MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota made sure the opening weekend of women's March Madness was blocked off at its home court months before the NCAA Tournament began.
The hunch was right, as the Gophers relished the roar of their fans at The Barn all the way through Amaya Battle’s epic game-winner.
Battle hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 0.7 seconds left, lifting Minnesota past Mississippi 65-63 in the second round on Sunday to send the Gophers to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years.
“I have never been in an environment that was that loud, ever,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.
Battle, who finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, took the inbound pass near the paint and dribbled out along the baseline for more space before turning to swish the winner. The senior guard landed on her back to look up at a swarm of teammates in a frenzied celebration by the No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8).
Tianna Thompson's 3-point try at the buzzer for the No. 5 seed Rebels (24-12) off an inbound pass on the other end hit the front of the rim and fell short.
Mara Braun scored 17 points for the Gophers, including the tying 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining. Minnesota forced a shot-clock violation by Mississippi on the ensuing possession. Sophie Hart, who added 10 points, gave the Gophers their first lead since early in the third quarter with a determined drop-step to the basket for a short bank shot with 18 seconds left.
Latasha Lattimore answered with the tying layup with 3 seconds remaining, before Battle coolly sent the Gophers to Sacramento, California, to face the winner of the game on Monday between No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State.
“I'm not discrediting their play, with an awesome shot by the Battle kid at the end, but their fans won them that game,” Rebels coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “You couldn’t hear. Just an incredible environment.”
Cotie McMahon fouled out for Mississippi with 4:22 left with 15 points, putting the senior transfer and leading scorer on the bench for the crucial final stretch, as the Rebels went the next 3:41 without scoring. McMahon was limited to 21 minutes by the foul trouble.
“It was all in our hands,” said McMahon, who spent her first three seasons at Ohio State. “I feel like in the first half, we just didn’t want it. We put ourselves in the position that we got put in.”
Thienou's impact
Sira Thienou, who returned from injury for Mississippi's first-round victory over Gonzaga, led the Rebels with 18 points. The four-game losing streak to close the regular season without her unquestionably cost Mississippi a top-16 seed and the home games for the first two rounds that come with it.
“That’s what’s next for this program,” said McPhee-McCuin, who has taken the Rebels to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances after a 15-year absence.
During the costly possession when the Rebels let the shot clock expire with 41 seconds left, Thienou surprised her coach by passing up a shot while the crowd was roaring and clearly distracting the visitors.
“That’s something she has to learn from. She’s a sophomore. She’ll be better,” McPhee-McCuin said.
Home sweet home
After drawing a season-high 10,355 fans for the first round games on Friday, the biggest crowd for the women in more than two years since Caitlin Clark played here with Iowa on Feb. 28, 2024, the Gophers again had a roaring Williams Arena behind them. The attendance was 10,763.
“I just feed off of it so much," Braun said. "I’m just waiting to make a shot just so I can turn to the crowd and get them going. I love it. It’s something I’m always going to remember.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness