Huskers Close Regular Season at Colorado

The Nebraska women’s basketball team will play its regular-season finale on Wednesday, March 2, when the Huskers travel to the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes at 8 p.m.

Nebraska’s game against the Buffaloes will be carried live on radio by the Pinnacle Sports Network on 98.1 FM-KFGE in Lincoln, along with free Internet audio on Huskers.com. A live video stream of the game is also available to subscribers of HuskersNside - the premium website of Nebraska Athletics.

A win for the Huskers over the Buffaloes would give Nebraska its ninth Big 12 Conference win of the season and its first winning record in the Big 12 since finishing 10-6 in 1999-2000. Nebraska (16-11 overall, 8-7 Big 12) matched its league victory total from its previous two seasons combined with a strong 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16 in College Station.

Unfortunately, the Huskers have dropped three straight games since beating A&M, marking NU’s second three-game losing streak of the season. After opening the conference season with a 3-0 mark, the Huskers slipped to .500 with three consecutive losses, before rebounding with three consecutive wins to improve to 6-3. NU improved to 8-4 in the league with back-to-back wins over No. 14 Iowa State and Texas A&M, before its recent downturn.

Regardless of Wednesday’s outcome in Boulder, Nebraska’s Big 12 finish will be its best in the past five seasons, as the Huskers have guaranteed their first .500 or better league mark since 1999-2000.

Despite the recent setbacks, Nebraska has secured a top-half finish in the Big 12 Conference standings. The Huskers have secured the No. 6 seed at the Big 12 Tournament, and will play 11th-seeded Oklahoma State on Tuesday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Colorado will be the 12th seed at the tournament and will play the No. 5 seed on March 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Colorado (8-18, 1-14) will try to knock off the Huskers on an emotional night at the Coors Events Center, as 22-year CU Head Coach Ceal Barry will be coaching her final game in Boulder. Barry, who owns 509 career victories, including 426 at the helm for the Buffaloes, announced her retirement from coaching on Thursday, Feb. 24.

Barry owns a 33-13 all-time record against Nebraska. Barry is 20-2 all-time against the Huskers in Boulder, with Nebraska winning its first two games against her CU teams on the Buffs’ homecourt. NU defeated Colorado 84-62 to open the Big 12 season at the Devaney Center on Jan. 5.

Scouting the Colorado Buffaloes
The Colorado Buffaloes come into Wednesday night’s game at the Coors Events Center with an 8-18 overall record and a 1-14 Big 12 mark. Win or lose against the Huskers, the Buffs will be the No. 12 seed at next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Colorado’s only conference win this season came on Jan. 18 in a 56-51 victory at Missouri, the team that defeated Nebraska in overtime on Saturday night in Lincoln.

Legendary Colorado Coach Ceal Barry will be on the sideline for her last game on Wednesday. Barry, who is completing her 22nd season as CU’s head coach, owns 426 wins at the school and 509 victories overall in her 26-year career. She announced her retirement from coaching on Thursday, Feb. 24, but plans to stay at CU as an assistant athletic director for student services.

Barry, who has coached and won more games than any head coach of any sport in CU history, has guided Colorado’s program since the 1983-84 season - Nebraska Coach Connie Yori’s sophomore season at Creighton.

Barry’s first team finished with a 10-18 overall record and a 3-11 Big Eight mark. That Buff team was swept by the Huskers during the regular season, marking the last time that NU swept CU in the season series. Barry’s inaugural season is one of just five losing seasons in her tenure.

The Buffs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 12 times in Barry’s 22 seasons, including last year’s trip to the first round of the tournament. Since making the first appearance in school history in 1988, Barry’s CU clubs have advanced to three Elite Eights and six Sweet 16s. Her all-time NCAA Tournament record is 17-12.

While Colorado’s program has historically had great success, the Buffs have struggled through the 2004-05 campaign. The Buffs are averaging just 62.4 points per game, while surrendering 71.7 points per contest. Despite featuring one of the tallest lineups in the Big 12, the Buffs have been outrebounded by 1.7 boards per game and own one of the league’s worst team turnover margins (-2.3).

Colorado is just 4-9 overall at home, including 0-7 in Big 12 play. CU’s narrowest home game in league action came with a 58-55 loss to Missouri on Feb. 12. Five of the Buff’ home league losses have been by double digits.

Freshman forward Jackie McFarland has been CU’s top offensive threat during the season, averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. McFarland has started just five games this year. Sophomore swing player Jasmina Ilic has led the Buffs in Big 12 play with 11.1 points per game, while making nine starts in the league. Ilic is the only other CU player averaging in double figures with 10.0 points per game on the season.

Colorado’s lone senior starter, Veronica Johns-Richardson, will be making her final appearance at the Coors Events Center on Senior Night. Johns-Richardson has started all 26 games and is averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 3.0 assists per game. She is the only Buff with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (77-to-73).

The only other senior on CU’s roster, Sarah Lini, may make her sixth start of the year on Senior Night. The 6-0 forward from Aarhus, Denmark, has averaged 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game this season. True freshman center Kara Richards has produced solid numbers with 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while joining Johns-Richardson and sophomore Anna Nedovic in the starting lineup all 26 times this year. Nedovic, a 6-4 forward from Ballerup, Denmark, is averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 boards per contest. Junior guard Whitney Law rounds out CU’s probable starters with 6.6 points and 3.7 boards per game. Freshman guard Yari Escalera has also seen plenty of playing time this season for CU, averaging 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds while playing 20.7 minutes per game.

CU has been one of the worst shooting teams in the Big 12, hitting 39.7 percent of its shots, while allowing opponents to shoot 43.3 percent from the field. Colorado has hit a solid 33.7 percent from three-point range, including 20 or more three-pointers from four players (Ilic, Johns-Richardson, Nedovic and Law). However, the Buffs have allowed opponents to hit an amazing 37.8 percent of their three-point attempts, while surrendering 7.0 three-pointers per game.

Nebraska vs. Colorado Series History
Colorado has controlled the series with Nebraska, posting a 37-18 record dating back to the first meeting on Jan. 31, 1976. The Huskers won that game 59-53 and opened the series with three straight wins. CU has dominated the series recently, running off nine consecutive wins before the Huskers upended the Buffs 84-62 in Lincoln to open Big 12 Conference play on Jan. 5. Nebraska has not swept the season series with Colorado since Coach Ceal Barry’s first year at CU in 1983-84.

In the first meeting between the two schools this season, Kiera Hardy led four Huskers in double figures with 22 points, while Jessica Gerhart pitched in 16 points. Senior point guard Jina Johansen added 13 points and seven assists, while Bojana Samardziska came off the bench to score 10 points.

Jasmina Ilic led three Buffs in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Veronica Johns-Richardson contributed 13 points. Kara Richards added 10 points and six boards in a losing effort. The Buffs hit 41.7 percent (10-24) of their three-point attempts, but hit just 15-of-42 shots (35.7 percent) from inside the arc. Along with shooting the ball well from long range, the Buffaloes posted a plus-10 rebounding margin against the Huskers.

Nebraska answered CU’s rebound margin with a plus-10 turnover margin by forcing 25 CU turnovers, while committing just 15 of its own.

NU’s win in Lincoln marked the first win of Coach Connie Yori’s career over Colorado. She was previously 0-4 against CU as the Husker head coach.

Husker Quick Tips
The Huskers will be shooting for their ninth Big 12 victory of the season against Colorado. NU has not had a winning record in the league since 1999-2000, the last time the Huskers advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Nine league victories would surpass Nebraska’s Big 12 win totals from the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons combined. 4Eight of Nebraska’s 11 losses have come against opponents who are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The only unranked teams NU has lost to are Creighton, Kansas and Missouri.

Nebraska’s 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State was its largest in school history over a ranked opponent. The Huskers have played 10 top-25 opponents this season, posting wins over No. 2 Baylor (103-99 3OT) and No. 14 Iowa State. Eight of NU’s 11 losses have come against teams currently ranked in the AP top 25, while six of the setbacks to ranked foes have come on the road.

Nebraska’s season-high crowd of 13,023 for the Kansas State game on Feb. 23, marked the third-largest crowd in school history, replacing the 12,429 fans NU drew for the Iowa State game on Feb. 12. The two games marked the first time in school history that NU had drawn back-to-back crowds of more than 12,000 fans to the Devaney Center.

The Huskers closed the home regular season with 6,068 fans on Senior Night on Feb. 26. NU’s third-largest crowd of the year pushed its average home attendance to 4,100 on the year, which represents a 33 percent increase over last season and the fourth-highest average home attendance in program history.

The Huskers have claimed five Big 12 Conference weekly honors this season. Kiera Hardy won the Big 12 Player-of-the-Week award on Jan. 17, while Jelena Spiric added a pair of Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors (Jan. 10, Jan. 17). Danielle Page gave the Huskers their fourth award on Jan. 31, when she captured NU’s third Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week award of the month. Page added another Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honor on Feb. 14.

