Huskers Shoot for Third Straight Win

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s basketball team completes a brief two-game homestand when the Huskers play host to the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7:05 p.m. Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch will call all the action live on the Pinnacle Sports Network (1400 AM-KLIN in Lincoln) and on the Internet with Live Stats at Huskers.com. A live video stream of the game will also be available on Nebraska’s premium website - HuskersNside.

The Huskers (5-2) head into Tuesday’s game riding a two-game winning streak after rolling to an 82-35 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Lincoln on Dec. 1. The 47-point margin was Nebraska’s second-largest win in Coach Connie Yori’s three seasons at Nebraska, trailing only a 58-point rout of Wofford in the 2003-04 season opener. Southeastern Louisiana’s 35 points tied for the eighth-lowest point total by an opponent in school history.

A trio of sophomores have been NU’s most consistent weapons through the first seven games of 2004-05. Kiera Hardy, a 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., leads the Huskers in scoring with 15.7 points per game. She also leads NU with 13 three-pointers and 10 steals, while ranking second on the club with 22 assists. Hardy has led the Huskers in scoring in three straight games, including a career-high 31 points in a win over Hampton on Nov. 27.

Jessica Gerhart, a 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa, ranks second on the team with 13.4 points per game, while leading the Huskers with 6.9 rebounds per contest, including a career-high 11 boards against Southeastern Louisiana. Chelsea Aubry, a 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario, has added 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Aubry is shooting a team-best 58.2 percent from the field, including 50 percent (5-10) from three-point range.

Tennessee-Martin comes to Lincoln with a 1-5 overall record. The Skyhawks, under the direction of first-year coach Tara Tansil have suffered four consecutive losses, including back-to-back setbacks at No. 2 North Carolina (96-36) and Memphis (77-74). The Skyhawks are led by sophomore forward Andreika Jackson, who is averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after averaging 10.8 points and 7.9 boards per game last season.

Huskers Help with Toys for Tots Collection at Devaney
Husker fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Tuesday night before Nebraska’s women’s basketball game with Tennessee-Martin. The U.S. Marines will be stationed at each entry of the Devaney Center to collect the toys to be distributed to needy children for Christmas.

Huskers Roll to 82-35 Win over Southeastern Louisiana
Nebraska held Southeastern Louisiana to one of the lowest scoring outputs by an opponent in school history, as the Huskers rolled to an 82-35 win over the Lady Lions in front of 1,834 fans at the Devaney Center on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

The 35 points allowed by Nebraska tied for the eighth-fewest points surrendered in school history. The school record for fewest points allowed came with 25 points scored by Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 22, 1975.

The Huskers improved to 5-2 on the season, while Southeastern Louisiana fell to 2-1 with the loss.

Nebraska never trailed in the game and carried a 21-point lead at 35-14 into the locker room at halftime. Kiera Hardy capped NU’s first-half effort by knocking down a long three-pointer from the left wing as time expired. Hardy, who scored 10 first-half points and added three assists, produced her fourth consecutive half with double-figure point totals. The 5-6 sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., finished with a team-high 14 points, while adding a career-high five assists.

The 14 points allowed by Nebraska in the first half were the second-fewest in school history by an opponent. The Huskers have allowed 12 points on three occasions, the last time coming against the Missouri Tigers on Jan. 22, 1997.

Sophomore forward Chelsea Aubry just missed her first career double-double by scoring 11 points and pulling down a career-high nine rebounds, while senior guard Jina Johansen added a season-high 10 points to go along with a game-high six assists and four rebounds.

Sophomore forward Jessica Gerhart pitched in seven points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Huskers, who enjoyed a plus-32 rebound margin (55-23) on the night. Ten of the 11 Huskers who saw action in the game scored at least five points.

The Huskers shot 53.2 percent (33-62) from the field, including 41.2 percent (7-17) from three-point range. Southeastern Louisiana hit just 25.5 percent (14-55) of its shots from the field, including just 12.5 percent (2-16) of its three-point attempts.

Scouting the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
Tennessee-Martin carries a 1-5 overall record into Tuesday night’s game with Nebraska at the Devaney Center. The Skyhawks, under the direction of first-year coach Tara Tansil, have suffered four consecutive losses, including Saturday’s narrow 77-74 loss to Memphis. Tennessee-Martin also took a 96-36 loss at No. 2 North Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 2, before falling to the Tigers.

The Skyhawks opened the season with a 55-44 loss at Evansville, before running to a 70-62 win over Kentucky Wesleyan at home on Nov. 21. Tennessee-Martin began its current four-game skid with a 60-57 loss at Siena, before suffering a 79-66 loss to Rhode Island on Nov. 27.

