Gophers junior Amaya Battle loves basketball but won't be defined by it

A rule of thumb if you're a Gophers women's basketball fan:

If you run into Amaya Battle after a big game, if you've just watched her do something to help her team win, don't bother asking her about it.

She probably won't remember.

This happens all the time. There was a game against Nebraska last season when Battle took a pass from Mara Braun and hit a game-winning three-pointer with nine seconds left.

Asked about it afterward? "I'm not going to lie," she said, smiling. "I don't remember it all."

Fast-forward to Sunday's victory over Indiana, a much-needed home win that broke a three-game losing streak. Battle scored half of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including two win-sealing free throws with 16 seconds left that made her the 28th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points in scoring.

And she had no idea.

After the game ended and as she was being mobbed by her teammates, she thought they were just celebrating the win. They were celebrating her.

"I was like, 'Cool,' " she said.

This is not to suggest Battle doesn't care.

She does. She's been playing basketball since she was a kid. She loves the game. Ask Braun — Battle's close friend — about all the hours the two have spent early in the morning on summer days working on their shot. Ask her about the time spent before practice and after. Ask coach Dawn Plitzuweit about how much time Battle has spent trying to get better, and you know Battle is dedicated to her game, her team, her teammates.

It's just that she has a different point of view.

Some athletes — even the best ones — brood over every mistake, linger too long on individual triumphs, define themselves only by their sport. Not Battle, the former Hopkins High School star who is in her third season as the Gophers' starting point guard.

Battle plays basketball in the moment. She loves the game but won't be defined by it.

"I take the motto of playing that's just about going out there and just vibing out and finding yourself, your flow," Battle said. "Find your vibe and just go with it.

"Ever since I've been young, whenever I would play a game, I couldn't recall, actually, what I did. That's usually a good sign. Because then I'm playing with a clear mind. That helps me stay super neutral because if I get too high or too low, that usually doesn't go well for me."

So where does this come from? Well, two-plus years of watching Battle play and listening to her talk creates an impression of someone who approaches just about everything with a clear mind and a sense of humor.

It's a point of view that might come from having been on both sides of the camera. She performs on Williams Arena's elevated court for thousands of fans. But Battle has also captured sports from behind the camera. She started by taking pictures on her phone, then graduated to a camera. By last year, she was taking photos for the Minnesota Daily, covering football, basketball, volleyball and even former President Joe Biden's visit to Minnesota in 2023.

"I just take pictures," Battle said. "I don't know if it gives me a different perspective, but I enjoy both [photography and basketball] for very different reasons. They tend to balance each other out."

Teammate Annika Stewart and Battle have grown close in their shared faith. The two talk all the time about staying grounded. "We always remind each other of what matters," Stewart said. "To be where our feet are."

Picking her spots

Right now, her feet are on the path. Battle is averaging 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season, her second straight having to step up with Braun out with an injured foot. Over the last 10 games, Battle has averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, scoring in double figures in all but one game.

"She's attacking more," Plitzuweit said. "That's really helping us. But then you have to attack, but you can't overpenetrate or overattack. Those things are all learned."

Battle has 1,001 career points and has a shot at the program's top 10. Her 426 assists are already seventh on the Gophers' all-time list, and Debbie Hunter's record of 633 is within reach.

Battle is 10th in the Big Ten in assists (4.04), 11th in steals (1.88) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84).

She has upped her scoring, kept her assists steady and dramatically reduced her turnovers. After averaging nearly four turnovers a game over her first two seasons, that number is 2.2 this year.

"She's really stepping into more of a leadership role," Braun said. "She knows what the team needs from her. She's being more consistent, more aggressive. She just knows when to take over.

"When I got hurt last year, she was kind of slow to get used to it and was maybe a little bit more frustrated. This year, she's more comfortable. You can just see it in her game."

To Battle, it's all about having more experience. It's her third year, second under Plitzuweit. She knows what her coach wants, what her team needs.

"The game is slowing down," Battle said.

International dreams

But life is speeding up. Battle has her photography, basketball, school, friends.

Goals.

When she was young, Battle's dad used to say basketball could take her places.

"And I'd be like, 'Whatever. Like, it's taking me to Iowa for an AAU tournament.' And then we went to Europe."

The Gophers did a foreign tour to Croatia and Greece in 2023. "It opened my eyes," Battle said.

She wants to return. "I would love to live there, experience a different culture, different environment," Battle said.

Basketball could be the ticket. But you get the feeling the game is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is not how she defines herself.

"Basketball is still a huge part of my identity, more than I really want to admit," Battle said. "It's been a huge part of my life. But I'm trying to find my identity in other things."

Her faith is a big part of that. School. Her photography. She would like to get into visual media one day, perhaps being a videographer for a professional sports team.

"I can play this game," Battle said. "I have given this game everything I have. But it's not necessarily who I am."

That said, Battle is enjoying the moment, adding her humor to the ride. After a recent game in which freshman Tori McKinney had played well, Battle joked about how McKinney was her third-favorite player (after Stewart and Braun) and how if the team was in "The Hunger Games," McKinney would win it.

In the spring of 2023, news was breaking that Plitzuweit would be the new Gophers coach. Battle, Braun, Mallory Heyer and Nia Holloway were walking to the athletic complex to meet Plitzuweit when Battle came up with a nickname for the new coach: Dawny P.

"Just came to me," Battle said. "I was like, 'Should I ask her if it's OK if I call you Dawny P?" And, literally, that was my first question for her. And it kind of stuck. Apparently, nobody had called her that before. I guess I coined that term. Kind of proud of it."

Kind of picture-perfect. Battle and the Gophers are battling for an NCAA Tournament spot. She is playing her best basketball. Williams Arena is her stage. But Battle is going as much for comedy as she is for drama.

"I want people to describe me as someone who has found joy in whatever it is she's doing and cared about the people around her," Battle said. "I think that's all I got. I don't need much to be happy, I just need to have fun."

Gophers at Ohio State

6:30 p.m. Thursday in Columbus, Ohio

Streaming, radio: Peacock, 96.7-FM

The Gophers (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) ended a three-game losing streak with a home victory vs. Indiana on Sunday. The No. 9 Buckeyes (20-3, 9-3) are coming back from an 0-2 swing to California where they lost to both UCLA and USC, including a 21-point loss against the Trojans in which they shot under 30%. Ohio State is led by 6-0 forward Cotie McMahon, who is ninth in the conference in scoring (16.2).