be hard on myself. I have to give myself a little grace.”

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BOXSCORE: Gophers women 77, Pacific 62

Hart made her first five shots and finished with 14 points in 18-plus minutes. Braun was 4-for-13 but scored 12 points with three assists in 19-plus minutes.

And if the Gophers might have let up on the gas a bit after taking a 22-point after three quarters? Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit will take it. Her team was playing for the first time in 19 days, Hart for the first time since Feb. 17, Braun since Jan. 28.

According to Plitzuweit, the two were cleared for full practice only days ago. But it didn’t look that way early. The two combined for seven points in a 10-0 Gophers run to start the game, a run ending when Braun — who missed her first two shots, both from three-point range — hit a three-pointer two minutes into the game.

Shot falling or not, the returns of Braun and Hart created space for the rest of the team on the offensive end. Hart, Braun, Mallory Heyer (11 points, six rebounds) and Amaya Battle (10 points, six rebounds, six assists) were all in double figures in scoring. And the bench produced 26 points, led by Maggie Czinano (nine points), Janay Sanders (nine) and Nia Holloway (eight points, five rebounds).

Up by 10 after a quarter, Minnesota started the second quarter 16-8 to go ahead by 22 points on Battle’s second-chance jumper with 3:30 left in the first half. The Gophers led by 18 at halftime and 22 after three quarters.

But, with a short time to rest and then prepare for a rematch against an NDSU team the Gophers beat by 22 points Nov. 15, there are things to work on. The Gophers allowed Pacific to shoot 46.2% overall and 50% after halftime. And the Tigers (19-15), who were led by Cecilia Holmberg’s 14 points, were the more aggressive team in the second half.

“We have to get better defensively,” Plitzuweit said.

It remains to be seen whether Braun and Hart will be able to increase their minutes should the Gophers continue progressing in the WNIT. Plitzuweit said her staff will have to look at how and when Braun is used, trying to help her find a rhythm.

But nothing felt better than playing again.

“It was super fun,’’ Hart said. “This team is so much fun to play with.”