Gophers’ trip to WBIT is doing wonders for Nia Holloway

Gophers forward Nia Holloway has had to fight through injury to be able to play and needed to show patience while waiting for meaningful playing time. Neither is easy.

“Not knowing always when my number is called is hard,” she said. “But I’m also confident I’m prepared.”

Holloway and the Gophers women’s basketball team will host Gonzaga in a WBIT quarterfinal game at Williams Arena on Thursday night.

Minnesota worked hard to get back to the Barn. A No. 2 seed in the tournament — the second-tier tourney in women’s basketball’s three-tier postseason — the Gophers had to play their first two games on the road because of scheduling conflicts.

That meant beating a Toledo team that had lost just one home game all year in Ohio, then going to Springfield, Mo., to play a Missouri State team that had lost one home game the last two seasons.

Win, win.

As Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit has said many times, every postseason is an opportunity. Last year, they fell to the WNIT. But the path to the title game gave the team a chance to grow and improve, which showed this season. The Gophers hope a similar path in the WBIT this spring will mean even bigger things next year.

But these opportunities are also a chance for individual players to grow.

Last year, it was Amaya Battle, who averaged 10.8 points during the regular season, 17.4 after that. She carried that over to her junior year this season, her best so far.

This year, that player might be Holloway.

The former Eden Prairie High School star was part of the Gophers’ highly touted recruiting class that came to Minnesota for the 2022-23 season. It included Mara Braun, Mallory Heyer, Battle and Holloway.

But Holloway injured her knee in the summer before that first season, had surgery and spent a year rehabbing. She appeared in 36 games as a redshirt freshman in the 2023-24 season, averaging 3.6 points in 13.1 minutes.

Those minutes dropped a bit on a deeper team this season. But there have been some shining moments for the 6-0 forward. Especially recently.

“She’s been hooping,” Battle said. “Against Toledo she got some crucial buckets. Sunday she got some great defensive stops. Whenever she’s been given an opportunity on the court, she’s been performing.‘’

In a five-point victory at Northwestern during the regular season, Holloway scored all six of her points as the Gophers outscored the Wildcats by 21 points over the final eight minutes. That included scoring on consecutive possessions late to put the Gophers up four, then a game-sealing block.

In the victory at Toledo, a double-figure Gophers lead had been trimmed to four with 6½ minutes left when Holloway scored the first four points in an 11-0 run that put the Gophers back in control. Against Missouri State, Holloway scored four points on 2-for-2 shooting with three rebounds in eight minutes.

“In tournament time, you really need different players to step up,” Plitzuweit said. “She has an opportunity to continue to grow and develop. This is definitely something to build upon for the future.”

Still, it says something about the kind of teammate Holloway is that the most ecstatic she’s been on the court this season might have been in the Gophers’ victory over Indiana, when Battle’s two free throws with 16 seconds left pushed her past 1,000 career points. After the game, Holloway jumped on Battle’s back with joy.

“She has a huge heart,” Battle said of Holloway. “She’s one of my best friends. There have been times when I’m dealing with stuff and she’s there for me. She cares about others.”

And:

“Energy,” Battle said. “She brings a lot of energy.”

More and more as this season’s gone on.

“My energy is most important,” Holloway said. “I don’t always show up in the stat sheet. But I know for a fact my communication and the energy I give everyone is really important. And now, I’m more confident in my abilities.”

It’s the sort of confidence that can carry into next season.

WBIT quarterfinals

7 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena

TV, radio: ESPN+, 96.7-FM

The No. 2 seed Gophers (22-11) get their toughest WBIT test so far, facing No. 4 seed Gonzaga (24-10), which is 11-3 on the road this season. The Zags are coming off an impressive victory at No. 1 seed Colorado in the second round. Gonzaga is led by 6-1 post Yvonne Ejim and freshman guard Allie Turner. Ejim is the reigning Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year and a finalist for that award this season. She leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.6) and rebounding (9.1) while shooting nearly 53%.