Husker Hot Shots
Sophomore guard Kiera Hardy is making a strong case for All-Big 12 honors by ranking No. 2 in the conference in scoring at 19.3 points per game, trailing only Kansas State All-American Kendra Wecker’s 20.8 points per contest. Hardy leads the league in conference games only, averaging 20.9 points per game, including a career-high 37 points in Nebraska’s win over No. 2 Baylor. She added 29 points in the loss at No. 23 Kansas State, to average 33 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on her way to Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors on Jan. 17. Hardy has scored 27 or more points on seven occasions this season, including her 27-point performance in the Huskers’ 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12.

Kiera Hardy has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season, and has two 30-plus scoring games, including a 31-point outburst against Hampton on Nov. 27. She has produced double figures in 23 consecutive games and 24 times in 27 games this season. Hardy has smashed NU’s sophomore single-season three-point record with 69 threes this season, surpassing Kate Galligan’s 50 three-pointers in 1993-94. Hardy sits in the No. 2 spot on the Huskers’ overall single-season three-point list, trailing only Amy Stephens’ 85 three-pointers in 1988-89. Hardy has hit five or more three-pointers on four occasions this season.

Danielle Page is making a strong push for Big 12 Freshman honors during a breakout conference season. Page, a two-time Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week (Jan. 31, Feb. 14), earned her first award after posting her first career double-double with then-career highs of 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in Nebraska’s 59-48 win over Kansas on Jan. 29. Page had an even better week the following week, averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. She established a career scoring high for the fifth straight game with 15 points and four blocks in NU’s win over OU on Feb. 6. Page claimed her second rookie award with a team-high 13 points at No. 17 Texas, before scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking a career-high five shots in the win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. She added an 11-point effort at Texas A&M on Feb. 16, for her sixth double-figure scoring output in a seven-game stretch. Page had not scored in double figures through NU’s first 17 games this season.

Senior Jina Johansen set a school and Big 12 record by playing all 55 minutes in the Huskers’ triple overtime win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12. Johansen scored eight of her 10 points after halftime against the Bears and finished with eight assists. The 5-7 guard from Dannebrog, Neb., has played the full 40 minutes 15 other times in her career, including NU’s wins over Kansas on Jan. 29, at Missouri on Jan. 8 and at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. She added a 45-minute effort in NU’s overtime loss to Missouri on Feb. 26. In league games, Johansen is averaging 37.3 minutes per game. She is averaging 7.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. She dished out a career-high 11 assists in the Huskers’ win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. Johansen set a career high with 16 points and tied her previous career best with nine assists in an 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12.

With 157 total assists this season, Jina Johansen has produced the top single-season total of her career. Her previous top mark of 153 assists in 2002-03 represented the second-best total by a sophomore in school history. Johansen needs 13 more assists to set the Huskers’ senior single-season assist record, which is held by Meggan Yedsena with 169 in 1993-94.

Junior forward Jelena Spiric is making a strong case for Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year honors as one of Nebraska’s top players in Big 12 action. Spiric is NU’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder in conference play, averaging 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Spiric earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors in back-to-back weeks (Jan. 10, Jan. 17) to open league play. She has added 1.7 assists and 1.9 steals per contest in league action. Spiric notched career highs with 19 points and nine rebounds in the win over No. 2 Baylor, scoring all 19 of her points after halftime. She had 11 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals in the loss to No. 17 Kansas State on Feb. 23.

Sophomore forward Chelsea Aubry enjoyed the best game of her career in the Huskers’ 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. Aubry scored a career-high 20 points on a perfect shooting night, as she went 7-of-7, including 1-for-1 from three-point range. She also hit all five of her free throw attempts. Aubry enters the Colorado game as NU’s leading rebounder (5.2 rpg) and second-leading scorer (8.9 ppg).

Huskers Fall in Overtime to Missouri
The Huskers overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to take a six-point lead with four minutes left in the game, but Missouri stormed back to force overtime and escape from the Devaney Center with a 70-65 win in front of 6,068 fans in Lincoln on Saturday night.

Nebraska’s worst shooting night of the season spoiled Senior Night for Jina Johansen. The Huskers hit a season-low 31.7 percent (20-63) of their field goal attempts on the night, including just 23.8 percent (5-21) from three-point range. The Huskers hit just two of their last 15 field goal attempts in the game’s final 13:46.

