Scoggins: Dawn Plitzuweit’s Gophers show their toughness in charge to NCAA tournament

Dawn Plitzuweit created three “pillars” she wants outsiders to see, know and expect from her Gophers women’s basketball program.

Toughness. Togetherness. Find a way.

In that order.

There’s a reason she put toughness first. Sustained success in women’s basketball has been an elusive result at Minnesota historically. Knocking down those walls requires tough individuals.

“When you do little things well and keep stacking them up,” Plitzuweit said, “then you have toughness.”

Her team is earning that label step by step, win after win.

The Gophers are charging toward the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018 in Plitzuweit’s third season as coach. The good-vibe groove continued Thursday, Feb. 12, with an 84-67 win over Nebraska at Williams Arena that extended the team’s winning streak to seven games.

Most people associate basketball toughness with diving on the floor for loose balls, taking charges, setting hard screens, rebounding with force. All those things fall under Plitzuweit’s description, too, but she goes even deeper.

“Passing with your outside hand so you take care of the ball, playing off two feet, meeting a pass,” she said. “It’s a different way to look at toughness.”

Her players leaned on that fortitude after Nebraska trimmed a 21-point deficit to only six late in the fourth quarter. The Gophers dug in and made a series of winning plays in the clutch to secure the outcome.

“Those plays separate you from other teams,” star guard Mara Braun said.

The Gophers are distinguishing themselves in other ways, too.

Every coach preaches the importance of limiting turnovers. If it were that simple, every team would have low numbers.

For Plitzuweit, the process starts with habit-building in practice and making sure every single drill features a decision-making component. She wants players to find the right balance between risk/reward and playing free of worry.

“You go back and look at film and you go, ‘Why did we throw that pass?’” she said. “Well, you’re going to make mistakes. You’re not going to be perfect.”

Their toughness is equally evident on defense. The Gophers allow only 55.9 points per game, best in the Big Ten and 18^th nationally.

They have held 11 opponents to 50 points or less. Only UConn and Fairleigh Dickinson have done that more times.

Their formula reads like it’s ripped from a Basketball 101 manual: Limit turnovers, limit opponent scoring.

“The part that is truly challenging about the Big Ten is, you can do everything right defensively and they can still score,” Plitzuweit said. “There are so many times where I’ll look at a team and they’re 10^th in the country in field goal percentage and fourth in the Big Ten.”

She chuckled at that statement. The conference is unrelenting. Ten teams are ranked in the Top 25 in NET this week.

“For us, that means we have to do things right as many times as possible,” Plitzuweit said. “We can’t break down very often.”

Winning validates and reinforces good habits and does wonders for the collective mood. The Gophers are a group that clearly enjoys being together. Their chemistry on the court is merely an extension of their closeness away from basketball.

Plitzuweit describes it as “competing with joy.” She doesn’t want players to be so serious that it makes them uptight and tense. And not so loose that their competitive edge disappears.

The Gophers are operating perfectly in the middle.

Plitzuweit likewise is having a blast coaching her team. Sitting courtside during a quiet moment before practice Wednesday, she shared an image she has in her mind.

“When we get to the point where our players are busting their tails and they’re getting after it and they can smile and laugh and have a good time doing it, then we can do some really special things here,” she said.

Plitzuweit paused to glance up at banners hanging from the Williams Arena rafters to emphasize her thought.