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Women’s basketball: Niamaya Holloway says she remains committed to Gophers

john shipley, pioneer press
·2 min read

One half of Lindsay Whalen’s big-time, all-Minnesota recruiting class has declared it will stay with the Gophers since Whalen stepped down as coach at her alma mater.

Niamaya Holloway, a forward from Eden Prairie who missed this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during summer practice, said Tuesday on Twitter that she will remain with the Gophers.

“I committed to be a Gopher and that’s what I’m sticking to,” she wrote. “Getting healthy and rehabbing this knee are my biggest priorities. I cannot wait to step on that court in a Gopher jersey!”

Also Tuesday, leading scorer Mara Braun, a guard from Wayzata who averaged 15.6 points for the Gophers (11-19 overall, 4-15 Big Ten) as a freshman, announced she will remain.

The morning after the Gophers’ first-round loss in the Big Ten tournament last Wednesday, the athletics department announced in a statement that Whalen had stepped down after leading the Gophers to a 71-76 record in five seasons. Athletics director Mark Coyle addressed reporters and said the decision was mutual.

Whalen has addressed her decision only in a statement but said she will talk to reporters at a future date. That evening, Whalen tweeted, “My sincere apologies for not being there today as I was overcome with emotion in the elevator on my way to the press conference.”

Holloway is a 6-foot rim-runner who averaged 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3 steals while shooting 62 percent from the field during an all-state senior season at Eden Prairie. She joined junior college post Aminata Zie (Achilles) as players who spent the season rehabbing from summer injuries.

Hollway and Braun are key pieces to the program’s future, half of a four-woman 2022 recruiting class that was ranked in the Top 10 nationally by ESPN and included point guard Amaya Battle and forward Mallory Heyer. Battle led the team in assists (4.4 per game) and Heyer averaged 7.1 rebounds a game for the Big Ten’s best rebounding team.

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