NU went without a field goal in the final 8:46 of regulation, after Johansen gave the Huskers a 50-48 lead with her layup at the 8:47 mark. The Huskers missed their final eight attempts in regulation, but managed to expand their lead to 56-50 with 4:01 to play in the game by getting to the free throw line.

But Missouri’s EeTisha Riddle saved the Tigers for the second time in her career at the Devaney Center. Riddle, who hit game-tying and game-winning jumpers for MU in the closing minute of a 78-76 win in Lincoln last year, scored Missouri’s final eight points in regulation to give the Tigers a 58-56 lead with 32 seconds left.

Johansen managed to send the game to overtime by hitting a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left to tie the score at 58. Johansen, who finished with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, played the full 45 minutes in her final regular-season appearance at the Devaney Center. It was the 17th time in her career that she went the distance in a game, including the second time that she played more than 40 minutes in a contest.

Jelena Spiric, who finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, gave NU a quick 59-58 lead by hitting the second of two free throws less than 45 seconds into the overtime period. That would be the Huskers’ last lead of the night, as Tiffany Brooks hit a layup and then a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 62-59 edge with 2:10 left. Riddle struck again with a steal and a jumper to give MU a five-point cushion at 64-59 with 1:53 remaining.

Kiera Hardy then ended Nebraska’s 12-minute field goal drought by burying her third three-pointer of the night to trim MU’s edge to 64-62 with 1:45 left. Brooks, Riddle and Savant then combined to hit four free throws to push the Tigers’ lead to 68-62 with just 15 seconds to play.

Hardy gave the Huskers one last glimmer of hope by knocking down her fourth three-pointer of the night with 12 seconds left, but LaToya Bond sealed the win with a pair of free throws with seven ticks on the clock.

Although she led the Huskers with 15 points, including four three-pointers, Hardy struggled through one of her worst shooting nights of the season, hitting just 5-of-27 shots from the field, including just 4-of-19 three-pointers. She added eight rebounds and two steals.

Jessica Gerhart provided a major lift for the Huskers off the bench by scoring 10 points, including eight straight midway through the second half to turn a 42-37 MU lead into a 45-44 Husker advantage with 11:47 to play. It was Gerhart’s first game in double figures since posting her first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the first meeting with Missouri in Columbia on Jan. 8.

Elena Diaz gave the Huskers four players in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Brooks led the Tigers with 18 points, while Bond added 13 points. Savant added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Christelle N’Garsanet pitched in 10 points and eight boards.

The Tigers started the game on fire, hitting 9-of-16 shots from the field, including their first four three-pointers, before missing 11-of-14 attempts the rest of the first half. Brooks scored 11 straight points, including a trio of three-pointers, in a two-minute span to give MU a 22-8 lead with 12:30 left in the first half.

Nebraska trimmed the MU lead to just one point at the half, thanks in part to a heads-up three-pointer by Johansen at the buzzer, after she tracked down a loose ball and shot in one motion to send the Huskers to the locker room trailing just 35-34.

Hardy Scoring at NU’s Strongest Rate in Six Seasons

Kiera Hardy heads into the Colorado game averaging 19.3 points per game, which leads the Huskers and trails only Kansas State senior All-American Kendra Wecker (20.8 ppg) on the Big 12 Conference scoring chart. In Big 12 games only, Hardy has been even better, averaging 20.9 points per game to lead the league.

A 5-6 sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., Hardy has produced NU’s best scoring average since the 1998-99 season when first-team All-Big 12 guard Nicole Kubik averaged 19.8 points per game.

Hardy’s scoring average ranks as the third-best output by a sophomore in school history. All-American Karen Jennings produced the top scoring average by a sophomore with 20.5 points per game in 1990-91, while Maurtice Ivy averaged 19.7 points per game in 1985-86. Amy Stephens ranks fourth with 18.8 points per game in 1986-87.

Hardy, who has scored in double figures in 23 straight games, has averaged 20.5 points per game over Nebraska’s last 23 contests (471 points). She owns a pair of 30-point scoring efforts on the season, and seven games with 27 or more points. She erupted for a career-high 37 points in NU’s 103-99 triple overtime victory over No. 2 Baylor. She added a 31-point effort in a win over Hampton on Nov. 27. She just missed a third 30-point performance with a 29-point outing in the loss at Creighton on Dec. 18, and produced another near-30 effort with 29 points in the loss at No. 23 Kansas State on Jan. 15. She opened the season with 28 points in a win over Western Illinois, before adding another 28-point effort in a win at Oklahoma State Feb. 1. She had a 27-point, four-assist outing in the Huskers’ win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12, before scoring 18 points in the win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16.