Last season, Tennessee-Martin finished with an 11-16 overall record, including an 8-8 Ohio Valley Conference record. The Skyhawks finished in seventh place in the final Ohio Valley standings in 2003-04.

Sophomore Andreika Jackson has been a leader for the Skyhawks through the first six games, averaging team bests with 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. As a freshman last season, the 5-8 forward averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 boards per contest.

Senior guard Danielle Page provides both scoring and leadership for the young Skyhawks. Page is averaging 8.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest, and leads the Skyhawks with nine three-pointers on 37.5 percent shooting for the season.

Senior forward Jenny Lannom has added 9.3 points and 3.5 boards per game, while junior guard Keva Robinson has also pitched in 7.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Nicole Rivers rounds out UTM’s probable starting lineup with 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and team-leading 2.67 assists per game.

The Skyhawks have shot 39.8 percent from the field and a stellar 77.4 percent from the free throw line on the season. However, the Skyhawks have hit just 25.6 percent of their three-pointers while committing 21.5 turnovers per game. UTM also carries a minus-3.8 team rebounding margin.

The Skyhawks have only one player on their team listed at 6-0 or taller and that is true freshman forward Crystal Fuller, who is averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest as one of the top Skyhawks off the bench.

All five of UTM’s starters are under six feet tall and 10 of the 15 players on the Skyhawk roster are listed at 5-9 or shorter.

Nebraska vs. Tennessee-Martin Series History
Tuesday’s game will mark the first meeting between Nebraska and Tennessee-Martin. Although the Huskers have never faced the Skyhawks on the hardwood, Nebraska has faced several other teams from the state of Tennessee and have struggled to find success.

Nebraska carries just a 1-6 all-time record against teams from the state of Tennessee with the Huskers’ only win coming against Tennessee Tech on Jan. 8, 1980. NU split the all-time series with Tennessee Tech at one game apiece, after losing to Tech on Nov. 22, 1979.

The Huskers are 0-2 against the Tennessee Volunteers, 0-1 against Tennessee-Chattanooga and 0-1 against Belmont. Nebraska is also 0-1 against Memphis, a team the Huskers will face to close the non-conference portion of their 2004-05 schedule on Dec. 30 at the Devaney Center.

Nebraska’s game against Tennessee-Martin will be the Huskers’ first game against a team from the state of Tennessee since losing to the University of Tennessee, 77-58 on Dec. 1, 1984.

Hardy Adds Offensive Firepower for Huskers
Sophomore Kiera Hardy has provided an explosive offensive presence for the Huskers through seven games in 2004-05. The 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., leads the Huskers with 15.7 points per game, while also leading the team with 13 three-pointers and 10 steals. She also ranks second on the team with 22 assists.

Hardy has led Nebraska in scoring in three straight games and four of NU’s seven games this season. She is coming off a 14-point effort in the win over Southeastern Louisiana, after erupting for a career-high 31 points in the Huskers’ win over Hampton on Nov. 27.

Hardy’s 16-point outing against North Carolina State marked the end of a three-and-a-half game shooting slump. During NU’s second, third and fourth games of the season, Hardy hit just 8-of-41 field goal attempts and went 0-for-4 in the first half against North Carolina State before going off for 16 points in the second half. Hardy’s 31-point effort against Hampton 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.

Despite shooting just 17.8 percent over three-and-a-half of NU’s seven games this season, Hardy is shooting 37.4 percent from the field, including 31.7 percent from three-point range. She has also hit a solid 85 percent (17-20) of her free throw attempts. Hardy’s 17 made free throws are tied with Chelsea Aubry for the team lead.

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.

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 seven games to tip off her sophomore season. The 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa, ranks second on the team with 13.4 points per game, while leading the Huskers with 6.9 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 already surpassed her production from all of last season in less than one-fourth of the games. Through seven games, Gerhart is 42-of-78 from the field (53.8 percent) and has scored 94 points, three more points than the 91 points she scored last season. Her team-leading 48 rebounds, are just four short of her 52 total rebounds last season. She has also hit five three-pointers 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 is hitting 59.6 percent (28-47) of her shots from the field at the Devaney Center.

Although she has shot her best at home, three of her five 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 seven 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 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

Over her last three games, Aubry has combined to hit 10-of-15 field goal attempts to push her team-leading season field goal percentage to 58.2 percent.

In her last game at the Devaney Center, Aubry just missed her first career double-double by scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds in NU’s win over Southeastern Louisiana.

