The offense, while it can be up and down, is balanced. The Gophers are middle of the pack in the Big Ten in scoring overall. Their leading scorer among healthy players is backup center Annika Stewart (11.6, 36th in the Big Ten). But Plitzuweit’s rotation has three players averaging in double figures and seven averaging 7.7 points or more. Tuesday’s victory was a prime example of this. Battle scored 13, Grace Grocholski 12, Sophie Hart 11, Mallory Heyer nine, both McKinney and Stewart seven.
They have continued to win despite losing Braun to a foot injury after five games and losing backup forward Taylor Woodson to a torn ACL in Game 12.
McKinney has been impressive, scoring in double figures in all but two games since taking over as a starter. She had a career-high 25 points in the victory over Penn State, a career-high in assists (six) Tuesday.