Hardy has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season, including 11 of NU’s last 22 games with seven coming in conference action. In the Big 12 Conference, Hardy ranks as the highest-scoring sophomore in the league. Tiffany Jackson from Texas ranks second among conference sophomores with 17.8 points per game, while Texas Tech’s Alesha Robertson has managed 12.9 points per contest.

Hardy Climbs Career Three-Point Chart at Record Rate
Kiera Hardy has hit 99 three-pointers in just 54 career games and has already shot into sixth place on Nebraska’s career three-point list. Hardy has hit 1.83 three-pointers per game in her brief career, and is well ahead of school-record pace.

WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge owns NU’s school record with 155 three-pointers in 117 career games (1.3 pg). Hardy is the only player on Nebraska’s top-10 three-point list who has played fewer than 103 career games. Kate Galligan, who ranks No. 2 on NU’s career list with 145 three-pointers, knocked down her shots in just 103 games (1.4 pg) for the highest frequency among the former players on the NU top-10 list.

Hardy ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with 3.07 made three-pointers per game through 15 league contests. Hardy hit a career-high six three-pointers in the win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, and matched her career-best with six three-pointers in the win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. She added five more three-pointers in an 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12, and at No. 23 Kansas State on Jan. 15. She knocked down four three-pointers at Texas A&M on Feb. 16 and four more against Missouri on Feb. 26. She has hit 19 three-pointers in the past five games.

Hardy’s 69 three-pointers this season through 27 games smashed Kate Galligan’s sophomore single-season record of 50 three-pointers in 1993-94. Hardy has also climbed into the No. 2 spot on NU’s all-time single-season list, trailing only Amy Stephens’ NU single-season record of 85 three-pointers in 1988-89.

Johansen Surging Down Stretch in Senior Season
Nebraska’s lone returning starter from a year ago, senior Jina Johansen has helped the Huskers elevate their play this season.

Johansen unleashed the best game of her career with a career-high 16 points while tying career bests with nine assists and four three-pointers in the 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. Johansen added six rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes of work. She added a second straight career night with 11 assists along with five points and three rebounds in the win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16.

The only Nebraska native on NU’s roster, Johansen came off the floor in the win over Iowa State at the Devaney Center to a standing ovation from the 12,429 fans in attendance with 3:49 to play. The crowd, which was the fourth-largest in school history, represented 35 times the population of Johansen’s hometown of Dannebrog. Johansen is also the only Husker on the roster who endured NU’s 1-15 Big 12 season in 2002-03.

One of the smartest players in the Big 12 Conference, the CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee’s decision-making has been outstanding in league play. She is averaging 7.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. She has also hit 52.0 percent of her three-pointers (13-25), which would lead the Big 12 in league games, but she is two three-pointers shy of the mandatory 1.0 made per game. She has also hit 29-of-32 (90.6 percent) of her free throw attempts, while averaging 37.3 minutes per game.

On the season, the 5-7 guard leads the Huskers with 5.8 assists per game, while adding 6.7 points and 3.2 boards per contest. One of the top passers in Nebraska history, Johansen ranks third on the school career chart with 533 assists. She needs 33 more assists to catch Nicole Kubik (1997-2000) in the No. 2 spot on the NU chart. Johansen produced one of the best efforts in her career at Missouri on Jan. 8. She scored all of her 14 points in the second half, while dishing out eight assists. She played the full 40 minutes without committing a turnover. In NU’s 26-6 run over the final 8:26 against the Tigers, Johansen hit all three of her attempts from the field, including a three-pointer and the game-tying layup with 2:17 to play. She added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in the loss to the Tigers on Feb. 26. She also hit two free throws with 27 seconds left to send the game to overtime, while playing the full 45 minutes in the contest.

She added 10 points and eight more assists in Nebraska’s 103-99 triple-overtime win over No. 2 Baylor. In that game, Johansen never came off the floor while playing a Big 12 record 55 minutes.

Johansen posted the first victory of her career over Colorado on Jan. 5 by scoring 13 points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds. She also notched two steals against the Buffs. Johansen scored four of the Huskers’ final eight points to help NU escape from Stillwater with a 73-71 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. She finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes against the Cowgirls. Johansen added eight points, six rebounds and four assists to notch her first career win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6.

