Several new faces dawned the white threads for the Gophers women’s basketball team on Monday night, most of whom quickly shook the new-team jitters.

The Gophers opened their season against Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). The match marked the first-ever meeting between the two teams, as well as the maroon and gold debut for the Gophers’ transfers.

Transfer graduate student Annika Stewart led the game with 18 points, four rebounds and one steal. Close behind her was the Gophers’ leading scorer from last season, Mara Braun, with 17 points.

The abundance of scorers worked in favor of the Gophers as they defeated CCSU 89-48. 

Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit credited her team’s success against CCSU to the team’s camaraderie. 

“We played really well together for the most part,” Plitzuweit said. “Whether it’s history, whether it’s bonding, whatever it is that connectivity was really high.”

Seconds after subbing into the first quarter, Stewart scored a 3-pointer off a turnover, her first career points for the Gophers.

“It felt pretty good out there, it was fun to be back and be playing again,” Stewart said. “This whole offseason I was like ‘When’s the first game going to come?’ I was just waiting for it.” 

Stewart played the last four seasons with Nebraska but she is no stranger to Minnesota basketball. Stewart hails from Plymouth, Minnesota and played on the girl’s varsity basketball team alongside Braun from 2018 to 2020.

This year’s Gophers roster boasts 11 Minnesota natives out of the 15 total rostered players.

Sophomore Taylor Woodson, a Minnetonka native, transferred to the University of Minnesota from Michigan at the end of last season. She said having a team of Minnesotans strengthens their team dynamic.

“We all know each other fairly well, either we played against one another or played with each other,” Woodson said. “That bond piece was already here when I transferred.” 

Woodson played at Hopkins High School with junior guard Amaya Battle. On Monday, Battle contributed on the defensive end with seven rebounds. 

The Gophers tested several lineups against CCSU, with 14 of their 15 players getting court time.

Plitzuweit said the coaching staff started working in the third quarter to figure out how to use the team’s depth to their advantage and when different lineups made sense. 

“I thought our depth is something that is going to provide us different looks for opponents,” Plitzuweit said. “An opportunity to maybe guard a little bit differently, an opportunity to maybe score in different ways.”

Despite Stewart playing high school basketball with Braun, she said being close to family and having another opportunity to play college basketball as a fifth-year is what drew her to Minnesota.

Similarly, Woodson credited her family and the excitement of being back around familiar faces for being the reason she transferred.

Plitzuweit said playing against a new matchup in the Northeast Conference provides a learning opportunity for the coaches and team alike.

The Gophers return to Williams Arena on Friday when the team plays Vermont.