Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit returned nearly every key piece from last season’s WNIT runner-up team, but she was just as excited talking about her newcomers to begin the second week of official practice.

The Gophers, who finished 20-16 after falling to Saint Louis in the WNIT championship, welcomed back almost an entire roster, including standout guards Mara Braun and Amaya Battle.

“I thought the WNIT run was really good for us to learn a lot of lessons,” Plitzuweit said. “This crew has taken a lot of those lessons and amped them up at this point.”

Before her team took the court for Monday’s practice, Plitzuweit praised how much the six newcomers have worked to improve with the Gophers so far this fall.

“All six of our newcomers are going to provide us with something we really need,” she said.

A few newcomers standing out in Gophers practices are Michigan transfer Taylor Woodson, Nebraska transfer Annika Stewart and UMass transfer Alexsia Rose.

All three transfers are expected to make an impact on a squad that’s entering Year 2 under Plitzuweit’s direction. Rose was the most productive at her previous stop while averaging 11.4 points and recording 67 assists in the 2023-24 season.

“People are going to have a lot of fun watching her play,” Plitzuweit said. “She plays hard, she plays fast, she’s a primary ballhandler and makes a lot of things happen.”

A familiar name in local basketball circles is Woodson, who won two state titles with Battle at Hopkins.

Plitzuweit said the game is starting to slow down for Woodson, which allows her to raise her level of play in practice.

“Taylor’s been great for us,” Plitzuweit said. “That doesn’t mean you play slow, but it means you have to attack and be ready for the next thing. You have to be in total control and awareness of what’s taking place. Last week was the first week that started to happen for her.”

The 6-3 Stewart is also no stranger to the Minnesota basketball scene, having teamed up with Braun at Wayzata in high school, including a third-place finish during her senior year.

“Anni provides us with the ability to shoot it from the perimeter,” Plitzuweit said about Stewart’s 38.5% shooting from beyond the arc last season with the Cornhuskers. “That’s helpful to us with the way we want to play.”

The Gophers women’s team will be represented by Plitzuweit, Braun and Battle at the Big Ten basketball Media Days on Oct. 2 in Chicago. The Gopher men will have coach Ben Johnson and seniors Dawson Garcia, Parker Fox and Mike Mitchell Jr. as representatives on Oct. 3. Head coaches and players from all 18 Big Ten men’s and women’s teams are expected to be in attendance, including from new members Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA.