Gophers, Gators bring a Minnesota flavor to WBIT semifinals

A former star guard from Hopkins High School led her team in scoring Thursday night, made her shots and got to the free-throw line in a come-from-behind WBIT quarterfinal victory.

About 1,500 miles away, another former star Hopkins guard had a career-high 35 points, had 10 assists and made all nine of her free throws in a come-from-behind overtime quarterfinal victory.

Liv McGill and Amaya Battle.

We mention this only because Monday’s WBIT semifinal game between Florida (where McGill is a freshman) and the Gophers (Battle’s team) will be held in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler University campus in Indianapolis.

And it will have a distinctly Minnesota flavor.

Battle is one of four starters from Minnesota on a Gophers roster that has 11 in-state players on it. Playing on a senior-heavy Florida team, McGill is the team’s leading scorer, playing for coach Kelly Rae Finley, a former Breck High School star who won a Class 2A title playing for her dad, Ray, in 2004.

Battle and McGill won a Class 4A championship together in 2022 at Hopkins, along with the Gophers’ Taylor Woodson, a top reserve who is rehabbing a knee injury. That team went 26-1, its only loss coming to Sidwell Friends High School of Washington, D.C., the top-ranked team in the country.

Now, Battle and McGill meet as opposing point guards.

“[McGill] always brought a lot of energy,” Battle said in a phone interview. “She was always in the gym. Every day. Great on both sides of the ball, super-aggressive.”

Said McGill, in Sunday’s pregame news conference: “I’m familiar with a lot of their roster. It’s a great opportunity to come back. It’s full-circle playing with my former teammates and connected with them. Playing them on the court.”

It seems you can’t go anywhere in any tournament without a Minnesota connection. Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit is from Wisconsin and coached in, among other places, South Dakota, so she knows the recruiting scene well.

It appears Finley won’t be on the sidelines for this one, though. She is pregnant with her first child, and her due date is approaching. According to the Gators, Finley is at home on baby watch, and her duties will be assumed by Gators assistant Susie Gardner.

“I’m not nervous,” Gardner said. “This team is so well-prepared. I’ve been preparing for this ever since we knew were coming to this tournament, and I knew Kelly’s due date.”

Finley was instrumental in bringing McGill to Florida. A top-20 member of her recruiting class according to ESPN, McGill came to Gainesville as the program’s highest-rated recruit ever.

Battle was part of a top-notch recruiting class — one that included fellow Minnesotans Mallory Heyer, Nia Holloway and Mara Braun — the Gophers landed in 2022. Woodson transferred from Michigan last April but suffered a season-ending injury Dec. 11.

Both Battle and McGill have been peaking in the WBIT, which features Belmont and Villanova in Monday’s other semifinal.

In victories over Toledo, Missouri State and Gonzaga, Battle has averaged 22.7 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 51.9% from the field. In victories over Northern Iowa, UNLV and Texas Tech, McGill averaged 17.0 points, 6.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 steals.

Battle might have been the key reason why the Gophers — who struggled to finish games down the stretch of the regular season — have found ways to get it done in WBIT. Particularly the Gonzaga game, in which they trailed by eight in the fourth quarter and by six with 3½ minutes left.

“What she did a really good job of is playing simple basketball,” Plitzuweit said of Battle. Plitzuweit was in Pittsburgh on Friday to watch daughter Lexi Plitzuweit win a Division II championship with Grand Valley State. It was the school’s second national title; Plitzuweit coached the first, in 2006.

“She made really good reads. She penetrated early in the game, kicked it and created a lot of opportunities for her teammates. And recognized when she had opportunities at the rim, or to pull up. She made really good decisions. She and Grace [Grocholski] had to play all 45 minutes of that game. To be able to make really good decisions is something that shows a great deal of toughness.”

The only freshman starter for Florida, McGill has emerged as a leader.

“Sometimes it’s difficult for a freshman point guard to come in, especially on a team with six seniors, and be the leader of the team, in terms of on the floor,” Gardner said. “From Day 1, she’s one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached.”

WBIT semifinal: Gophers (23-11) vs. Florida (19-17)

Indianapolis, 4 p.m. Monday

TV, radio: ESPNU, 96.7-FM

The Gophers, which had a No. 2 seed in the tournament, won at Toledo and Missouri State before rallying past Gonzaga in overtime at home Thursday, with Amaya Battle (35 points), Grace Grocholski (20) and Tori McKinney (19) combining for 74 of Minnesota’s 82 points. Both Battle and Grocholski played all 45 minutes. A No. 3 seed, Florida beat Northern Iowa at home, won on the road at No. 2 seed UNLV, then beat Texas Tech at home. Freshman point guard Liv McGill leads the Gators in both scoring (16.5) and assists (5.3). Senior 6-6 center Ra Shaya Kyle is second in scoring (14.4) and first in rebounding (8.8).