Huskers Return Home to Tangle with Lady Lions

The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns home after a successful trip to the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands over the Thanksgiving holiday to take on the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions. Tip-off time for the Wednesday, Dec. 1 game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center is set for 7:05 p.m.

The Huskers enter Wednesday’s game with a 4-2 overall record after finishing with a 1-1 mark in third place at the four-team Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. NU is coming off a 72-54 win over defending MEAC champion Hampton on Saturday.

The win over the Lady Pirates followed on the heels of a 55-45 loss to North Carolina State, which went on to win the tournament title with a win over Louisville on Saturday. The Wolfpack improved to 3-1 in the tournament with their only loss coming to then-No. 1 Tennessee in the opening weekend of the season.

Sophomore Kiera Hardy led the Huskers in both games of the Paradise Jam to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. After breaking out of an 8-for-45 shooting slump with 16 points in the second half against North Carolina State, Hardy went off for a career-high 31 points, including a career-best five three-pointers, in the win over Hampton. The 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., averaged 23.5 points per game in the tournament and was Nebraska’s nominee for Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors.

Through six games, Hardy is Nebraska’s leading scorer, averaging 16.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. Hardy also leads the Huskers with 11 made three-pointers and eight steals, while ranking second on the team with 17 assists.

Sophomore forwards Jessica Gerhart and Chelsea Aubry have provided the Huskers with a solid inside presence early in the season. Gerhart ranks second on the team with 14.5 points per game, while leading the Huskers with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Aubry ranks third on the team with 12.5 points per contest, while ranking second on the club in rebounding with 5.2 boards per game.

Southeastern Louisiana comes to Lincoln for the second time in school history. The Lady Lions, under the direction of third-year coach Lori Davis Jones, own a 2-0 record with wins over Louisiana State-Shreveport and William Carey. Nebraska defeated Southeastern Louisiana 83-59 on Nov. 25, 2000, in the only other meeting between the two teams.

Huskers Close Paradise Jam with Win over Hampton
Sophomore Kiera Hardy scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Huskers to a 72-54 win over Hampton in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam in front of 2,097 fans at the University of the Virgin Islands Sport and Fitness Center in St. Thomas on Saturday night.

Hardy, who led the Huskers in both tournament games after scoring 16 points against North Carolina State, earned a spot on the all-tournament team by averaging a tournament-best 23.5 points per game. She also hit a career-high five three-pointers against Hampton, which slipped to 0-3 on the season.

The Huskers, who opened the tournament with a 55-45 loss to North Carolina State on Friday, bounced back with an impressive effort against the Lady Pirates.

Hardy picked up where she left off Friday night by scoring 17 first-half points, after scoring 16 points in the second half against the Wolfpack. She added 14 points in the second half for her career-best point total, which is the most points scored by a Husker individual since Nicole Kubik scored 32 points against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament on March 8, 2000.

The Huskers, who did not trail in the first half, took their biggest lead on Hardy’s third three-pointer with under a minute remaining in the opening stanza to push the lead to 32-22. Hampton hit a jumper with six seconds left in the half to send the Huskers to the locker room with an eight-point edge.

NU continued to control the action in the second half, pushing the lead to 27 points at 65-38 on a pair of Hardy free throws with 5:36 left in the game. For the game, Hardy hit 9-of-17 shots from the field, including 5-of-10 three-pointers and all eight of her free throw attempts.

Chelsea Aubry added nine points and four rebounds for the Huskers, while Jessica Gerhart managed eight points and four boards of her own. Senior guard Jina Johansen added a solid effort with a season-high eight assists, along with a team-high five rebounds and five points.

In the championship game, North Carolina State defeated Louisville, 54-49, to claim the Paradise Jam title. Marquetta Dickens led the Wolfpack with 17 points and 13 rebounds to join Hardy on the all-tournament team, along with Wolfpack teammate and tournament MVP Tiffany Stansbury. Hampton’s Rachel Butler and Louisville’s Jazz Covington and Missy Taylor rounded out the all-tournament team.

