Gophers women use depth to roll past Marquette 90-47

There was a preseason coaches poll for Big East women’s basketball that produced the less-than-shocking news that Connecticut was the unanimous choice at 100 points to win the league. Marquette was second at 85 points, with Seton Hall (80) and Villanova (74) also competing to lead the futile pursuit of Geno Auriemma’s 12-time national title machine.

Which would allow the witnesses to Tuesday night’s contest in Williams Arena to make this statement: “If Marquette is to be the second-best team in the Big East, trailing only UConn, look out for Dawn Plitzuweit’s third edition of the Gophers.”

Losing longtime starter Mallory Heyer to an October decision to leave the team, and then top reserve Taylor Woodson to an injury Friday, the Gophers managed to display still-existent depth against a qualified opponent in Marquette after easy victories over North Dakota and Manhattan last week.

The Gophers took over in the second quarter and cruised to a 90-47 victory.

Injuries to Braun and Woodson kept the Gophers out of the NCAA field last season. To guard against similar depth issues, Plitzuweit was able to bring in two graduate transfers in guard Brylee Glenn from Kansas State and 6-foot-2 forward Finau Tonga from St. Mary’s [Calif.].

Heyer’s departure from the roster was unexpected, but that new pair — along with talented freshman guard Makena Christian from Lomira, Wis. — has allowed Plitzuweit to what early on appears to be quality depth.

High quality, actually, if Marquette truly turns out to be a top-few Big East finisher.

And this Glenn, the former K-Stater … she will burst past a defender on the perimeter.

This was a game in which the Gophers had 24 assists compared with eight turnovers and outshot the opponent 50.7% to 32.7% from the field ... good stuff playing eight or nine deep.

BOXSCORE: Gophers 90, Marquette 47

“Absolutely, it was a major point of emphasis to have a deeper team this season,” Plitzuweit said. “We played hard up and down the roster tonight. We had to do that, because I do believe Marquette is going to be a good team.”

The Gophers did not permit that to be the case on this night.

Tatum Woodson was a standout senior guard on a Hopkins team of great expectations (as usual) in 2024-25. The Royals were playing the fourth game of the season vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s on a neutral court, and Tatum suffered a season-ending ACL injury to her right knee.

Woodson had signed with Belmont University in Nashville. “Tatum was just cleared for 5-on-5 two weeks ago,” said her father, John, on Tuesday. “It is likely that she will be redshirting this season.”

Tatum’s knee injury occurred Nov. 30. Older sister Taylor was playing her 12th game for the Gophers on Dec. 12, a blowout victory over Jackson State. She drove for a basket, went down and limped off the court without putting weight on her left leg.

Turned out to be an ACL injury and season-ending surgery was required.

There was hope early last season that those knee injuries would be the end of the bad injury luck for the Woodson sisters. And then came Friday night, in another unmerciful blowout being administered by the Gophers — this time to Manhattan.

Taylor originally went to Michigan and came home to Minnesota as a sophomore for the 2024-25 season. “She wanted to come back for a few reasons, including a chance to play again with Amaya Battle, a best friend from those Hopkins days,” John Woodson said.

How’s Taylor handling this setback? “She’s down right now, but she will have the surgery and jump into the recovery,” her father said.

Brian Cosgriff, the Hopkins coach for many titles — including the Paige Bueckers era, with Taylor three grades younger as a starter — is among those not doubting that Woodson will be back in 2026-27, for a redshirt junior season with the Gophers.

“Great kids, great parents, just a great family,” Cosgriff said. “Johnny is from Houston. He originally came here to play Gophers football — for Jim Wacker. Mom is Jenny ... terrific, from a family that’s been in a travel business for a long time."

Note: Hopkins did win the Class 4A state title this past March even after the loss of star guard Tatum Woodson to her early-season knee injury.