In the Huskers’ home win over Washington State on Nov. 22, Aubry tied her career high for the third time this season and powered a strong second-half effort against the Cougars. 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 ago, 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.

Johansen leads the Big 12 with 5.9 assists per game, while adding 5.6 points and 3.3 boards per contest. One of the top passers in Nebraska history, Johansen ranks fourth on the school career chart with 417 assists. She needs just 27 more assists to catch Amy Stephens (1986-89) at No. 3 on NU’s all-time list.

Johansen is coming off a season-high 10-point scoring effort in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. She connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field, while dishing out six assists and pulling down four rebounds in a season-low 24 minutes against the Lady Lions.

In the win over Washington State, Johansen scored 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 seven games this year and leads the Huskers with 34.3 minutes per game. She owns 70 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.

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 Producing Solid Marks at Free Throw Line
Before struggling to hit 9-of-18 free throw attempts in a 47-point win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1, Nebraska ranked as the top free throw shooting team in the Big 12 Conference. Despite the rugged night at the line against the Lady Lions, the Huskers are still connecting on 72 percent of their free throws.

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.

Five Huskers are shooting 80 percent or better from the free throw line, including Jelena Spiric who is a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line so far this season. Elena Diaz has knocked down 85.7 percent (12-14) of her free throw chances. Kiera Hardy has connected on 85 percent (17-20) of her free throw attempts, and Jina Johansen and Jessica Gerhart have added a 83.3 percent (5-6) success rates.

Husker Individuals among Big 12 Leaders
Three Husker sophomores rank among the top 20 scorers in the Big 12 Conference through the first seven games this season. Kiera Hardy ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring with 15.7 points per game, while Jessica Gerhart sits in 13th place on the league scoring chart with 13.4 points per game. Chelsea Aubry rounds out the NU trio in the top 20 by ranking 17th at 12.3 points per game.

Aubry’s 58.2 shooting percentage from the field ranks eighth in the Big 12, while Gerhart ranks 11th in the league with her 53.8 percent success rate. Gerhart also ranks eighth in the conference in rebounding.

Jina Johansen is the only Husker to lead the Big 12 in a category, as her 5.86 assists per game make her the top passer in the Big 12 through seven games. Dionnah Jackson of Oklahoma ranks second in the conference with 5.33 assists per game through six contests. Johansen also ranks third in the Big 12 with her 2.93 assist-to-turnover ratio (41 assists-to-14 turnovers).

Hardy ranks 10th in the conference with 1.86 made three-pointers per game, while her 13 three-pointers on the season are tied for the fifth-highest total in the conference, trailing only Texas’ Jamie Carey (15) and Laurie Koehn (Kansas State), Nina Stone (Oklahoma State) and Emily Niemann (Baylor) who each have knocked down 14 threes on the season.

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 ranks fifth on the team with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Her 3.2 assists per game rank second on the club, while her 16 total assists rank third on the team.

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 4.9 points and 3.1 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. She added the second start of her career in the win over Southeastern Louisiana.

Fellow junior college transfer Jelena Spiric has started five of NU’s seven games this season and produced her best efforts of the season in her last two home games at the Devaney Center.

Spiric is coming off an eight-point, four-rebound performance in the win over Southeastern Louiaiana on Dec. 1, after putting up 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 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Bojana Samardziska has played in six straight games after sitting out the season opener against Western Illinois. The 6-4 center from Colby CC established career highs with eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1. She is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, while tying for second on the team with three blocks.

Ivana Drmanac, a third transfer from Colby CC, played her best game of the season against Northern Colorado. The 6-2 forward scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in 14 minutes. Drmanac is averaging 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

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

Page, a 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has provided solid contributions and is coming off a career-high seven-point effort in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1. Page also tied her career high with eight rebounds against the Lady Lions.

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 an impressive game 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. She produced at least one block in each of the Huskers’ first five games, but has not notched a block in the last two contests.

Page is averaging 4.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She leads the team in blocked shots with six and also ranks third on the team in rebounding despite playing 15.1 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 is coming off a career-high seven-point performance in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1.

White added three points on her second career three-pointer and a career-best three rebounds in the win over Northern Colorado. White is averaging 3.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, and is tied with Jessica Gerhart for third on the team with her 53.8 field goal percentage.

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 15.0 turnovers of per game and are one of just five Big 12 teams averaging 15.0 or fewer 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 running past Southeastern Louisiana, 82-35 at home on Dec. 1, the Huskers will take on Tennessee-Martin on Dec. 7. Nebraska plays 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 281-100 (.738) in games played in the arena, including 99-63 (.611) in conference games.

The Huskers have opened 2004-05 with a 4-0 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.