WBB: Minnesota Prepares for WNIT Championship
THE GOLDEN GOPHERS WILL TAKE ON THE BILLIKENS SATURDAY FOR THE WNIT TITLE.
EDWARDSVILLE, IL (KVRR)– The Minnesota Golden Gophers are playing their best basketball when it matters most. The Gophs take on Saint Louis Saturday, April 6, for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament to close out their season.
The Gophers lost five of their last six games entering the WNIT, but they did not let that affect their play. After defeating Pacific, North Dakota State, Wyoming and Troy, with a few those games coming down to the final minutes, the Gophers have the opportunity to be one of a few teams in college basketball to win a postseason tournament.
On Friday, head coach Dawn Plitzuweit and guard Amaya Battle, who is averaging 17-points a game in the tournament, spoke to the media about the run they are on and what it means to play for a postseason title.
Coach Pitzuweit says the team is gaining valuable experience in this tournament.
“Since a Big 10 tournament, we’ve had two of [the tournament games] at home which was awesome,” said Pitzuweit. “We had two on the road in very challenging environments and now we get a neutral site. So, we’re going to kind of get the full gamut of experiences. All of those are really positive experiences for our young ladies and it’s been neat to see our group really rallied and have some fun while we’re doing this.”
Sophomore guard Amaya Battle has led her team to this point in the season. Battle has scored 20+ points in two of the games in the WNIT thus far and is excited that she has been able to continue her season.
“It means a lot,” said Battle. “Looking back…the end of last season when coach Whalen left to now… I never thought this would have happened. [I am] just super proud of this team and super excited. We’ve just been wanting to perform and do well for each other, so, that’s the plan to carry it in on Saturday.”
The Gophers and Billikens will tip off at 2 P.M. Saturday for the WNIT Championship. The game will take place in Edwardsville, IL and will air on CBS Sports Network.
