As a freshman, Mara Braun quickly found her shoulders full. Because of injuries, the guard from Wayzata — part of Lindsay Whalen’s Top 10, all-Minnesota recruiting class — was doing it all by the end of the season.
A natural off guard, she began playing big minutes at the point. She was the team’s go-to scorer, averaging a team-best 15.6 games a game. She was the Gophers’ best scorer off the dribble, led the team in 3-point attempts (186) and makes (65) and averaged a team-high 32.9 minutes.
Minnesota guard Mara Braun smiles with a teammate during the Gophers’ 78-73 victory at Illinois last Sunday. No. 19 Minnesota begins Big Ten Conference tournament play on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Keelen Barlow/Gophers Athletics)
That team finished 11-19 overall, 4-14 in the Big Ten.
Sidelined by a foot that required two surgeries to repair, Braun spent the next two seasons as a student coach, watching while her teammates grew, and coach Dawn Plitzuweit added talented new teammates.
Last year, the Gophers won the postseason Women’s Basketball Tournament and a program-best 25 games. So, Braun knew the team she was rejoining on the court was considerably better. But finding room for Braun wasn’t difficult. It was a luxury.
“She’s had a spot,” Plitzuweit said, “and she’s done really well with it.”
Braun is now averaging a career-low 11.7 points, but on a team with five players scoring in double digits — Tori McKinney (13.6), Grace Grocholski (12.5), Amaya Battle (10.9) and Sophie Hart (10.9) are the others — on a team that heads into this week’s Big Ten Conference tournament with the No. 4 seed.
After receiving two byes, Minnesota (22-7, 13-5) will play in a quarterfinal Friday against Ohio State or the winner of Wednesday’s late game between Wisconsin and Illinois. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.
“I think we’re pretty confident, but also it’s just such a good opportunity to do something we’ve never done before,” Braun said. “Usually we’re playing on the first day, so it’s nice to be here, to be able to go and play on Friday, and with the momentum we have.”
Braun also is playing her best basketball at the right time, averaging 13.7 points. 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists while making 46.9 percent of her 3-point attempts (23 for 49). As important, she’s having a blast.
“It’s really fun,” she said. “We’re so excited just to be loose and have fun with it.”
Playing loose wasn’t always easy for Braun. After the Gophers’ victory over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Feb. 18, she acknowledged that she used to stew over mistakes on the court. Back playing after two years largely spent rehabbing a serious foot injury, that’s no longer an issue.
That, she said, wouldn’t be fair to her teammates, or to the Braun who spent two years working to get back on the court.
“It would be selfish to hang my head and be so upset about something that happened on the court when I’m on the court playing,” she said. “That’s something I wanted to do these past two seasons. So, to me it’s just selfish to my past (self), wanting to be on the court so badly. And now I am.”
Plitzuweit said Braun’s game is rounding out, on both ends of the floor, and that her leadership has been invaluable on and off the court. It’s not all about points.
“She wants to be the very best, she wants to continue playing, and I believe she’s going to be able to do that at a very, very high level provided she stays healthy and all those kinds of things,” Plitzuweit said. “But to be at your best, you have to grow your game, and that’s what she’s trying to do.”
When Braun arrived on campus with Battle, Mallory Heyer and Niamaya Holloway in 2022, she said the goal was to be part of the team that reaches the heights, and generates the excitement, of the 2004 Final Four team.
Heyer is gone, transferred to Oregon, but Braun, Battle and Holloway are seeing their goals manifest.
No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 8 in the NET rankings, the Gophers are bound for their first NCAA tournament since 2019 and have a good chance to play host to first- and second-round regional games at Williams Arena.
“We’ve been through this all, the start of it and the hard times. We got through it together,” Braun said. “I think because we did go through it together, everyone has bought in.”
Minnesota guard Mara Braun, right, drives on Ohio State’s Kennedy Cambridge during the 23rd-ranked Gophers’ 74-61 victory at Williams Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Braun finished with 18 points. (Claudia Staut/Gophers Athletics)
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