After making the NCAA tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005 last spring, the Gophers women’s basketball has high expectations for this season.
Now, they’ll have to do it without their leading scorer.
Tori McKinney, a junior guard from Minnetonka, has been sidelined for the season by a knee injury.
“Last week, we learned that an injury Tori McKinney sustained in practice was confirmed to be a season-ending knee injury,” head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said in a statement released by the team on Monday. “We are heartbroken for Tori, but we know she will attack her rehabilitation with the same enthusiasm, determination, and relentless effort that she plays with.”
Minnesota finished tied for fourth in a stacked, 18-team Big Ten and made the NCAA tournament field for the first time since 2018. The Gophers beat Green Bay and Mississippi in first- and second-round NCAA tournament games at the Barn before losing to eventual champion UCLA in the Round of 16.
McKinney led the team in scoring with a 12.7-point average and steals (1.95) in 12 games.
The Gophers are not unaccustomed to playing without key players. Forward Taylor Woodson missed the past two seasons because of knee injuries, and is still recovering from second surgery, and were without star guard Mara Braun for most of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
Those were all winning seasons, and the Gophers won 25 games and the postseason Women’s Invitational Tournament in 2025, but couldn’t crack the NCAA tournament bracket.
They added a large handful of talented veterans through the transfer portal last spring, including point guard Leah Harmon from Central Florida, and welcome two highly prized freshman guards in Natalie Kussow and Tori Oehrlein. But losing McKinney, a 6-foot-1 wing, is a setback.
She is one of the team’s best defenders and has become a leader and one of the Gophers’ most versatile offensive players in her first two seasons. She recently finished a gold medal-winning turn with the U.S. national 3×3 team at the Nations League Americas Conference in Ñuñoa, Chile.
There wasn’t much Plitzuweit couldn’t orchestrate with McKinney on the floor.
“Injuries are among the most difficult parts of sports, but Tori will not face this challenge alone,” Plitzuweit said. “Her teammates, coaches, and our medical staff will be there providing support and encouragement every step of the way.”
“We are incredibly proud of Tori’s determination and growth,” the coach added, “and we cannot wait for her to be back on the court with us next season.”
The Gophers are scheduled to open this season Nov. 2 against Harvard at Williams Arena.