Gophers junior guard Mara Braun will not travel with the University of Minnesota women’s basketball team to its tournament in New Orleans later this week. Instead, she’ll stay behind and have surgery on the right foot she re-injured last week.
“She’ll have the surgery and get back to working on her recovery,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.
Plitzuweit said a decision on whether Braun will attempt to return this year is still pending. “It’s way too early to tell,” she said.
Last season it took about two months for Braun to return. It remains to be seen how her recovery goes this time, but Braun would be eligible for a medical redshirt should she miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
The Gophers were 5-0 when Braun stepped wrong and re-injured the foot in the morning shootaround prior to the Nov. 20 game against Eastern Illinois. She has watched the last two games from the bench, wearing a walking boot.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season the Gophers are 21-6 with Braun in the starting lineup, 6-10 without her. The Gophers have beaten both Eastern Illinois and Montana since Braun’s latest setback. Next up, they’ll play Houston on Friday in New Orleans.