Gophers women’s basketball has studied — and cheered — the Lynx

Count the Gophers women’s basketball team among the many diehard supporters of the Minnesota Lynx, especially during this year’s playoff run.

Arguably the hottest tickets in town are for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night at Target Center.

While Gophers standout Mara Braun and company are preparing for their upcoming season that starts Nov. 4 vs. Central Connecticut State, they jumped at the opportunity to see the Lynx play the New York Liberty this week.

“We were lucky enough to get tickets,” Braun said Tuesday. “We’ll all be there as a team. That will be fun.”

Several Gophers players have attended Lynx games throughout what has been a special season with the WNBA’s second-best record.

The excitement surrounding the WNBA and women’s basketball seems to be as booming as ever locally and nationally. Their college counterparts hope there’s some carryover to their season, too.

“Just seeing the atmosphere and all the Minnesota basketball fans — hopefully they can support us as well,” Braun said. “Obviously we have to produce on the court as well. We’re looking forward to that.”

Senior center Sophie Hart said the Gophers appreciate their loyal fanbase, but they hope to attract new fans to games this season much like the Lynx have at home.

“A lot of our season-ticket holders go to Lynx games,” Hart said. “We might call out to them to try to recruit people.”

Coach Dawn Plitzuweit said she’s much more familiar with Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s team since taking over the Gophers women’s program last season.

“The Lynx are playing at such a high level,” Plitzuweit said. “They play with great toughness. They play with great togetherness, so it’s good for us.”

The Gophers had film sessions this summer where they watched Lynx game video, especially with All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier.

“Phee is someone who is impacting the game in so many ways,” Plitzuweit said. “We’ve watched a lot of her clips and how she does basic, fundamental things at an incredibly high level.”

In September 2023, Gophers incoming recruit Kennedy Klick suffered a season-ending right knee injury in fall practice, but she’s making progress toward playing for the first time this year.

Plitzuweit said the 5-11 guard from Maple Grove has fully healed from her injuries, but Klick just started the “controlled contact” stage with the team in drills Tuesday.

“That’s a really big moment in her transition,” Plitzuweit said. “She looks really good in what she’s doing and really locked in.”