Scouting the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions
Southeastern Louisiana comes to Lincoln with a 2-0 record that includes a pair of wins over NAIA schools to open the season. The Lady Lions opened the year with a 71-67 victory over Louisiana State-Shreveport on Nov. 19, before knocking off William Carey, 60-53, on Nov. 22.

The Lady Lions have featured a dynamic inside-outside duo of Nakeya Downing and Dacia McGowan through the first two games. Downing, a 6-0 senior forward Amite, La., is averaging 15.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. Downing owns a pair of double-doubles already on the season with 18 points and 10 boards against LSU-Shreveport, before striking for 13 points and 16 rebounds against William Carey. Downing also leads SELU with 5.0 steals per game.

McGowan, a 5-6 senior guard from Dallas, Texas, leads SELU with 18.0 points per game, while adding 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals per contest. She has also knocked down a team-high seven three-pointers on the season, including 6-of-12 three-pointers in the win over LSU-Shreveport, on her way to a team-high 23 points.

Junior guard Jenny Brown is the only other Lady Lion to manage a double-figure scoring effort so far this season for SELU. Brown scored 10 points against LSU-Shreveport and ranks third on the team with 7.0 points per game. Taryn Achord (3.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg) and Tai Cawthon (4.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg) round out Southeastern Louisiana’s probable starting lineup.

Cara Porter (6.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Brooke Necaise (6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) have been SELU’s most effective players off the bench.

Southeastern Louisiana is coached by Lori Davis Jones, who is in her third year with the Hammond, La., school. Jones graduated from SELU in 1992 and carries a 21-35 record as the head coach at her alma mater. Jones owns a 199-132 record in her 11th season overall as a head coach.

Nebraska vs. Southeastern Louisiana Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Southeastern Louisiana, 1-0, with the Huskers winning the only meeting 83-59 on Nov. 25, 2000, in Lincoln. Casey Leonhardt led the Huskers in that game with 21 points, as the Huskers sped to a 46-17 halftime lead. SELU rebounded in the second half of that game to outscore the Huskers 42-37 in the final 20 minutes.

No current members of either team or coaching staff were involved in that game, but SELU starting forward Taryn Achord’s older sister, Shanna, earned a start in the first meeting between the two schools and scored five points. Shanna was the top three-point and free throw shooter in school history.

Hardy Breaks Slump in Big Way in Virgin Islands
Sophomore Kiera Hardy snapped out of an 8-for-45 shooting slump (17.8 percent) over three-and-half games with a huge second half in the Huskers’ opening-round loss to North Carolina State at the Paradise Jam on Friday. Hardy’s 16-point second-half effort was the beginning of three tremendous halves of basketball from the 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo.

Hardy’s 8-for-45 slump covered 140 minutes, but she snapped the slump by hitting 7-of-11 field goals for 16 points in the final 20 minutes against North Carolina State. Hardy also hit 7-of-11 field goals in the first half against Hampton the following night to put up 17 points. She added 14 points on 2-of-6 shooting in the second half against the Lady Pirates to finish off a career-high 31-point performance against Hampton.

It was the first 30-point scoring performance by a Husker since the 1999-2000 season and the most points scored by an NU player since Nicole Kubik struck for 32 points against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament on March 8, 2000.

In the Paradise Jam, Hardy hit 16-of-32 field goals to raise her season shooting percentage to 35.8 percent, including a 30.6 percent (11-36) success rate from three-point range. She is also hitting a solid 85 percent (17-20) of her free throws. Hardy’s 11 three-pointers lead the Huskers after hitting a career-best five triples in the win over Hampton.

Hardy opened the season with a then-career-high 28-point performance in a 74-71 win over Western Illinois. She added four rebounds, four assists and two steals in a solid all-around effort.

Hardy enters the Southeastern Louisiana game as Nebraska’s leading scorer averaging 16.0 points per game. She also leads the Huskers with eight steals and ranks second on the team with 17 assists.

Nebraska’s top returning scorer from a year ago when she averaged 9.1 points per game, Hardy averaged 19 points per game in the Huskers’ Postseason WNIT games to close the 2003-04 season. Hardy also led the Huskers last season with 30 three-pointers (tied Jina Johansen) and 45 steals.

