9 October 2023
New Gophers women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit saw a sign backstage at Big Ten Media Days at Target Center on Monday. She related it to her team.
The sign said: hardhats available upon request. “I think’s what our team is at this point,” Plitzuweit said from the podium.
Later, Plitzuweit added, “It’s who we are. That will be our identity throughout the course of not just this season, but through the course of our program. We talk about the first pillar is toughness. That is a hard-hat mentality.”
Plitzuweit has begun reshaping a team that finished 11-19 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten last season. Of the team’s 14 total players, 10 are freshmen or sophomores, including star guard Mara Braun, who was named preseason all-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches last week.
Braun, Mallory Heyer and Amaya Battle shared what they view as the non-negotiable aspects of how Plitzuweit wants her team to play this season.
“Playing hard; that is the main thing for her,” Heyer said. “If you are not playing hard, you are doing something wrong, so no matter what happens on the court, as long as you are putting it all out there.”
One Plitzuweit catch phrase is “find a way.”
“Literally to anything,” Battle said. “… No matter who you play for, a coach is going to demand excellence and continued effort from you. I would just say (Plitzuweit) just emphasizes it way more than any other coach I’ve played for.”
Immediate nickname
Battle came up the “Dawny P” nickname for her coach the first time the players met Plitzuweit after she was hired in March.
“I just think it’s fitting,” Battle said.
“(Plitzuweit) was for it,” Braun added.
Closer for Nia
Nia Holloway, who suffered a season-ending left knee injury in July 2022, has not yet been fully cleared to practice.
“When she is in the drills, she looks great,” Plitzuweit said. “In the drills she is not in yet, she is coaching her teammates through them. So that’s a great sign that she understands what she has to do and is putting herself in that position even if she is not getting all the reps.”
The U has had nine practice and starts the season with a Nov. 9 nonconference game against Long Island at Williams Arena.
Homecoming
Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger hails from Roseville, so Big Ten Media Days and road games against the Gophers give her a chance to come home.
“It’s always great to be back in my home state of Minnesota. I even got to steal a few hours with my parents (Sunday) night, and my mom asked me if they could come (Monday),” Kieger said. “I said it was just for press and then I realized she probably watches more Big Ten women’s basketball than 99 percent of the people in here.”
Kieger, who played at Marquette, has had annual improvements in win totals each season with the Nittany Lions from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
Briefly
Gophers freshman guard Kennedy Klick has not yet had surgery on her season-ending knee injury, Plitzuweit said. The Gophers shared the injury news on Klick, who played at Maple Grove, on Sept. 20. … After coachiing at West Virginia and South Dakota, Plitzuweit said one of her favorite parts of moving to the Twin Cities has been the amount of musical concerts she has been able to attend. She mentioned Beyonce among the shows she has attended in recent months.
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