When the Gophers emerged victorious on Sunday — downing then-No. 21 Southern California, 63-62 — it marked a major moment for the program, with Minnesota sealing its first win over a ranked opponent since 2019.

Gophers point guard Amaya Battle dribbles the ball during Minnesota’s game against USC at Williams Arena on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 (Brady Paitrick / Gophers Athletics)

But there wasn’t too much time for the Gophers to celebrate their victory. A chance for a program-defining victory is on the docket.

“It doesn’t get any easier with UCLA coming,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said at her postgame press conference. “We’ve got to get recovered as quickly as possible, and then take on UCLA and see how we can battle and that’s not a very easy thing to do.”

No, it isn’t.

There are no easy days in the Big Ten — eight of the conference’s 18 teams are ranked and four more, including Minnesota, received votes in the latest AP poll — but it also doesn’t get tougher than what the Gophers will see Wednesday.

The Gophers will play host to No. 3 UCLA, which comes in at 15-1 on the season, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Williams Arena. The Bruins serve as Minnesota’s stiffest competition to date.

They are led by senior center Lauren Betts, a projected top-five pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft who averages 16.4 points to go along with 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, both of which are top-five marks in the Big Ten.

At 87.1 points per game, the Bruins are the ninth-highest scoring team in the nation with four different players averaging at least 13.9 points per game. It’ll be a good test for the Gophers, who currently allow 51.8 points per game, which is tied with No. 1 UConn for fewest in the nation.

Minnesota is currently a No. 8 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology projection. A win over a top-ranked foe would go a long way toward cementing the Gophers’ chances of dancing in March.

While the Gophers lost their first two games this season against ranked foes — Maryland and Michigan — they remained competitive in each, taking Maryland to double overtime before falling by just a point to Michigan in Ann Arbor after getting out to an early lead.

In Sunday’s game, the Gophers overcame a 19-0 USC run in the second quarter, with Plitzuweit praising her team’s ability to “do the little things really, really well” in the big win over the then-ranked Trojans.

“We can say it all we want ‘We can compete at the highest level,’” Plitzuweit said. “But then to actually come out on top, it certainly helps you from a confidence standpoint, or it should at least moving forward.”

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