Huskers Clash with Cougars Monday

Fresh off a dominant 89-46 victory over Northern Colorado on Friday night in Lincoln, the Nebraska women’s basketball team will take the court again on Monday to take on visiting Washington State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers, who improved to 2-1 on the season with the win over the Bears, will clash with the Cougars (1-0) at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or on-line at Huskers.com. The game will be broadcast live on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including 1400 AM KLIN in Lincoln, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling all the action. The game can also be heard around the world on the Internet at Huskers.com, with live stats available. A live video stream is available on Nebraska’s premium webiste - HuskersNside - on a subscription basis.

Sophomore Jessica Gerhart has been a leader for the Huskers early in the season. The 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa, leads the Huskers in both scoring and rebounding by averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 boards per game after a career-high 20 points in the win over Northern Colorado. Fellow sophomore Chelsea Aubry has helped give the Huskers a solid one-two punch inside by averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Gerhart and Aubry are the only two Huskers to score in double figures in each of Nebraska’s first three games.

A third sophomore, 5-6 guard Kiera Hardy, has provided an explosive presence on the perimeter for the Huskers. Nebraska’s top returning scorer from a year ago, Hardy ranks third on the club with 13.7 points per game, while adding 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a team-leading 1.7 steals per game.

Washington State comes to the Devaney Center for the first time after opening the season with a 61-48 win over Boise State in Pullman on Friday night. The Cougars, who managed an 8-48 record in Coach Sherri Murrell’s first two seasons at the school, took the Huskers down to the wire last year at Friel Court, before NU escaped with a 64-56 win thanks in large part to five three-pointers from Heather Kephart. WSU finished last season with a 6-22 overall record, after producing just a 2-26 mark the previous season.

Sophomore forward Kate Benz led the Cougars against Boise State, producing a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Emma Joneby added a double-double of her own with 10 points, 10 boards and five assists.

After taking on Washington State on Monday night, the Huskers will leave Lincoln at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning before departing from Omaha for the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Huskers open the four-team tournament by tangling with North Carolina State on Friday, Nov. 26, at 6 p.m. Nebraska will take on either Louisville or Hampton on Saturday. The championship game of the tournament is set for Saturday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. and will be televised by Fox College Sports. The consolation game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

All four teams in the Paradise Jam qualified for postseason competition last year with North Carolina State and Hampton advancing to the NCAA Tournament, while Nebraska and Louisville earned trips to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Huskers Roll to 89-46 Win Over Northern Colorado
Jessica Gerhart scored a career-high 20 points, leading Nebraska to an impressive 89-46 victory over Northern Colorado in front of a crowd of 2,241 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Friday evening.

Gerhart, whose previous career high was 17 points in the season opener against Western Illinois last Friday, connected on 10-of-12 shots from the floor, and added five rebounds to help the Huskers improve to 2-1 on the season.

"Jess can shoot it," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "And we feel like she has a number of shots and a number of ways to get off shots that make her extremely difficult to defend. She is our best pure offensive player."

Nebraska, which shot 52 percent from the floor, placed four players in double figures, while 10 of 11 players who saw action broke into the scoring column. Junior college transfer Elena Diaz came off the bench to score 11 points, while Chelsea Aubry and LaToya Howell, who missed NU’s first regular-season contests with an ankle injury, each added 10 points.

"The key number for us tonight was 24 assists," Yori said. "We did a very nice job of sharing the ball. We were very unselfish, and those are the types of players we have on this team, and we think that is extremely positive for us."

The Huskers spotted Northern Colorado a quick 5-0 lead before clamping down, holding the Bears to one field goal over a 6:33 span, using runs of 11-0 and 9-0 that turned the five-point deficit into a 20-7 advantage.

Johansen, who dished out a game-high seven assists in 28 minutes, scored all five of her points in the spurt, while Gerhart added four more in the run, as Nebraska led by double digits the rest of the way and cruised to victory.

With her seven assists, Johansen tied current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge (1995-98) for fifth on NU’s career assist list with 392.

