MINNEAPOLIS — Amaya Battle drove toward the lane before dribbling back for more space along the baseline to launch the shot she — and everyone else who has ever picked up a basketball — has long daydreamed about.
First came the swish, immediately followed by the joyful screams.
Then after watching Ole Miss’ attempt at a winner hit the front of the rim and fall short, Minnesota unleashed a celebration of the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 in 21 years with a 65-63 victory in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament Sunday.
“I think any basketball player, when you shoot on your own, you’re like, ‘OK, three, two, one,’ throw it up there and see what happens,” said Battle, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. “It was real life today.”
The women’s tournament has otherwise been lacking in upsets and buzzer-beaters, particularly since Clemson’s apparent 3-pointer at the end of regulation in the first round Saturday didn’t count because of a clock operation error in an eventual overtime loss to Southern California.
Battle, the sister of NBA player Jamison Battle, delivered that shining moment for the highlight reels in her final game at Williams Arena. This was the first game of the tournament decided by fewer than three points, with the home-court advantage that Minnesota made sure to secure well in advance — on the hunch this team could earn a top-16 seed — coming through loud and clear.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.
The No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8), who had a crowd of 10,763 on their side, were more than happy to have their senior point guard on a team with plenty of capable shooters take the crucial final shot.
“We practice it almost every day before every game, so it’s nothing really new,” said Mara Braun, who led the Gophers with 17 points. “She hits those shots every day in practice over our scout guys. Everyone I think knew that it was in.”
Battle landed on her back after the follow-through, sat straight up and hoisted both arms straight up in the air to signal the make as her teammates swarmed her in the corner in front of the bench.
“That’s out of a Disney movie,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said.
Not lost in the shuffle of the epic ending was the charge Battle drew on Cotie McMahon with 4:22 left that fouled out the Ole Miss star with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor.
“That was our best defense, not having her on the court, very honestly,” Plitzuweit said.
Added Battle: “She got a ton of buckets out of me, on us, and it was because she was powering through. I was like, ‘All right, I’m just going to try to fall and see what happens,’ and it worked out.”
McMahon, who won the SEC Newcomer of the Year award after transferring from Ohio State and is widely expected to be a first-round draft pick in the WNBA draft next month, picked up her second foul early in the first quarter and was limited to 21 minutes in the game.
“I was dealt the cards that I was dealt. I just handled it and still tried to make the right plays for my team,” McMahon said.
McPhee-McCuin was a little less diplomatic, expressing her dismay with the officiating on McMahon.
“I just haven’t seen the best players get fouled out,” McPhee-McCuin said. “From my point of view, the last call was incorrect. We watched it 1,500 times. One of the things I do understand is that officials are human and environments create them to officiate in a particular type of way. I don’t think that’s why we lost the game. I just know that Cotie is our leading scorer, newcomer of the year, all of the things, and she plays 20 minutes, and it’s disappointing. These fans deserved more than that. The game deserves more than that.”
