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Women’s basketball: Gophers get commitment from Wisconsin wing Grace Grocholski

john shipley, pioneer press
·2 min read

The Minnesota’s women’s basketball program just nabbed one of Wisconsin’s top recruits, courtesy of new coach Dawn Plitzuweit: Kettle Moraine’s Grace “G.G.” Grocholski.

A 5-foot-10 wing, Grocholski was headed for West Virginia before the Plitzuweit, then the Mountaineers coach, left to succeed Lindsay Whalen at Minnesota last week. Grocholski was released from her National Letter of Intent and on Sunday declared on Twitter that she had committed to the Gophers.

“I’m happy to announce that I will be attending the University of Minnesota to continue my academic and athletic career,” she wrote. “Once again I want to thank my family, my high school and AAU coaches, and my teammates. After a long recruiting journey, Go Gophers.”

She initially committed to Arizona State but was released from her NIL when coach Charli Turner Thorne retired. ESPN ranked her the 98th overall recruit in the 2023 class.

Grocholski averaged 24.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.8 steals a game and led Kettle Moraine to a 28-1 record and a second straight Division I state championship as a senior.

She was named the Wisconsin Sports Network 2023 wing of the year and was thrice selected to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association all-state first team. During her four seasons at Kettle Moraine, the Lasers went 91-18.

Minnesota has lost two returners since Whalen officially stepped down as coach on March 2.

Post Alanna Rose Micheaux declared she would enter the NCAA transfer portal after averaging a team-high eight rebounds and 13.8 points a game as a sophomore and was honorable mention all-Big Ten. Katie Borowicz, a 5-7 point guard from Roseau, announced last week she is retiring from basketball for medical reasons. She averaged 8.5 points and 3.0 assists a game and shot 37 percent from 3-point range for the Gophers, who finished 11-19 overall, 4-14 after losing to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament on March 1.

But the Gophers have three talented freshmen returning — leading scorer Mara Braun, assists leader Amaya Battle and Mallory Heyer, a 6-1 wing who averaged 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds — and a big recruiting class that includes Sophie Hart, a 6-5 center who left N.C. State in January.

Niamaya Holloway, a 5-11 wing from Eden Prairie and part of a Top Ten recruiting class in 2022, is expected to return from a knee injury this fall, as well.

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