The Minnesota Golden Gophers are dancing into the Sweet 16, and what a thrilling ride it was in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. On March 22, 2026, the No. 4 seed Gophers edged past the No. 5 seed Ole Miss Rebels, 65-63, in a second-round NCAA women’s tournament showdown that had Williams Arena rocking until the final buzzer. The Gophers, who last reached this stage 21 years ago, punched their ticket thanks to Amaya Battle’s clutch heroics and a team effort that will be remembered for years to come.
The game’s defining moment came with less than a second left on the clock. With the score tied and the tension thick enough to cut with a knife, Amaya Battle took the inbound pass, made her move along the baseline, and coolly drained a tiebreaking jumper. The ball splashed through the net, Battle landed on her back, and a jubilant Minnesota bench stormed the court in celebration. The Gophers had reclaimed the lead, but there was still work to do.
Ole Miss had one final chance, and the ball wound up in the hands of Tianna Thompson. Her three-point attempt from the top of the key looked on line but clanged off the front rim as time expired, sealing the Gophers’ dramatic victory. The home crowd erupted, and the Gophers’ bench mobbed Battle, who finished with a double-double: 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. It was a performance worthy of the moment and the history books.
“Amaya’s poise in that moment was incredible,” Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said after the game. “She’s been our leader all season, and she delivered when it mattered most.”
But Battle wasn’t alone. Mara Braun led Minnesota with 17 points, including a clutch three-pointer that tied the game at 61 with just over a minute to play. Braun’s defensive pressure was also key, as she helped force a crucial shot-clock violation by the Rebels on their next possession. Sophie Hart, the Gophers’ 6-foot-5 post presence, chipped in 10 points and gave Minnesota its first lead since early in the third quarter with a strong move to the basket and a short bank shot with just 18 seconds left.
“We just kept fighting,” Braun said. “Everybody stepped up. We knew we had to dig deep, and that’s what Minnesota basketball is all about.”
For the Rebels, heartbreak came in the final seconds. Latasha Lattimore answered Hart’s go-ahead bucket with a layup of her own, tying the game at 63 with only three ticks remaining. But the Gophers had the last word, and Battle’s jumper sent the maroon and gold faithful into a frenzy.
The loss was especially tough for Ole Miss, who had been aiming for its third Sweet 16 appearance in four years under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. The Rebels, ranked No. 19/20 nationally and boasting a 24-12 record, saw their leading scorer, Cotie McMahon, foul out with 4:22 left after scoring 15 points. Without McMahon’s presence, Ole Miss struggled offensively, going nearly four minutes without a basket during the game’s most critical stretch.
“We knew the SEC is physical—‘the baby WNBA,’ as Coach McPhee-McCuin likes to say,” Battle remarked with a smile. “But we matched their physicality and kept our composure.”
Indeed, the matchup was billed as a clash of styles and strengths. Minnesota’s disciplined ball control and stingy defense—allowing just 57.9 points per game, second in the Big Ten—were pitted against Ole Miss’s aggressive, turnover-forcing defense and physical frontcourt. The Rebels averaged more than 18 turnovers forced per game and scored over 20 points off those miscues, but the Gophers, who typically average just over 11 turnovers, managed to weather the storm. The game was a tug-of-war, with neither team able to pull away for long.
Heading into the contest, Minnesota (now 24-8) had ridden a wave of momentum from a dominant fourth quarter in their first-round win over Green Bay. The Gophers outscored the Phoenix 30-9 in the final period to advance, but knew they couldn’t afford a slow start against the battle-tested Rebels. Ole Miss, for its part, had dispatched Gonzaga in the first round, building a 31-point lead before surviving a late rally. Both teams were hungry, and it showed from the opening tip.
Statistically, the teams were evenly matched. Minnesota entered the game averaging 74.9 points per contest, while Ole Miss wasn’t far behind at 75.6. The Gophers were slightly better from beyond the arc, making 6.5 threes per game at a 34.8% clip, compared to Ole Miss’s 5.2 triples at 29.6%. The Rebels, however, owned the boards, with players like Christeen Iwuala (12.6 points, 8.4 rebounds per game) and Sira Thienou, who recently returned from injury, providing muscle and hustle in the paint.
Both coaches emphasized the importance of protecting the ball and rebounding before the game. “If we don’t match their physicality and take care of the basketball, it’ll be a long night,” Plitzuweit warned. Her team answered the call, especially in the closing minutes.
For Ole Miss, the defeat marked the end of a season filled with promise and grit. The Rebels were making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and were seeded No. 5 for the second year in a row and fifth time in program history. Coach McPhee-McCuin, in her eighth season at the helm, has built a program that expects to compete deep into March, and she was quick to praise her squad’s effort despite the loss.
“We gave everything we had,” McPhee-McCuin said in her postgame press conference. “This group fought all year. We’ll be back.”
As for Minnesota, the Gophers now look ahead to a Sweet 16 matchup in Sacramento, California, where they’ll face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State. It’s uncharted territory for this group, but with Battle, Braun, and Hart leading the way—and a raucous fan base behind them—anything seems possible.
“We’re not done yet,” Battle declared, her eyes set on the next challenge. “We’re going to keep fighting, keep believing, and see how far this run can go.”
With their dramatic victory over Ole Miss, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have reignited memories of past tournament glory and given their fans plenty of reason to dream. The road to the Final Four only gets tougher from here, but after Sunday’s heroics, who’s counting them out?