As Gophers' Amaya Battle heads to the Sweet 16, her Hopkins coach is cheering her on
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It was one of those sports moments that felt like magic: a close game that would decide who went home, and who moved on in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. Then, Gopher guard Amaya Battle got the ball and shot a perfect, game-winning swish with less than a second left on the clock.
Battle’s former coaches, Tara Starks and Alexis Garcia, watched from Hopkins High School as the University of Minnesota beat Ole Miss, earning a ticket to the Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years.
“I'm so glad that she had an opportunity, to be in that moment and to take that shot,” Starks told MPR News host Nina Moini. “No person, no player, deserved it more than she did.”
Part of a legacy of basketball
Starks says she first met Amaya Battle before she played for Hopkins — before she even participated in a basketball camp. She tagged along with her babysitters, Nia and Sydney Coffey, who came before her as basketball powerhouses in the west metro suburb.
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“[Amaya] would sit along the sidelines with her basketball,” Starks said.
With nine state titles, the Hopkins program holds the record for the most championship wins in Minnesota girls basketball. It’s helped produce stars like the Coffeys, and famously, Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers and Battle played at Hopkins together, winning the state championship in 2019. Last year, Bueckers was drafted as the first overall pick by the WNBA’s Dallas Wings after helping the University of Connecticut claim its 12th NCAA title.
Starks told MPR News she works not only to get players to the top of their game, but to support them through extraordinary mental and physical pressures that have only increased in recent years. “I just try to tell them to stay grounded, keep working, and whatever's meant for you is meant for you,” she said.
Starks says she’s not surprised to see her former players making national sports headlines year after year. She has seen them work hard whether their goal was to go professional, win a national championship or get college paid for. She said Battle tends to stay focused on the moment in front of her. “She's always just been, ‘hey, I'm going to do whatever I need to do. I enjoy playing. I love my teammates. I'm loyal to my program,’” Starks said.
Staying in Minnesota
These days, Battle’s program is the University of Minnesota. Her mother, an alumni, dreamed of her playing for the Gophers, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
During Battle’s senior year of high school, her mother died suddenly. Starks said through her grief, she stayed devoted to basketball and the team. “I have never seen her waver,” she said.
Starks texts Battle periodically to tell her how proud she is and how proud her mother would be. Battle’s accomplishments on the court include making more assists than nearly any player in Gopher history, taking Lindsay Whalen’s second-place spot this season. Off the court, Battle is a photographer for the student newspaper, The Minnesota Daily.
“She's a very good person,” Starks said of Battle. “I love that young lady to death.”
Battle is part of a group of Minnesotans recruited to stay here to play for the Gophers, including Mara Braun, a fellow guard from Wayzata. When they play the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16 Friday, Starks will be cheering them on, even if that means watching from the hospital. She told MPR News she’s scheduled for knee surgery hours earlier.
Starks believes the 4th-ranked Gophers can beat the top-seed Bruins.
“I truly believe, the guards can match up with UCLA guards,” she said. Her coaching advice is to stay physical with Bruins center Lauren Betts and “just stay together.”
“You guys have this pride of, we're Minnesota kids,” she said. “We've stayed together. We stayed in Minnesota. Take that into this game.”
The Gophers and Bruins will tip off in Sacramento Friday at 6:30 C.T.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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