Northern Colorado (0-1) got to within 26-13 before the Huskers put the game out of reach, as Aubry’s basket started a run of 11 unanswered Husker points over the next 2:22. NU took a commanding 37-13 lead with 6:45 remaining in the half on a pair of free throws by Kiera Hardy, who finished with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 25 minutes of action.

Nebraska, which shot 57.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, held Northern Colorado to just 30.8 percent shooting, including 4-of-17 from three-point range, and converted 16 UNC turnovers into 20 points in building a comfortable 49-21 halftime cushion.

The Huskers, who enjoyed a 43-26 edge on the glass, were in control the entire second half, leading by as many as 46 points.

Scouting the Washington State Cougars
Washington State comes to Lincoln with a 1-0 record after opening the regular season on Friday night with a 61-48 victory over Boise State at Friel Court in Pullman, Wash. The Cougars trailed the Broncos 26-22 at the half, but ran away with a win by outscoring Boise State 39-22 in the second half.

Sophomore forward Kate Benz played an outstanding game for the Cougars by producing a double-double with game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Emma Joneby added a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 boards, while pitching in five assists.

Senior guard Jessica Perry wreaked havoc on Boise State’s offense throughout the night, snatching a game-high seven assists, while scoring seven points, grabbing five boards and serving up five assists. Junior guards Charmaine Jones and Ariana Scales each added eight points to round out WSU’s starting lineup.

Sophomore guard Stephanie Singer scored five points and grabbed six boards in 24 minutes off the bench. Dani Montgomery (12 minutes) and Crystal Blue (four minutes) were the only other Cougars to see playing time and neither scored.

Washington State found a way to beat Boise State despite shooting just 26.7 percent (8-30) in the first half and finishing the game at just 34.3 percent from the field. The Cougars hit just 3-of-20 three-pointers on the night, including an 0-for-7 effort in the first half. The key to victory for WSU was rebounding, as the Cougars dominated the glass with a 50-29 rebounding margin. Washington State pulled down 26 offensive rebounds, led by nine offensive boards from Benz. WSU’s 21-rebound edge resulted in 21 more shot attempts than the Broncos. The Cougars also forced 26 BSU turnovers.

Coach Sherri Murrell is in her third season at Washington State and the program has made strides in her first two years. In her first season, the Cougars finished with a 2-26 overall record, before improving to 6-22 a year ago. A 1991 graduate of Pepperdine, Murrell’s career record at Washington State is 9-48.

Nebraska vs. Washington State Series History
Nebraska and Washington State have met just one time on the hardwood with the Huskers escaping from Pullman, Wash., with a 64-56 win on Dec. 4, 2003.

Heather Kephart connected on five three-pointers, including four in the second half, to lead Nebraska back from a seven-point deficit at Friel Court. Kephart, who hit four consecutive three-pointers to turn a four-point NU deficit into a five-point Husker lead midway through the second half, finished with 15 points by hitting 5-of-7 three-pointers on the night.

Kephart’s three-point barrage was tied for the 10th-best single-game effort in school history, while she moved into a tie for fifth place on NU’s freshman single-season three-point chart with 15 trifectas through just five games.

Margaret Richards added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists despite battling illness, while Alexa Johnson pitched in 11 points.

Gerhart Leading Way Early for NU’s Super Sophomores
Forward Jessica Gerhart has produced three strong regular-season efforts to tip off her sophomore season. She has been Nebraska’s most productive offensive player through the first three games, averaging team highs with 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. The 6-2 native of Fenton, Iowa, is coming off a career-high 20-point performance in the Huskers’ 89-46 victory over Northern Colorado at the Devaney Center on Friday night.

Nebraska’s most accurate shooter a year ago (56.3 percent; 40-71 FG), Gerhart connected on 10-of-12 shots from the field against the Bears to pull her season shooting percentage to 53.7 percent (22-41). Gerhart added 13 points in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame in the second round of the Preseason WNIT, which included the first three three-pointers of her career.

Her performance at Notre Dame followed a then-career high 17-point, nine-rebound effort in the first-round WNIT win over Western Illinois on Nov. 12. Against the Westerwinds, Gerhart also hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to seal NU’s three-point victory.

