After dominant opener, Gophers women’s basketball team works to improve its tempo

In Monday’s opening game, an 89-48 victory over Central Connecticut, the Gophers women’s basketball team won big, went deep into the bench — Minnesota’s 50 bench points were the most in three years — and showcased some of the new talent that has joined a returning starting five.

Pretty much what it was expected to do.

Or was it?

Ask coach Dawn Plitzuweit and you get a qualified response. The ability to defend without fouling was good, better than at the same point last season.

But: Plitzuweit would have liked more activity off the ball on the defensive end and less of a tendency to get sped up on the offensive end.

That is the tricky part of evaluating nonconference games against mid-major opponents.

You’re expected to win, but also to discover what the group is capable of. At times that can be a tricky process.

The starting five of Mara Braun, Amaya Battle, Sophie Hart, Mallory Heyer and Grace Grocholski is back. But there are a number of new faces. Transfers Annika Stewart (18 points) and Taylor Woodson (10) were in double figures off the bench. Freshmen Tori McKinney and McKenna Johnson scored their first conference points.

Working on rotations is the key as the team prepares to face Vermont on Friday, a significant step up in quality from Game 1.

“We have to figure out what those rotations are,” Plitzuweit said. “What makes the most sense for us. And we’re still putting that together. During [preseason] scrimmage we were putting them in different spots, trying to find out what everyone can do best.”

That will be the key. Plitzuweit and her staff want to go with rotations that play to players’ strengths, put them in positions where they do what they do best and most naturally.”

At the same time, the team as a whole — especially the starters — have to improve.

“We want to play with tempo,” Plitzuweit said.

And there were times Monday when her team — even the starters — got sped up.

“We want to push the ball up the court after stops, but we don’t want to play sped up,” she said. “If we take the ball out of bounds, at half-court, we want to attack, but be in control.”

That didn’t happen enough Monday. The team got sped up while shooting 7-for-22 and scoring 15 second-quarter points. The team operated smoothly in the 26-point third, when the team had 10 assists on 10 made field goals and hit six of 10 threes.

Minnesota will need more of the latter Friday. Vermont made it to the WNIT semifinals — beating Purdue along the way — before losing by three points to Saint Louis, the team the Gophers lost to in the final.

Led by former Monticello High School player Anna Olson (18 points), the Catamounts beat Missouri of the SEC by 16 in their opener.

It is a good next test for the Gophers.

“They’re very disciplined, very patient,” Plitzuweit said. “We showed our team how many times they make things happen and the shot clock is under 5 seconds. They just don’t get sped up. This is a good game for us to prepare for.”

Vermont at Minnesota

7 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena

TV, radio: B1G+, 96.7-FM

About Vermont: Picked to finish high in the America East Conference, the Catamounts are coming off a 25-12 season that ended with a three-point loss to Saint Louis in the WNIT semifinals; the same Saint Louis team that then beat the Gophers by 19 in the tournament final. Much of that team returns, including three-time all-conference forward Anna Olson, the former Monticello High School athlete, who had 18 points seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in Vermont’s 62-46 opening night victory over Missouri, the Catamounts’ first win against an SEC school ever. Missouri was picked to be a second-division SEC team, but it was still an impressive victory for Vermont, which held the Tigers to 12 points in the second and third quarters.