Gophers forwards Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle, who rank second and fourth, respectively, in the nation in scoring, were named to the All-WCHA first team on Thursday, while four other teammates were honored.
Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle of Gophers named first-team All-WCHA
Four other Gophers were honored by the conference ahead of the WCHA tournament this weekend.
February 23, 2023 at 10:41PM
![Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Grace Zumwinkle (12) was mobbed by Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Taylor Heise (9) after she scored the Gophers third goal of the game in the third period. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/GTKGWR3GHPYOB7JVMQHO3NJTP4.jpg?&w=712)
Heise, the reigning Patty Kazmaier Award winner as the nation's top player, has 25 goals and 32 assists this season, while Zumwinkle, a 2022 U.S. Olympian, has 22 goals and 30 assists. Joining them on the first team are Ohio State forward Jenn Gardiner and defenseman Sophie Jaques, and Minnesota Duluth defenseman Ashton Bell and goalie Emma Soderberg.
Second-team honors went to forwards Gabbie Hughes of UMD, Emma Maltais of Ohio State and Casey O'Brien of Wisconsin, Badgers defensemen Caroline Harvey and Nicole LaMantia, and goalie Saskia Maurer of St. Thomas.
Gophers forwards Abbey Murphy and Abigail Boreen and goalie Skylar Vetter made the third team, along with forwards Paetyn Lewis of Ohio State and Britta Curl of Wisconsin, and defensemen Maggie Flaherty of UMD and Madison Bizal of Ohio State.
Gophers defenseman Nelli Laitinen made the All-Rookie team, along with forwards Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards of Wisconsin, and Taylor Otremba of Minnesota State Mankato; defenseman Caroline Harvey of Wisconsin; and goalie Hailey MacLeod of UMD.
Basketball Across Minnesota: Aaliyah Crump, who committed to Texas, is spending her senior year at Montverde Academy in Florida on a team filled with Division I recruits.