Gerhart Sizzling for Super Sophomores
Jessica Gerhart has produced solid efforts through the first six games to tip off her sophomore season. The 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa, ranks second on the team with 14.5 points per game, while leading the Huskers with 6.2 rebounds per contest.

Gerhart hit for a career-high 20 points in the Huskers’ 89-46 victory over Northern Colorado at the Devaney Center on Nov. 19, and followed that effort the next time out with a team-high 19 points in a win over Washington State on Nov. 22.

Nebraska’s most accurate shooter a year ago (56.3 percent; 40-71 FG), Gerhart has nearly matched her production from all of last season in just one-fifth of the games. Through six games, Gerhart is 40-of-72 from the field (55.6 percent) and has scored 87 points, just shy of the 91 points she scored last season. Her team-leading 37 rebounds, are just 15 short of her 52 total rebounds last season. She has also hit four three-pointers already this season, after going without a made three-pointer last season.

Gerhart has sizzled from the field at home. She connected on 10-of-12 shots from the field against Northern Colorado and added a 9-for-13 performance against Washington State. She opened with a 7-of-16 shooting effort against Western Illinois and is hitting 63.4 percent (26-41) of her shots from the field at the Devaney Center. Although she has shot her best at home, three of her four three-pointers on the year have come on the road. She hit the first three three-pointers of her career in the second-round Preseason WNIT loss at No. 10 Notre Dame, where she finished with 13 points

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.

Aubry Gives Huskers’ Solid One-Two Punch Inside
Chelsea Aubry has given the Huskers an impressive inside combination through the first six regular-season games. The 6-2 sophomore forward from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada ranks third on the team in scoring and second on the club in rebounding, averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.

In two games at Paradise Jam, Aubry combined to hit 5-of-7 field goal attempts to push her team-leading season field goal percentage to 57.4 percent. She is also hitting 73.9 percent of shots from the free throw line and leads the Huskers with 23 trips to the foul line.

In her last game at the Devaney Center, Aubry tied her career high for the third time in the first four games this season with 16 points in the win over Washington State. She added a team-high seven rebounds against the Cougars, and led Nebraska’s runaway win in the second half.

With the Huskers leading by one point at halftime, Aubry charged out of the locker room to score Nebraska’s first seven points of the second half. She also pulled down all seven of her rebounds after halftime to help NU erase WSU’s 14-rebound advantage in the first half.

Aubry opened the season with a career-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds in a 74-71 win over Western Illinois in the first round of the Preseason WNIT in Lincoln on Nov. 12. She matched her career high with an even more impressive effort in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame on Nov. 14. She added a solid 11-point, five-board effort in the win over Northern Colorado on Nov 19.

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.

Nebraska’s first-ever Canadian women’s basketball player, Aubry gained international experience this summer by playing with the Canadian Senior National Team. One of the top junior players in Canada, Aubry spent 2003 with the Canadian Under-20 National Team and represented her home country at the World University Games.

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 loss to North Carolina State, Johansen dished out four assists to move ahead of Stacy Imming (1984-87) into sole possession of fourth place on the Husker career assist chart. She added a season-high eight assists in the win over Hampton on Saturday to push her career total of 411, and needs 33 more assists to catch Amy Stephens (1986-89) at No. 3 on NU’s all-time list.

Johansen enters Wednesday’s game with Southeastern Louisiana averaging a team-leading 5.8 assists, to go along with 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest. She had a solid five-point, five-rebound, eight-assist effort against Hampton in NU’s last game.

In the win over Washington State, Johansen established her season scoring high with nine points on a trio of three-pointers to go along with seven assists. She also helped shut down Cougar star Adriane Ferguson in the second half. Ferguson scored 19 points and hit five three-pointers in the first half, before the Huskers switched Johansen to guard Ferguson. Johansen limited Ferguson to just five points in the second half, before Johansen butted heads with WSU guard Jessica Perry and had to leave the game for the final four minutes with a severely swollen left eye.