Gerhart is already more than halfway to her season scoring total from her freshman campaign, and is nearly 40 percent of the way to her rebounding total from a year ago. She scored 91 points and grabbed 52 rebounds while playing all 30 games for the Huskers last season (255 minutes). She has churned out 50 points and 20 rebounds in 78 minutes this season.

Aubry Gives Huskers’ Solid One-Two Punch Inside
Chelsea Aubry has given the Huskers an impressive inside combination through the first three regular-season games. The 6-2 sophomore forward from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada ranks second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest after a solid 11-point, five-board effort in the win over Northern Colorado on Friday.

Nebraska’s first-ever Canadian women’s basketball player, Aubry played her most impressive game of the young season in NU’s second-round Preseason WNIT loss at No. 10 Notre Dame. She tied her career high with 16 points to go along with four rebounds against the Fighting Irish. She had set her career high just two days earlier with 16 points and six boards in the Huskers’ first-round WNIT win over Western Illinois on Nov. 12.

Aubry was one of Nebraska’s top players off the bench during her true freshman campaign, averaging 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. She played in all 30 games last season and averaged 18.4 minutes of action per contest off the bench.

Hardy Shooting for Super Sophomore Season
Sophomore Kiera Hardy started the 2004-05 season strong with a scintilating performance in the first round of the Preseason WNIT after a pair of solid efforts in exhibition wins over Nebraska-Kearney and Nebraska-Omaha.

Hardy opened her sophomore season with a career-high 28 points to lead the Huskers to a 74-71 win over Western Illinois on Nov. 12. Hardy scored 14 points in each half, hit 10-of-21 field goal attempts, 3-of-5 three-pointers and 5-of-6 shots at the free throw line. Her trio of three-pointers and her four assists also tied career bests, while she added four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Hardy’s 28 points were the most by a Husker since Nicole Kubik scored 32 points against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament on March 8, 2000. Hardy’s performance surpassed her previous career best of 21 points set against Missouri on Feb. 25, 2004.

After closing 2003-04 by averaging 19 points in NU’s games against Drake and Oregon State in the Postseason WNIT, Hardy averaged 20.5 points per game in the Huskers’ exhibition wins this season.

The 5-6 sophomore guard from Kansas City, Mo., opened 2004-05 with a bang by lighting up the Lopers for a 26 points in the Huskers’ 82-52 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Halloween.

Hardy hit 10-of-20 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 three-pointers, while adding a pair of free throws in the effort. Hardy added four rebounds, four assists and a steal in a solid all-around effort against UNK.

In the win over Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 7, Hardy was handcuffed by foul trouble throughout the game but still managed a solid effort with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. She added five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Hardy struggled from the field in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame, connecting on just 2-of-16 shots, while going 0-of-7 from three-point range to finish with just four points. She bounced back to score nine points in the win over Northern Colorado, while pulling down five boards. She tied her career best with four assists and snagged a season-high three steals.

Nebraska’s top returning scorer after averaging 9.1 points per game a year ago, Hardy came on strong at the end of last season, averaging 11.9 points per game over the Huskers’ final seven games. Hardy also tied Jina Johansen for the team lead with 30 three-pointers last season and led the Huskers with a team-high 45 steals as a true freshman.

Johansen Keeps Dishing Out Assists for Huskers
Nebraska’s lone returning starter from a year, senior Jina Johansen continues to provide leadership for the young Huskers in 2004-05. The 5-7 guard from Dannebrog, Neb., who likes to lead by example, continues to help her teammates by dishing out assist after assist.

In Nebraska’s win over Northern Colorado on Friday, Johansen distributed a season-high seven assists to increase her career total to 392, which moved her into a tie for fifth place on the Nebraska career assist chart with current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge. For the season, Johansen is averaging 5.3 assists per game, to go along with 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. Johansen needs just 10 more assists to catch Stacy Imming (1984-87) in fourth place on the NU charts with 402 assists.

