Gophers' Grace Grocholski is one of the leading 3-point shooters in the nation

Beyond the arc is Grace Grocholski's shot. The junior guard on the Gopher women's basketball team has already hit 57 three-pointers this season, with five games left in the regular season. 

Her consistency has made her one of the top 3-point shooters in the NCAA.

"My team puts me in great spots and gets me those looks," Grocholski said. 

Grocholski is thriving as a Gopher, even though it wasn't her initial school of choice. The North Prairie, Wisconsin, native first committed to Arizona State, but the head coach retired. Then she connected with coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who was at the helm of West Virginia University at the time. Grocholski committed to WVU, but Plitzuweit suddenly took the job at Minnesota and Grocholski trusted her fully and followed, which she says was meant to be.

"I can drive home and back, my family gets to come to way more games than they would of if I was at either of those two schools, so it really was the best situation," Grocholski said.

The Gophers are having their strongest season in the last five years. The roster is staying healthy, which keeps their bench deep, and has led to two ranked wins against USC and Iowa this season.

Grocholski says they have lofty goals of a deep run in the Big 10 tournament and March Madness.

"I think our team, in general, is just clicking the most that we ever have," she said. "I think you can just tell how much joy we're playing with and the energy we bring into those games. When we're having fun, we're playing a lot better."