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. Johansen has started all six games this year and leads the Huskers with 36.0 minutes per game. She owns 69 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.

Huskers Leading Big 12 in Free Throw Success
Nebraska entered the week as the top free throw shooting team in the Big 12 Conference, connecting on 76 percent of its free throws. The Huskers have knocked down 76-of-100 free throws through six games, which is just ahead of Oklahoma State’s 75 percent (33-44) shooting at the line through three games.

The Huskers excelled at the free throw line last season, hitting 74 percent of their shots. For the season, NU hit 382-of-516 free throws.

Jelena Spiric is a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line so far this season, while Elena Diaz has knocked down 91.7 percent (11-12) of her free throw chances. Kiera Hardy has connected on 85 percent (17-20) of her free throw attempts, and Jina Johansen has added an 83.3 percent (5-6) success rate.

Along with the four Huskers shooting above 80 percent at the free throw line, four others are shooting better than 70 percent. LaToya Howell (6-8) and Jessica Gerhart (3-4) are both shooting 75 percent, while Chelsea Aubry has been the most active Husker at the free throw line, connecting on 17-of-23 free throws (73.9 percent). Danielle Page has added 5-of-7 free throws (71.4 percent).

Husker Individuals among Big 12 Leaders
Three Husker sophomores rank among the top 15 scorers in the Big 12 Conference through the first six games this season. Kiera Hardy ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.0 points per game, while Jessica Gerhart sits in eighth place on the league scoring chart. Chelsea Aubry rounds out the NU trio in the top 15 by ranking 13th at 12.5 points per game.

Aubry’s 57.4 shooting percentage from the field ranks sixth in the Big 12, while Gerhart ranks 10th in the league with her 55.6 percent success rate. Gerhart also ranks 17th in the conference in rebounding.

Jina Johansen is the only Husker to lead the Big 12 in a category, as her 5.83 assists per game make her the top passer in the Big 12 through six games. Erica Hallman of Kansas ranks second in the conference with 5.33 assists per game through three contests. Johansen also ranks sixth in the Big 12 with her 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio (35 assists-to-13 turnovers).

Hardy ranks ninth in the conference with 1.83 made three-pointers per game, while her 11 three-pointers on the season are the second-highest total in the conference, trailing only Kansas State’s Preseason Big 12 Player-of-the-Year Kendra Wecker (13).

Howell Solidifies Backcourt after Returning from Injury
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 and made her first start in the win over Washington State.

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. She added seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win over Washington State.

Howell did not start in either game at the Paradise Jam, but still ranks fourth on the team with 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Her 2.5 assists per game rank third on the club.

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.

Junior College Transfers Finding Ways to Contribute
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 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Diaz struck for a career-high 11 points 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 five of NU’s six games this season and produced her best effort of the season with eight points, three steals and two assists in the win over Washington State on Nov. 22. 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 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Bojana Samardziska has played in five straight 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 is averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

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. Drmanac is averaging 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

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

Page, a 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has provided solid contributions through six 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. She added three points, six rebounds and her fifth blocked shot of the season in the win over Washington State.

Page notched her team-leading sixth block of the season against North Carolina State, before failing to record a block for the first time in her young career in the win over Hampton. She did have four points and a rebound against Hampton, after getting two points, four boards, a block and one steal against N.C. State.

Page is averaging 3.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. She leads the team in blocked shots with six. She also ranks third on the team in rebounding despite playing just 14.0 minutes per game.

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 is averaging 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, while adding one block and one steal this season.

Huskers Take Care of the Rock
Nebraska displayed an uncanny ability to protect the basketball through the first four games this season. The Huskers committed just 45 turnovers, an average of 11.3 per game, through the first four 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. NU added just 11 turnovers in the win over Washington State, after committing a season-high 15 turnovers in the win over Northern Colorado.

The Huskers’ 11.3 turnovers per game were 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.

However, the Huskers faced a dominant defense from North Carolina State, and the Wolfpack forced a season-high 25 turnovers by NU on Nov. 27. Hampton applied a variety of full-court pressure packages and forced 19 turnovers, giving NU 44 turnovers in two games in the Virgin Islands. Despite the big numbers at the Paradise Jam, the Huskers are still averaging just 14.8 turnovers of per game and are one of just five Big 12 teams averaging fewer than 15.0 turnovers per contest.

