Amaya Battle turned Williams Arena into a madhouse on Sunday, dropping a last-second jumper that lifted Minnesota past Mississippi 65-63 and punched the Gophers’ first ticket to the Sweet 16 in 21 years. Off an inbounds play with the game tied, Battle took the pass near the paint, worked along the baseline, and buried the jumper with 0.7 seconds left to cap a wild final minute packed with lead changes.
How The Finish Unfolded
On the decisive play, Battle caught the inbounds pass near the lane, dribbled toward the baseline, and rose up for a smooth jumper that splashed through with 0.7 seconds remaining, then collapsed to the floor as the crowd exploded, according to ClickOnDetroit. Mississippi rushed the ball the other way, and Tianna Thompson got a clean look at a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but it clipped the front of the rim. When the shot fell short, Williams Arena erupted and Minnesota’s players swarmed their senior point guard at center court.
Numbers That Mattered
Battle filled up the box score with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while Mara Braun poured in a team-high 17 points and Sophie Hart added 10, as reported by The Associated Press. Braun’s clutch 3-pointer with 1:17 left pulled the Gophers even and set the table for the chaotic closing stretch. Hart then powered in a drop-step bank shot with 18 seconds to go that briefly pushed Minnesota back in front, only for Latasha Lattimore to answer with a layup with 3 seconds remaining.
Cotie McMahon fouled out for Mississippi with 4:22 to play, finishing with 15 points, and the Rebels went the next 3:41 without scoring, a drought that flipped momentum to Minnesota, per ClickOnDetroit. The victory pushed the fourth-seeded Gophers to 24-8 and dropped the fifth-seeded Rebels to 24-12 on the season. When the final horn sounded, teammates and coaches met in a mass hug at midcourt as Minnesota celebrated a long-awaited trip to round three.
What’s Next
With the win, Minnesota heads to Sacramento to face the winner of Monday’s regional matchup between top-seeded UCLA and eighth-seeded Oklahoma State, according to The Associated Press. The Gophers will try to bottle their home-court swagger and bring it west as the tournament shifts into Sweet 16 play later this week. An Elite Eight berth would mark the program’s deepest run in years, so the stakes only get bigger from here.
For Minnesota, this was more than a win; it was a program marker and a reminder of how one possession can tilt an entire season. Battle, a senior guard who has been a steady presence for the Gophers all year, drew the loudest ovation, per her team bio on the University of Minnesota Athletics site. Fans quickly flooded social media with reactions to the finish as the Gophers get set to head west with a fresh shot at reshaping this season’s narrative.
