Gophers’ Mara Braun: ‘I really want to make some noise’

Minnesota s women s basketball association didn t achieve its goal of an NCAA tournament berth last season but the Gophers certainly got better After a - start got them a two-week stay in the AP Top for the first time since they underachieved themselves out of the running for the Big Dance but the Gophers were fleetly scooped up by the Women s Basketball Invitation Tournament and when it was over were last of the -team field standing Expectations for - would be high even if the Gophers weren t getting their best competitor back But they are Mara Braun who missed nearly all of last season after re-breaking her right foot before a event in November just successfully completed the crew s postseason workouts and plans to be full go when the squad convenes this summer for voluntary workouts and a period of official practices I was able to do everything but it was a lot of skill work one-on-one two-on-three Braun disclosed Friday But it was a good and easy way to get back into practice back to no restrictions and I m feeling really good It was definitely a good start Braun led the Gophers in scoring as a freshman with a -point average in - as a sophomore in an injury-shortened season ppg and through four games last year She has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is eager to fulfill her goal of bringing Minnesota women s basketball back to the prominence it held after Lindsay Whalen her first coach led the group to two Sweet s and a Final Four in and Minnesota s Mara Braun avoids a defender during a - success over Vermont on Nov at Williams Arena Keya Shapiro Gophers Athletics With Amaya Battle Mallory Heyer and Sophie Hart returning for another year and the improvement of sophomore Grace Grocholski and freshman Tori McKinney this season the addition of Braun will give coach Dawn Plitzuweit a surfeit of scoring options when the season starts in November The NCAA tournament is our aspiration and goal declared Braun part of a nationally ranked recruiting class with Battle Heyer and Niamaya Holloway The first year was building we were getting used to college basketball learning We ve dealt with adversity the past inadequate years Eventually we knew it would come full circle and this is a great year for us to do it Wherever we go will be propelled by this season It s really significant for the expansion of this operation The Pioneer Press talked with Braun by phone on Friday This interview has been edited for length and clarity Mara Braun Q A Q Was it arduous to fall into a non-playing role last season A There was inevitably a part of me that really craved to be out there to be a part of the postseason The hardest part of was knowing how badly everyone yearned to win it I wished to do everything I can to get that done We weren t exactly happy about the tournament we were playing in but we were there to win it It was nice to see how we were able to respond especially after the first year I got hurt We didn t really have the depth and mentally it was kind of a shock for everybody This year we had more players step up more people we could trust We put a lot in Tori s hands and honestly she was really good only a freshman The way she adapted the sky s the limit for her Amaya really revealed something too and Mal s a double-double queen It will be great to see everybody contribute when we get all the pieces back together Q With so countless possible weapons where will you fit A It s going to be a different squad It s going to look different The rotation might even go deep any coach would love to have that option I don t have to play minutes every night I have trust in my teammates It s a good thing that we ll have so numerous options coming back Q Grocholski seemed to play your old role this season Do you see yourselves on the floor together A Yeah that s something we ll definitely have to experiment with this summer and in the fall we ll have different lineups too and see what works But with our offense it s really a lot of read-and-react so it will be about finding different combinations I m sure we ll all play together at chosen time or another There will be different combinations I m sure we ll find procedures to make it work Q You re-broke the same foot Was the repair any different this time A They did it a little differently but I still have the same screw in there but they went about it a little differently The main difference is the recovery time We ve been extra subject to make sure I m back to percent It hasn t been easy Q Was it easier to be subject this time A I think it was the opposite authentically because I knew everything I had ahead of me So especially when I was at home with my leg elevated for that long away from the crew it was harder the second time just knowing the road I had ahead of me Once you get into it and find the rhythm of it you know you re getting closer and closer but aren t quite there It s a lot of ups and downs but I was able to find my role better to step into more of the coaching side of it and also because of the extra year under my belt Q Did you enjoy the coaching part A I did It was really different I knew I inevitably had to be locked in as a scout to know exactly what each athlete does their tendencies reading the scout document back-to-front so if one of my teammates urged me a question I could get them accurate information and be there for what they needed It was good to have a voice Q What was your initial reaction after injuring the same foot again A It happened in a shootaround so it was just a shock Honestly I thought I had tweaked it and it was not a big deal But we went and got a scan right away and I learned promptly that I had broken it again It was hard I d sit on the sideline and fans would be asking me questions about it That was real tough But I had to be positive and not let my teammates see me down I had to swallow my emotions Q Did you ever think you d play last season A I did at first I thought Oh I ll be back for a postseason run But as much as I yearned to play I knew it was significant to just put this behind us and as the year went on it made more sense to hold off Q Do you feel like the profile of women s basketball has changed since you last played a full season A I do I unfailingly say it s a great time for women s basketball and various of that is because of NIL and that type of stuff but we ve also had generational talents in players Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers and that has helped skyrocket the WNBA right now They re tough competitors They take a lot from the media but they handle it with so much grace It s kind of like they re not really these elevated players But I know they ve done a lot for this country and for basketball in general The spotlight is different from where it has been There is so much talent across all levels Q Did you ever think last season If I were playing we would have made the NCAA tournament A A little bit but I didn t really want to get into any of that thinking Things happen for a reason It happened But I m excited that the tournament is something we can work for We haven t gotten that yet but this is going to be a big season especially for seniors like Amaya and Mal and Sophie This is their last season for sure These are the people I came in with and knowing that it s the last year for certain of them Everything that we do throughout the whole offseason and when we all come back is going to make an impact on our postseason There s a lot more to this season than maybe in past seasons It feels different Q Was it nice for you to see Whalen get back to coaching A Oh yeah I was really excited for her It was a great move for her getting back to working closely with players I ve already seen photos of her participating in workouts It s where she belongs Q What are your expectations for - A First and foremost I want to stay healthy for a season and see what I can do with that It s going to be a little bumpy I haven t fully played and competed for a while and I m fully aware of that But my foot is stronger than it was I m able to get to the basket better than I ever had I m really looking forward to playing not just for gang goals but for my aspirations to play after college I m going into it with high expectations First and foremost I want stay healthy but I also really want to make chosen noise Related Articles Women s basketball Gophers add - post through portal Women s basketball Gophers add K-State guard Brylee Glenn WBIT Gophers beat Belmont to win championship WBIT Gophers take on Belmont for tournament title WBIT Gophers roll past Florida into another postseason championship contest