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Kiara Buford. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics

All the seats are empty in Williams Arena on a late fall day as the women’s basketball team gears up for an afternoon practice. But freshman Gopher Kiara Buford remembers a day when the stands were anything but quiet. “The traveling basketball team I was on when I was younger came here, and I was a ball girl,” she remembers. Head Coach Pam Borton had just taken the helm, and she probably didn’t pay too much attention to the youngster scooping up basketballs on the sidelines. These days, Buford—a 5-foot, 11-inch guard from St. Paul—is making waves as one of the highly touted freshmen on the Gopher squad.

Borton has traveled across the country to recruit top basketball talent. But for this year’s exceptional recruiting class, she didn’t even have to cross the state border. All four of the rookies are from Minnesota, and all of them had plenty of Gopher memories before they walked onto campus as students last year. Cottage Grove native Jackie Voigt (6-foot, 1-inch forward) had been coming to Gopher sports events

Jackie Voigt. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics

with her parents for years. And twin sisters Brianna and Nicole Mastey (6-foot, 1-inch forwards) watched the Gophers’ NCAA Tournament games from their Becker home whenever they had the chance. “I remember watching one of their games when Lindsay Whalen was here,” Brianna recalls. “I was in seventh grade, and I’d just started playing basketball. I thought, man, it would be pretty cool to be a Gopher.”

Having a Minnesota-heavy recruiting class isn’t just about state pride—it’s about staying nationally competitive, according to Borton. “To get back to the Final Four and to win a national championship, we’ve got to be able to keep the best Minnesota players at home,” she says. With strong high school and amateur programs in the state, Borton says the pool of talent runs deep, and it’s important for the Gophers to attract those top players.

Polls suggest the team has done well in recruiting some of the state’s—and country’s—best talent: A recent Blue Star Basketball report ranked the Gophers’ rookie class as No. 14 in the nation. The four freshmen,

Brianna Mastey. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics

whom Borton describes as among the most athletic and versatile in the team’s history, will need to step up early to help improve on last year’s 20-12 record and earn a NCAA tournament berth.

Borton expects the crew of hometown heroes to generate even more enthusiasm in the stands. “Fans really take ownership of the team,” says Borton. “They feel like this is their program and these are their kids, and people in Minnesota love to see their own kids play.” Brianna Massey says she and her sister will be doing their part to make sure every seat is filled. “We’ve got a pretty big family,” she says. “And they all love to come and watch us play.”

Without a doubt, the four new recruits will also be watched closely by the next generation of Minnesota girls.

For more on the women's basketball team and their latest news, visit their page on Gophersports.com.

—Erin Peterson