Johansen, a preseason honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection by the media, has been a leader both on and off the court in her four seasons at Nebraska. She owns 66 career starts, including all 30 games as a junior and 27 of 28 contests as a sophomore in 2002-03. She has led the Huskers in minutes played in each of the past two seasons and became one of Nebraska’s most dangerous offensive weapons from long range as a junior.

After knocking down just 9-of-36 three-pointers in her first two seasons combined, Johansen tied Kiera Hardy for the team lead with 30 three-pointers in 2003-04, while tying Amy Stephens (1987-88) for the second-best single-season three-point percentage in school history by connecting on 41.1 percent (30-73) of her attempts from beyond the arc.

Along with her increased success from long range, Johansen continued to provide a steady play-making presence for the Huskers by ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 4.8 assists per game. Her 144 assists on the year ranked as the fourth-best total by a junior in school history.

While Johansen helped set the tone for the turnaround of the Nebraska program with her work ethic on the court, she has also established herself as a top performer in the classroom. Johansen is a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and is expected to be a CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee again in 2004-05. She carries a 3.70 grade-point average as a nutrition/dietetics major.

Howell Enjoys First Game in Husker Uniform
After spending the entire 2003-04 season as a redshirt and missing Nebraska’s first two regular-season games in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, LaToya Howell finally played her first regular-season game as a Husker in the win over Northern Colorado.

Despite being limited somewhat while recovering from a severely sprained ankle suffered late in the first half of NU’s exhibition opener against Nebraska-Kearney, Howell scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and distributed three assists in her first appearance against the Bears.

The 5-5 junior guard from Chicago, Ill., was one of the Huskers’ top players in practice during her redshirt season after transferring from Air Force before the 2003 fall semester, and will be counted on to provide the Huskers with major minutes at the guard spot once she returns to 100 percent.

Howell was one of the best players in the Mountain West Conference as a sophomore, earning a pair of Mountain West Conference Player-of-the-Week awards in 2002-03. She started 17 games and averaged 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Her top performance as a sophomore came with a 38-point outburst against Minnesota on Nov. 30, 2002, which tied the school single-game scoring record. She also set the school single-game steals record with eight steals against the Runnin’ Rebels on Feb. 23, 2002.

Despite playing a shortened sophomore season, Howell still set the Air Force single-season assist mark with 119 assists in 2002-03. She also established the school’s single-season steals record with 90 steals in 2001-02. As a freshman, Howell averaged 10.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

Diaz Leading List of Husker Junior College Transfers
Nebraska’s group of four junior college transfers has continued to show improvement early in the season while making the transition to the Division I level.

Elena Diaz has provided the Huskers with the biggest contribution from the quartet, averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Diaz is coming off a career-high 11-point effort in the win over Northern Colorado, which included 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. The junior from Medellin, Colombia, by way of Dodge City (Kan.) Community College added three rebounds and an assist in just 15 minutes of work against the Bears.

Diaz opened the season with a seven-point, five-rebound effort in the first-round Preseason WNIT victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 12, before making the first start of her career in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame in the second round of the tournament.

Fellow junior college transfer Jelena Spiric has started both of Nebraska’s home games this season. A 2004 NJCAA All-American at Colby (Kan.) Community College, Spiric has seen the most time on the court of any of the junior college transfers despite being slowed by a knee injury. Spiric suffered a torn ACL in the final game of her sophomore season and underwent offseason surgery. Her rehabilitation is going well, but she is still far from 100 percent. She is averaging 1.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Bojana Samardziska has shown improvement in each of the last two games after sitting out the season opener against Western Illinois. The 6-4 center from Colby CC established career highs with six points, three rebounds and three assists in the win over Northern Colorado. She enters the Washington State game averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, despite playing just seven minutes per contest.

Ivana Drmanac, a third transfer from Colby CC, played her best game of the season against Northern Colorado as well. The 6-2 forward scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in 14 minutes to raise her season averages to 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Freshmen Contributing Early for Huskers
Freshmen Danielle Page and Sarah White have shown promise through the first three games of the season for the Huskers.

