MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Sophie Hart decided about three years ago to transfer home to Minnesota, her then-teammates at North Carolina State sent her off with a clever nickname.
Soph the Goph.
Hart’s father liked it so much he spearheaded a T-shirt line. The merch has been a hot item during her final college season, culminating with the program’s resurgence and return as a March Madness host.
The 6-foot-5 Hart has helped the Gophers, who are ranked 18th in the latest Associated Press poll, reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. They’re the No. 4 seed in their quartile of the bracket and will play Green Bay in the first round at Williams Arena on Friday.
Hart, who was Minnesota’s winner of the Big Ten sportsmanship awards, is averaging 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, both career highs. Her drop-step move on the low block and finishing touch at the basket has become a vital part of a balanced Gophers offense, and her ball skills have continued to be sharpened.
“When I’m about to pass it, I always yell her name and she whips her head around, so I’m thinking it might not get there, but then she always comes up with it,” guard Tori McKinney said. “I’m so thankful for her. I honestly love having her on the team, I’m super sad it’s her last season, but she’s been doing everything to her best ability.”
Hart has become a deft passer out of the post, too, finding backdoor cutters and spot-up shooters with ease.
“I love to see her doing more than one thing. You can’t really guard that,” McKinney said Thursday. “It makes it a lot more challenging, so it works great for us.”
Hart, who was a standout at Farmington High School about 30 miles south of the university, played sparingly at North Carolina State before departing during the 2022-23 season and committing to Minnesota under then-coach Lindsay Whalen. When Whalen left in March 2023 and Dawn Plitzuweit was hired, Hart stuck with her decision and has since enjoyed three years of on-court development and off-court delight.
“This group is so fun to play with,” Hart said. “Coming home, it’s neat to be able to go home for all those little moments. I was able to go to my sister’s bachelorette party, go home for dad’s birthday. Then you go to games, and my elementary school nurse comes, my third grade teacher comes. It’s a community behind you.”
Plitzuweit was well aware of Hart, having recruited Minnesota heavily when she was the coach at South Dakota. She talked to Hart about coming to West Virginia when she was there, before taking the Minnesota job. Plitzuweit’s daughter even played against Hart on the summer tournament circuit.
“Just her resilience, her toughness, her awareness has continued to get better all along,” Plitzuweit said, noting Hart’s eye for details and penchant for delivering feedback to the coaching staff.
When the Gophers, for example, were handed the official scouting report for Green Bay, Hart needled Plitzuweit for making the margins on the page too small.
“I was like, ‘But the font is bigger than normal,’” Plitzuweit said, with only mild protest. “So evidently I messed that up this time. I’m working on that. She makes sure that she keeps us in check.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
