Key takeaways as Minnesota leans on elite defense against Indiana for first Big Ten win

Minnesota was back in action for the first time in eight days on Monday night in Bloomington. The Gophers looked well rested in an impressive 71-48 win over the Hoosiers for their first Big Ten win of the season. Here's what we learned.

Amaya Battle steps up

Battle has had an innificient start to her fourth and final season with the Gophers. As one of the leaders on the team she entered Monday averaging 7.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, but that has come on 29.6% shooting from the field. She has averaged a career-low 1.7 turnovers per game, but her lack of scoring punch has hurt Minnesota in big moments.

She came up big at Assembly Hall on Monday night with a season-high 20 points on 8 of 21 shooting with eight rebounds and only one turnover in 33 total minutes.

Battle up to 1️⃣2️⃣ points tonight!

📺: B1G+ pic.twitter.com/l4XrcSxt6t
— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) December 30, 2025

Best defense in the country?

Minnesota entered Monday's game allowing only 50.1 points per game, which ranked No. 2 in the entire country. They ranked 94th in turnovers forced per game, at 19.3, but that's what gave the Hoosiers fits. The Gophers forced eight turnovers in the third quarter and held Indiana to only five points. The Hoosiers finished the game with 21 turnovers and a 38.5% night from the field.

Quad 1 win

The Gophers tested themselves in the nonconference, but Monday's win is their first Quad 1 victory in three tries this season. What's a Quad 1 win? It's a win over a top-75 team on the road, a top-50 team on a neutral floor or a top-30 team at home. The rankings are based on the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). Indiana entered Monday as the No. 51 team in the NET, so the Gophers' win will land in Quad 1, giving them their first real resume-builder of the season.

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Mara Braun's slow start

A major reason for the hype surrounding the Gophers before this season was the return of Braun, who suffered a season-ending injury in back-to-back years. She averaged 17.0 points on 38.4% shooting from the field in 20 games during the 2022-23 season, and she has struggled to get back to that form through 13 games this season. Minnesota has been able to get the job done without her, but she had only seven points on 3 of 12 shooting from the field on Monday, and it continues to be a storyline worth following.

What's next?

Now 10-3 overall, and 1-1 in the Big Ten, life does not get easier for the Gophers, who will have six days off before hitting the road again for a test at No. 6 Michigan. The Wolverines have started the season 10-1, so it will be another tough task.

Their schedule is very front-loaded with home games against USC and UCLA after welcoming Northwestern to the Barn to round out the first two weeks of January. This win was huge for the Gophers, as the Big Ten looks like the toughest conference in women's basketball once again.