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.

Huskers Hope to Continue Program’s Climb
A year after producing one of the top turnarounds in college basketball, the Nebraska women's basketball team will try to produce another surprising season in 2004-05.

The Huskers ran to an 18-12 overall record and a trip to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament in Coach Connie Yori's second season at the helm.

Nebraska's 10-game improvement from its 8-20 record in Yori's first season ranked as the ninth-best swing in NCAA Division I. It also came as a surprise to coaches and writers around the Big 12 Conference who picked the Huskers to finish last in the preseason polls.

Rather than finishing in the cellar, the Huskers closed the Big 12 season in a tie for seventh with a 7-9 league mark, just missing an NCAA Tournament bid by one win, as the league sent seven teams to the Big Dance.

"We really had a great season based on our perceived potential," Yori said. "As a coach, you want to measure your season based on your potential. We came pretty close to maximizing our potential. Had we won one more game, we would have been in the NCAA Tournament."

After rising to the challenge of proving the pundits wrong last season, the Huskers will face a similar task this season. The Huskers must replace four seniors who joined Jina Johansen in the starting lineup for all 30 games a year ago. Honorable-mention All-Big 12 performers Alexa Johnson and Keasha Cannon-Johnson are gone, along with Margaret Richards and Katie Morse. As a group, those four combined for more than 3,000 points and 1,700 rebounds in their careers at Nebraska.

"We are going to miss our seniors from last season because you can't substitute the experience they gained from four or five years as student-athletes at this level," Yori said. "Our freshmen and junior college transfers will have to start building experiences and learning from them."

Yori Working to Establish Foundation at Nebraska
Now in her third season at Nebraska, Coach Connie Yori has the Husker program moving in the right direction. After the Huskers suffered through four consecutive losing seasons, Yori helped Nebraska turn the corner in 2003-04 by producing one of the nation’s top turnarounds. The Huskers’ 10-game improvement tied for the ninth-best swing in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in 2003-04. More impressively, NU’s 18-12 record came against a powerful schedule that included 19 games against teams that advanced to postseason play.

The Huskers raced to a 10-1 non-conference record that included victories over No. 13 Ohio State and eventual WNIT champion Creighton, before notching one of the biggest wins in school history with an 81-63 victory over No. 9 Kansas State in league play. The Huskers finished with a 7-9 record in the Big 12 to finish in a tie for seventh place. NU was a two-point loss to Missouri or three-point loss to No. 13 Colorado away from earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.

The Huskers made their first postseason appearance since 2000 and played host to a postseason tournament game for the first time since 1993. Nebraska notched just the second home postseason victory in school history with a first-round WNIT win over Drake, before hosting just the third postseason game in school history in the second round against Oregon State.

Along with the success on the court, the Huskers also enjoyed a rejuvenation at the turnstiles, as attendance grew nearly 20 percent from the 2002-03 season. Nearly 450 more fans per game were in attendance at the Devaney Center last year, while 10,000 more total fans came to women’s basketball games than a year earlier. The Huskers averaged nearly 3,100 fans per game in 2003-04.

Although the Huskers struggled to an 8-20 overall record and a 1-15 Big 12 mark in 2002-03, NU players accepted the principles of hard work and conditioning and showed major strides throughout the season. Despite carrying a roster of just five or six scholarship players in 2002-03, NU returned five experienced starters for 2003-04. That group of five starters was a model of consistency, starting all 30 games to help fuel Nebraska’s turnaround.

The Huskers also featured some depth in 2003-04, a luxury they lacked in 2002-03. Yori and her staff made up some major ground on the recruiting trail by adding five freshmen to their 2003-04 roster. They continued their recruiting success by adding one Division I transfer, four junior college transfers and a pair of freshmen for the 2004-05 season.

