A little more dangerous with Battle playing at a higher level.
“We’ve had to go through that,” Battle said. “We know what to do when a player is down. Having that experience — and the maturity that came through that experience — we kind of know what do to. Having Tori helps.”
That would be freshman Tori McKinney, a quick 6-1 guard who has replaced Braun in the lineup. McKinney has hit seven of 13 shots and four of eight three-pointers and averaged 13.5 points in two starts.
But success with the Gophers this season will start at the point with Battle, who has started almost from the day she got here, who has gone to another level.
It started in the Gophers’ opening game of the Big Ten tournament last season. The Gophers had struggled to a 1-8 finish down the stretch of the conference schedule without Braun. But in a victory over Rutgers, Battle made 10 of 20 shots and her only three, got to the line 15 times and made 11, dished seven assists without a turnover.
From that point to now — the final seven games of last season, which ended in a berth in the WNIT final, and seven games into her third season — some key numbers have changed. For example: In her first 60 games, Battle was a 24% three-point shooter. In her past 14? It’s 51.7. She is 12-for-19 this season. Her rebounding and scoring have remained consistent, but her shooting percentage is up and her assists are down. In her first 60 games, she had a 1.2-1 turnover-to-assist ratio. Since? Nearly 1.8-1. This season it’s been closer to 2-1.
