5 key takeaways from the Gophers' 60-point win over Manhattan

The Gophers had their second game of the season against a mid-major opponent and delivered another dominating 99-36 win over the Manhattan Jaspers. Let's break down the key takeaways from Friday night's game at the Barn.

Mara Braun's performance

Tuesday night's season opener was Braun's first college basketball game in 352 days. She had a relatively quiet night with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 2 of 8 shooting from the field. She had a much better performance on Friday with 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field and a 3 of 7 mark from three-point range. She left the game against North Dakota with what head coach Dawn Plitzuweit confirmed were cramps, so it might behoove Minnesota to slowly ease its star back into the game.

Mara Braun tonight vs. Manhattan

17 points (most since 11/8/24)
FGs: 5-10
3P: 3-7
FT: 4-5
3 rebounds

pic.twitter.com/sA5deuMh0u
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) November 8, 2025

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Similar rotation

G: Amaya Battle
G: Mara Braun
G: Grace Grocholski
G/F: Tori McKinney
C: Sophie Hart
6th: Brylee Green
7th: Finau Tonga
8th: Taylor Woodson
9th: Makenna Christian
10th: Niamaya Holloway

Dawn Plitzuweit deployed a similar rotation for the second straight game. With the surprise transfer of Mallory Heyer less than two weeks before the regular season, it seemed possible that she would be more open to changing things up early in the season, but it was the same starting lineup and the same order of players off the bench as Tuesday's opener.

Who's the top scoring option off the bench?

Christian led the team with 23 points in the season opener off the bench, and Tonga also had 14 points and seven rebounds. It was a quieter night for Minnesota's bench on Friday, with 30 combined points as a unit, most of which came when the game was well out of hand. Woodson is still working her way back from a significant injury, and it could be a different player on a nightly basis for the Gophers.

Grace Grocholski's playmaking

Grocholski has almost become the forgotten guard in Minnesota's starting rotation. The junior from Wisconsin nearly had a triple-double against the Jaspers. She finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, proving that her playmaking might be the most underrated aspect of her game.

Amaya Battle doing the little things

Battle went scoreless in the season opener, but she had 10 rebounds and seven assists. Friday was also not a clean performance, but she continues to do the little things as this team's veteran point guard. She finished nine points, six assists and four rebounds, showing that she will do whatever the team needs on any given night.

The Gophers will now prepare for their toughest test so far with the Marquette Golden Eagles coming to down for a Tuesday night matchup at the Barn. It will be a huge step up in competition for Minnesota against a formidable Big East opponent.