Reusse: Grace Grocholski’s sharp shooting could give Gophers chance against UCLA

The Gophers had their first Big Ten meeting with the UCLA Bruins last February in Los Angeles. The visitors’ underdog status was substantial, with UCLA unbeaten and featuring Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 center on the way to being a unanimous All-America.

Coach Dawn Plitzuweit and her staff attempted a dramatic strategy: They had the Gophers surround Betts, either preventing a pass into the post or forcing the superstar to give up the ball once it was in her hands.

“It was kind of what you have to do,” said Grace Grocholski, now a Gophers junior. “It worked for a while. We held Lauren to six points. But she made the passes, and then her teammates started making shots.”

Trailing only 33-28 at halftime, the Gophers lost 79-53, and Betts had a career-high 11 assists.

“She’s the best player in the country for a reason,” Plitzuweit said.

This season, UCLA will be the visitor on Jan. 14, and Betts now has another dangerous teammate: Her sister Sienna, a 6-foot-4 freshman.

What’s the scouting report? “On her sister?” Plitzuweit said. “She’s very good. Of course.”

There are reports that several busloads of Kneepkens fans from Duluth will be arriving — which could help to reach 7,000 or so customers in Williams Arena.

That could be considered some well-deserved enthusiasm for these Gophers, considering Grocholski’s 25 points led them to a 63-62 victory over No. 21 Southern California on Jan. 11.

It was the Gophers’ first win over a ranked opponent since November 2019 — an 0-for-36 stretch against those difficult foes.

“JuJu Watson is out for the season, obviously, but USC still is very good,” Grocholski said. “They still have Jazzy Davidson and other standout players. That was an exciting win for us. Our crowd was really into it. The fans helped us a lot.”

Grocholski arrived along with Plitzuweit for the 2023-24 season. Grocholski had been both a basketball and volleyball standout at Kettle Moraine High School, a top division school in Wisconsin.

According to the Waukesha County Freeman, the regional newspaper, chants of “G Money” rang out for Grocholski as Kettle Moraine’s 47-40 state title victory over Brookfield East was winding down in 2023.

Grocholski’s quote about the state tournaments to the Freeman was:

“It means everything. Some people don’t even get out of regionals. I’ve been here [to the state tournament] five times.”

Grocholski played in the same AAU program, the Wisconsin Lakers, starting in grade school. The senior versions of that program traveled extensively.

“That’s where we first saw Grace, with her AAU team,” Plitzuweit said. “We were at South Dakota then and didn’t really have a chance to sign her. Grace actually was verbally committed to Arizona State.”

“I had made a real connection with this coaching staff,” Grocholski said. “Then, Dawn left for Minnesota. I was able to get released by West Virginia.

“I do believe these coaches have the ability to grow you as a player and a person. They have done that for me.”

Grocholski’s basketball training started young, taking on older sister Hailey on the hoop in the driveway. Hailey went to full-time volleyball later in high school and was a Division I player at Presbyterian in South Carolina.

Grace Grocholski was in the lineup as a freshman for the Gophers. She was mostly a catch-and-shoot guard then. Putting the ball on the floor and getting her shot would make her much more dangerous as a scorer.

“Grace understands the motion offense, that you’re not just a shooter,” Plitzuweit said. “She’s a winner-type player; you knew she would figure it out. She understands the game at a high level.”

Grocholski repeated in a conversation a few times it was her confidence in the entire coaching staff that led her to Minnesota. She mentioned movement and ball screens and other elements learned from these coaches, but what about the factor that had separated Grace since the days in the driveway with sister Hailey: “Shooting” — from a distance?

“That would be Coach Ty [VanWinkle],” Grace Grocholski said. “We shoot every day. He’s terrific.”

Grocholski is shooting 52.5% from the field and is 41 of 85 (48.2%) on 3s this season. That’s close to terrific. More will be much-needed against Lauren Betts … and now her sister.