Page, a 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has provided a growing contribution in each of the first three games. After going scoreless in the season-opening win over Western Illinois, Page struck for six points, five rebounds and her second blocked shot of the season in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame.

Page played her most impressive game of the year with six points, a career-high eight rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots and one assist in just 14 minutes in the win over Northern Colorado.

Along with averaging 4.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Page owns four of Nebraska’s five blocked shots on the season and has had at least one block in each of the first three games.

While Page was expected to contribute early in her career, White’s production has been a pleasant surprise for the Huskers. NU coaches had considered redshirting White this season as she made the transition from high school post player to college wing player, but injuries to Nebraska backcourt players Heather Kephart, LaToya Howell and Jelena Spiric forced White into action earlier than expected.

The 6-0 native of Topeka, Kan., stepped up to the challenge. After going scoreless in eight minutes in the season-opening win over Western Illinois, White struck for six points, including her first career three-pointer, in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame. She added three points on her second career three-pointer and a career-best three rebounds in the win over Northern Colorado. White also owns the Huskers’ only other blocked shot this season, as NU’s two freshmen have combined for all five of the Huskers’ blocks through three games.

Looking Ahead: Scouting the Paradise Jam
After taking on Washington State on Monday night, the Huskers will suffer through a short night’s sleep to leave Lincoln at 4:30 a.m. to catch a flight out of Omaha for their next game.

Fortunately, the early risers will be rewarded when they arrive at their destination in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening. The Huskers hope to enjoy four days and five nights, including the Thanksgiving holiday, in St. Thomas.

But the trip will be far from a vacation for the Huskers. Nebraska will take part in the four-team Paradise Jam, which includes a field filled with 2004 postseason teams.

The Huskers tip off the tournament on Friday, Nov. 26, at 6 p.m. by taking on North Carolina State at the University of Virgin Islands Sport and Fitness Center. The Wolfpack earned a spot in the 2004 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 17-15 overall mark that included an 8-8 mark and a third-place finish in the ACC.

North Carolina State is coached by Kay Yow, who is in her 30th season with the Wolfpack and approaching win number 600 with the Raleigh, N.C., school. She entered the season with an overall career record of 653-300 in 33 collegiate seasons.

If the Huskers can get past the Wolfpack, they will face the winner of Friday’s second game between Louisville and Hampton. Louisville, coached by Tom Collen, earned a trip to the WNIT last year and finished with a 20-10 overall record after finishing second in Conference USA with an 11-3 mark. Collen has four returning starters and nine returning letterwinners from last year’s team, including sophomore center Jazz Covington, who averaged 16.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Cardinals a year ago.

Hampton claimed a trip to the 2004 NCAA Tournament by winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. The Lady Pirates finished with a 17-13 overall record, including a 14-4 mark in MEAC play last season. First-year coach Walter Mebane has three returning starters and eight returning letterwinners from last year’s club.

The championship game of the tournament is set to be played on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m., with television coverage by Fox College Sports. The consolation game will follow at 8:30 p.m.

Huskers Take Care of the Rock
Nebraska has shown an uncanny ability to protect the basketball through the first three games this season. The Huskers have committed just 34 turnovers, an average of 11.3 per game, through the first three contests, including a season-low nine turnovers in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame.

NU committed just 10 turnovers in the season-opening win over Western Illinois, despite playing with an injury-depleted backcourt and a roster that included seven newcomers who have seen significant playing time this year.

The Huskers’ 11.3 turnovers per game are just ahead of school-record pace for the fewest turnovers per game in NU history. Nebraska established that record with 369 turnovers in 32 games in 1991-92, a season that Nebraska finished with a 21-11 record and won the first NCAA Tournament game in school history.

Last season, the Huskers committed just 488 turnovers (16.3 per game), which ranked as the second-lowest total in school history, trailing only the 369 turnovers in 32 games in 1991-92 (11.5 per game).

The Huskers achieved their third-lowest turnover total with 497 total turnovers (17.8 per game) in Coach Connie Yori’s first season at Nebraska in 2002-03. The Huskers have produced two of the top three turnover marks in school history in Yori’s first two seasons at the helm.