The 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Yori led Creighton to a 24-7 overall mark and a 16-2 MVC record in 2001-02 to capture the league’s regular-season and tournament titles. Yori’s success at CU in 2001-02 capped a 170-115 career mark at Creighton. Her teams made two trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 2002. Before taking over the top job with the Bluejays, Yori led NCAA Division III Loras College to a 25-25 record in two seasons from 1990 to 1992. She also served as an assistant coach at Creighton from 1986 to 1989.

Yori was one of the top players in Creighton history, and she still owns the school record for career scoring average at 20.3 points per game. She ranks as CU’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer with 2,010 points, and she had her No. 25 jersey retired. She was inducted into the Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

A native of Ankeny, Iowa, the 41-year-old Yori is married to Kirk Helms, and the couple had their first child, Lukas, in early July of 2004.

Huskers Expect to Face Another Challenging Schedule
After playing 19 games against teams that advanced to the postseason in 2004, the Huskers will again square off with another loaded schedule in 2004-05.

The Huskers, who will play a minimum of six 2004 postseason qualifiers during the non-conference season, opened the regular season in the 2004 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The Preseason WNIT began Nov. 12 with the Huskers’ win over Western Illinois (74-71). NU advanced to the second round to take on 2004 NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier Notre Dame. The Huskers fell to the No. 10 Fighting Irish, 73-57 in South Bend. The Irish went on to win the Preseason WNIT title, and the Huskers rebounded with impressive home victories over Northern Colorado (89-46) on Nov. 19, and Washington State (78-61) on Nov. 22.

Nebraska traveled to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam during the Thanksgiving holiday and returned with a third-place showing after falling to eventual champion North Carolina State (55-45) on Nov. 26. The Wolfpack earned a bid to the 2004 NCAA Tournament. NU faced another postseason team and came away with a 72-54 win over 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifier Hampton on Nov. 27.

After home games against Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 1) and Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 7) the Huskers play 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifier Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 11. The Huskers then travel to Omaha to take on 2004 WNIT champions Creighton at the Civic Auditorium on Dec. 18.

The Huskers return home to take on Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20, before closing the non-conference season against WNIT qualifier Memphis at the Devaney Center on Dec. 30.

Nebraska will play 12 of its 16 regular-season Big 12 Conference games against teams that qualified for postseason play. The Huskers’ home conference schedule at the Devaney Center will include battles with 2004 NCAA qualifiers Kansas State, Colorado, Missouri, Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma, along with WNIT qualifier Iowa State. The Huskers will also take on Kansas at home. NU’s road league slate will include all of the North Division teams, along with confrontations with NCAA qualifier Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 280-100 (.737) in games played in the arena, including 99-63 (.611) in conference games.

The Huskers have opened 2004-05 with a 3-0 home record, after running to a 13-4 home mark in 2003-04. NU’s home victory total last year more than doubled its home victory total from 2002-03. The Huskers were 5-3 at home in the Big 12 and 8-1 against non-conference competition, including 1-1 in postseason WNIT play. Nebraska is 2-1 all-time in postseason play at home, with an 81-58 victory over San Diego on March 17, 1993, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Devaney Center. The Huskers added a 73-60 win over Drake in the first round of the WNIT on March 18, 2004, before losing 75-67 in the second round to Oregon State on March 22, 2004.

Attendance is a big part of the Huskers’ success. Nebraska’s average home attendance increased nearly 20 percent in 2003-04 to 3,074 fans per game. The Huskers averaged 449 more fans per game than the 2,625 fans per contest that NU drew in 2002-03. A season-high 5,809 fans witnessed NU’s 2003-04 Big 12-opening win over Iowa State on Jan. 10, while 5,088 fans were in attendance for an 81-63 win over No. 9 Kansas State on Jan. 24.

Over the past six seasons, the Huskers have averaged over 3,800 fans per game, attracting 338,535 fans to the Devaney Center for 89 home contests. Nebraska ranked 14th nationally in average home attendance in 1999-2000 after ranking 15th nationally with a school-record average of 5,000 fans per game in 1998-99. The Huskers established a school record with a crowd of 13,226 fans in the final home game of the 1999-2000 season against Kansas State on Feb. 26, 2000.