# 2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team

The 2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Golden Gophers, are led by second-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, and play their home games at Williams Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference.

## Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2023–24 season 20–16, 5–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eleventh place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Rutgers in the first round before losing in the second round to Michigan. They were invited to the WNIT to advanced to the championship game where they lost to Saint Louis.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ayianna Johnson | 1 | F | 6'3" | Freshman | Jefferson, WI | Transferred to Colorado |
| Aminata Zie | 11 | F/C | 6'1" | Senior | Paris, France | Graduated |
| Ajok Madol | 12 | G/F | 6'2" | Freshman | Regina, SK | Transferred to Dayton |
| Janay Sanders | 30 | G | 5'11" | GS Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| McKynnlie Dalan | 34 | F | 6'1" | Freshman | Montesano, WA | Transferred to Gonzaga |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Alexsia Rose | 0 | G | 5'7" | GS Senior | Bloomfield, CT | UMass |
| Taylor Woodson | 20 | F | 6'0" | Sophomore | Minnetonka, MN | Michigan |
| Annika Stewart | 21 | C | 6'3" | GS Senior | Plymouth, MN | Nebraska |
| Jordan Brooks | 34 | C | 6'3" | Senior | Apple Valley, CA | Cal State Bakersfield |

### 2024 Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| McKenna Johnson G | Wilmot, WI | Wilmot High School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2024. ||||||

#### Recruiting class of 2025

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Makena Christian G | Hartford, WI | Hartford High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2024. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Central Connecticut | W 89–48 | 1–0 | 18 – Stewart | 7 – Battle | 5 – Tied | Williams Arena (2,647) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 8, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Vermont | W 74–52 | 2–0 | 21 – Tied | 7 – Heyer | 4 – Battle | Williams Arena (3,192) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | UMass Lowell | W 82–37 | 3–0 | 13 – Johnson | 10 – Heyer | 3 – Braun | Williams Arena (2,616) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 16, 2024* 2:00 p.m. | | vs. Oregon State Briann January Classic | W 73–38 | 4–0 | 13 – Stewart | 9 – Grocholski | 5 – Battle | Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ |
| November 17, 2024* 1:00 p.m. | | vs. SMU Briann January Classic | W 65–56 | 5–0 | 18 – Tied | 13 – Grocholski | 5 – Braun | Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ |
| November 20, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 81–52 | 6–0 | 16 – Grocholski | 5 – Heyer | 6 – Rose | Williams Arena (2,946) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 24, 2024* 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Montana | W 84–45 | 7–0 | 16 – Hart | 9 – Heyer | 8 – Battle | Williams Arena (3,961) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 29, 2024* 1:15 p.m., YouTube | | vs. Houston Big Easy Classic Bayou Tournament | W 61–44 | 8–0 | 18 – Grocholski | 11 – Heyer | 3 – Tied | Alario Center (214) Westwego, LA |
| November 30, 2024* 11:00 a.m., YouTube | | vs. Louisiana Big Easy Classic Bayou Tournament | W 68–48 | 9–0 | 20 – Heyer | 9 – McKinney | 7 – Battle | Alario Center (132) Westwego, LA |
| December 3, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | North Florida | W 90–44 | 10–0 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Johnson | 7 – Rose | Williams Arena (2,931) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 8, 2024 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 25 Nebraska | L 65–84 | 10–1 (0–1) | 12 – Heyer | 8 – Heyer | 3 – Tied | Pinnacle Bank Arena (6,009) Lincoln, NE |
| December 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Jackson State | W 81–43 | 11–1 | 14 – McKinney | 6 – Johnson | 5 – Battle | Williams Arena (2,812) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 20, 2024* 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Prairie View A&M | W 96–57 | 12–1 | 20 – Stewart | 9 – Heyer | 6 – Battle | Williams Arena (2,570) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 28, 2024 3:00 p.m., BTN | | Penn State | W 90–54 | 13–1 (1–1) | 25 – McKinney | 6 – Battle | 7 – Battle | Williams Arena (5,312) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 31, 2024 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | at Wisconsin | W 59–50 | 14–1 (2–1) | 13 – Battle | 8 – Tied | 6 – McKinney | Kohl Center (4,480) Madison, WI |
| January 5, 2025 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Illinois | W 68–61 | 15–1 (3–1) | 19 – Grocholski | 10 – Heyer | 5 – McKinney | Williams Arena (4,788) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Rutgers | W 76–50 | 16–1 (4–1) | 21 – Battle | 11 – Hart | 8 – Grocholski | Williams Arena (2,924) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 14, 2025 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 24т | at No. 8 Maryland | L 92–99 | 16–2 (4–2) | 19 – Battle | 9 – Hart | 6 – Battle | Xfinity Center (5,049) College Park, MD |
| January 19, 2025 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 24т | at Northwestern | W 87–82 | 17–2 (5–2) | 27 – Grocholski | 10 – Grocholski | 6 – Battle | Welsh–Ryan Arena (1,854) Evanston, IL |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 23 | No. 24 Michigan | L 65–70 | 17–3 (5–3) | 25 – Battle | 7 – Heyer | 5 – McKinney | Williams Arena (4,344) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 26, 2025 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 23 | Wisconsin | W 71–50 | 18–3 (6–3) | 17 – Grocholski | 11 – Heyer | 4 – Hart | Williams Arena (7,554) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 30, 2025 9:00 p.m., Peacock | | at No. 4 USC | L 69–82 | 18–4 (6–4) | 18 – Hart | 8 – Hart | 4 – Grocholski | Galen Center (5,243) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 2, 2025 2:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 1 UCLA | L 53–79 | 18–5 (6–5) | 21 – Battle | 8 – Grocholski | 3 – Grocholski | Pauley Pavilion (6,184) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Iowa | L 60–68 | 18–6 (6–6) | 16 – McKinney | 10 – Heyer | 3 – McKinney | Williams Arena (6,721) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 9, 2025 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Indiana | W 66–56 | 19–6 (7–6) | 16 – Battle | 13 – Heyer | 5 – Battle | Williams Arena (4,180) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., Peacock | | at No. 9 Ohio State | L 84–87 $^{OT}$ | 19–7 (7–7) | 21 – Hart | 7 – Heyer | 5 – Battle | Value City Arena (6,417) Columbus, OH |
| February 16, 2025 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Oregon | L 70–76 | 19–8 (7–8) | 16 – Grocholski | 14 – Heyer | 6 – Battle | Williams Arena (6,487) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 19, 2025 6:00 p.m., B1G+ | | at Purdue | W 74–61 | 20–8 (8–8) | 27 – Grocholski | 10 – Heyer | 5 – Grocholski | Mackey Arena (3,814) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 26, 2025 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Washington | L 62–72 | 20–9 (8–9) | 13 – Tied | 8 – Heyer | 6 – Battle | Williams Arena (4,297) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., B1G+ | | at No. 23 Michigan State | L 58–73 | 20–10 (8–10) | 23 – Grocholski | 7 – Tied | 4 – Battle | Breslin Center (7,616) East Lasning, MI |
| Big Ten Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 2025 2:30 p.m., Peacock | (13) | vs. (12) Washington First Round | L 65–79 | 20–11 | 21 – Grocholski | 7 – Grocholski | 5 – Grocholski | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025* | (2) | at Toledo First Round | | | | | | Savage Arena Toledo, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | 24т | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 25 | 24 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |