The NCAA Division II Central Region women’s basketball championship game was well underway when the last of roughly 100 University of Minnesota Duluth fans settled into their seats, crammed across five midcourt rows at Minnesota State’s Taylor Center in Mankato. Some flashed gold Bulldogs signs. Some held small children. And all spent four quarters of regulation and two overtimes Monday night yelling and stomping their feet to urge on their beloved Bulldogs.
It had been quite a week for the UMD women, one of three teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) to qualify for this NCAA Tournament regional. All three rosters were flush with Minnesotans, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows women’s basketball in the state.
Minnesota high schools and AAU clubs routinely produce so many good players that in-state college coaches rarely need to venture far to stock their rosters. Not every kid grows up to be Lindsay Whalen, Linda Roberts, Rachel Banham, Paige Bueckers or Carol Ann Shudlick. But if you bring ability, savvy and selflessness, coaches will find a place for you.
This season, more than ever, has proved a prolific one for Minnesota talent.
Besides the Northern Sun qualifiers, four Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams with Minnesota-heavy rosters — Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus and Saint Mary’s — made the Division III NCAA Tournament, the most from the state’s premier D3 conference since 1996. Bethel won the MIAC Tournament and Concordia the regular-season title; the others were selected at-large. Concordia advanced the farthest before losing in the Elite Eight. Bethany Lutheran of Mankato also qualified from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).
In Division I, the Minnesota Golden Gophers landed their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018 with four Minnesotans starting: center Sophie Hart of Farmington and guards Amaya Battle of Hopkins, Mara Braun of Wayzata and Tori McKinney of Minnetonka. The only non-Minnesota starter is forward Grace Grocholski from North Prairie, Wis., another state oozing with hoops talent.
And that’s not all.
Mid-major power South Dakota State won the Summit League and its automatic NCAA Tournament bid with three-year starter Madison Mathiowetz (Sleepy Eye), a senior, and freshman reserve Hadley Thul (Alexandria) playing key roles. Summit runner-up North Dakota State, led by league Player of the Year Avery Koenen of Montevideo, made the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), created by the NCAA in 2024 to challenge the established Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
At South Dakota, another squad from the Summit, Patience Williams of Minneapolis starts and Tori Schlagel of Eden Prairie comes off the bench for the WNIT-bound Coyotes. Jenna Guyer (Circle Pines) brings scoring and defense to Horizon League champion University of Wisconsin Green Bay, which faces the Gophers on Friday in the NCAA first round.
That’s quite a list. Toss in dynamic Power Five players like guards Tessa Johnson (Albertville) of South Carolina, Olivia Olson (New Hope) of Michigan and Gianna Kneepkens (Duluth) of UCLA, and you’ve got a hefty list of Minnesotans to watch as postseason tournaments continue.
“I think a big part of that stemmed from a lot of the high school coaches in Minnesota developing players early,” said UMD Coach Mandy Pearson, whose scrappy Bulldogs shocked NSIC champion Concordia-St. Paul, 94-87, in that Monday night regional thriller. “And then I look at people that came out of Minnesota when I was a little bit younger, like Lindsay Whalen.
“I’m never going to compare anyone to Lindsay Whalen. But there are more players that continue to come out of the state of Minnesota, and it’s just creating more and more excitement around girls’ basketball. And it’s really fun to be a part of that.”
Minnesota State Coach Emilee Thiesse just finished her 14th season with the Mavs and fifth consecutive in the NCAA Tournament, winning a national championship in 2024. “In all the time I’ve been recruiting, I’ve always felt Minnesota has been a hotbed for women’s basketball,” said Thiesse, who came to Mankato in 2012 after stints as an assistant at South Dakota State and Drake. “This state has had incredible talent.
“There are so many quality players that really could play at a number of higher level schools. Being able to stay a little closer to home, or whatever is important to them, they have a lot of great options in this state. They don’t have to leave the state to choose great basketball, which is really intriguing to a lot of kids here. Right in your backyard, you can see some of the best Division I programs, some of the best Division II programs, and some of the best Division III programs. That’s really exciting all around.”
MSU wins with a full-court pressing defense that cycles through a lot of players. The Mavs (29-3) began the season 27-0 and appeared on their way to another deep NCAA Tournament run until injuries depleted the rotation. The Mavs lost five players for the season at various points, including starting guard Elisabeth Gadient (Goodhue) as well as her replacement, Lucy Leininger (Germantown, Wis.).
Meanwhile, UMD (23-8), with only two players remaining from its 2023 run to the national championship game, won its first ten NSIC games en route to the conference North Division title. But it lost its only regular-season matchups with Minnesota State, then ranked No. 2 in the country, and defending NSIC champion Concordia-St. Paul. CSP beat UMD again in the conference tournament semifinals, 81-65, before defeating MSU for the championship. The Bulldogs entered the NCAA Tournament seeded eighth in the eight-team Central Region.
Then came the upsets. Last Friday UMD overcame 25 turnovers to stun regional host MSU, 72-63, with Lexi Karge (Mankato) and Claire Bjorge (De Pere, Wis.) combining for 31 points. Mavs standout Natalie Bremer (Lake City), the conference Outstanding Senior of the Year, finished her career as MSU’s top career scorer.
The next day the Bulldogs routed Central Missouri, 81-48, limiting the Jennies to 29.5% shooting. That set up Monday night’s rematch with the 26-6 Golden Bears, winners of a school record 18 straight.
“Losing in the conference tournament was a big blow for us,” said junior forward Grace Counts (Crystal), who won two state championships at Providence Academy with future Minnesota prep scoring leader Maddyn Greenway. “But we got back on our horse and practiced really hard in the week leading up to the bid. So we were ready and just resilient from having that loss.”
CSP appeared to have the game in hand late, leading 66-54 with 7:37 to play. But consecutive baskets by Counts, Ashley Fritz of Hastings (off a turnover) and Bjorge cut the lead in half. UMD eventually tied it at 73 with 1:03 left on two foul shots by senior Myra Moorjani (Eden Prairie), a smooth combo guard. It was 75-75 when Lydia Haack, CSP’s All-Conference senior point guard from Elk River who logged 48:10 of a possible 50 minutes, drove the lane in traffic but couldn’t get a layup to fall with five seconds left.
Haack, gritty and resourceful all night (21 points, four assists and no turnovers), had another chance to win it in the first overtime, drawing a foul with 2.8 seconds left in a tie game while CSP tried inbounding under its basket. But Haack, an 81 percent foul shooter, missed twice. UMD outscored CSP 12-5 in the second overtime to win, then jumped around to celebrate while their fans chanted ‘U-M-D! U-M-D!” Golden Bears players stood off to the side, stunned and sagging, as the Bulldogs accepted the regional championship trophy.
“It doesn’t feel real right now,” said Golden Bears Coach Amanda Johnson, who used only seven players, five of whom went 40 minutes or more.
UMD, meanwhile, advanced to the Division II Elite Eight in Pittsburgh next Tuesday, where it faces Colorado Mesa. It’s another opportunity for another group of Minnesotans to shine in this memorable postseason.