She scored 10 points, tied for the team-high with seven rebounds and led the Huskers with six assists in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20. She added nine points and seven assists in just 26 minutes against Memphis.

Johansen scored just six points, but dished out nine assists in the loss at Kansas State on Jan. 15. She distributed eight assists in NU’s win over Tennessee-Martin, after scoring 10 points 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.

Page Making Bid for Big 12 Freshman Honors
Freshman Danielle Page is making a major run at Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year honors during conference play. In league action, the 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has come on strong, ranking as Nebraska’s third-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder with 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She has added a team-best 1.4 blocks per game to go along with 1.1 steals per contest through 15 league games. For the season, she has increased her averages to 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while leading the Huskers with 1.1 blocks per contest.

On the season, Page ranks fourth among all Big 12 freshmen with 1.07 blocks per game. She also ranks ninth among Big 12 freshmen in steals (0.93 spg), and seventh in both scoring (6.4 ppg) and rebounding (4.3 rpg).

Page claimed her first Big 12 Conference Rookie-of-the-Week award on Jan. 31, after posting the first double-double of her career with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in the Huskers’ 59-48 win over Kansas on Jan. 29.

Page followed up her award-winning effort against the Jayhawks by producing the best week of her young career in wins over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. In Nebraska’s win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6, Page established her career scoring high for the fifth consecutive game by erupting for 15 points against the Sooners. She added four blocked shots to go along with six rebounds and two steals off the bench.

She added her second Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week award on Feb. 14, after leading the Huskers with 13 points in the loss at No. 17 Texas on Feb. 9, before scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking a career-high five shots in NU’s 88-59 rout of No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. Page added a pair of steals, as her seven combined stops led directly to 12 points in transition for the Huskers.

Page came through big down the stretch in a 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. Page teamed with Chelsea Aubry to score Nebraska’s final 17 points in the closing six minutes to win going away after leading just 56-53. Page finished with 11 points, five rebounds and NU’s only block in the game.

Page was also one of the catalysts during NU’s decisive 23-6 run over the final 12 minutes in a 70-51 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6. She scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, blocked three shots and recorded two steals down the stretch for the Huskers. Her effort against OU followed a 12-point, five-rebound performance in the Huskers’ win at Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. She tied her previous career-high scoring effort against OSU, while setting a career high with four assists against the Cowgirls.

In the last eight games, Page has connected on 30-of-36 free throws (83.3 percent). Through her first 19 games this season, she hit just 14-of-26 shots from the free throw line (53.8 percent), but has improved her season average to 71.0 percent at the line, including 72.5 percent in Big 12 games.

Page scored in double figures in five consecutive games before her eight-point effort against Iowa State on Feb. 12, beginning with a then-career-high 10-point effort at No. 19 Iowa State on Jan. 22.

Page has scored a total of 106 points her past 11 contests, dating back to a then-career-best nine-point effort against No. 10 Texas Tech on Jan. 19. She totaled just 67 points through her first 16 games this season.

Before Page’s emergence in the past 11 games, her previous career high came with eight points in Nebraska’s win over Memphis on Dec. 30, when she added seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Page came up big down the stretch for the Huskers in their win at Missouri on Jan. 8. She finished with seven points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. During Nebraska’s 26-6 surge in the final 8:26, Page scored three points, grabbed all four of her rebounds and blocked both of her shots on the night. In Nebraska’s win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, Page played a career-high 39 minutes off the bench and scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and snagged two steals. She added six points, two rebounds, one block and a steal at Kansas State on Jan. 15.

Freshman Page Dominant on the Blocks
True freshman Danielle Page has shown the potential to be one of the dominant shot blockers in school history. Page not only leads the Huskers with 29 blocked shots this season, she has climbed to No. 4 on Nebraska’s freshman single-season block chart, ahead of former Huskers Charlie Rogers (24) and Maurtice Ivy (27). With five more blocks, Page will move to No. 3 on the freshman block list, marking the highest block total by a Husker freshman in 25 years.

The 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has produced 16 of her 29 blocks on the year in the last 10 games. In Big 12 Conference action, Page is averaging 1.4 blocks per game.

Spiric Pushing for Big 12 Newcomer Honors
Junior college transfer Jelena Spiric has started 18 of NU’s 27 games this season, including each of the Huskers’ last 13 Big 12 contests.

The 6-0 forward from Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, played one of the best games of her NU career in the win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6. Spiric scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and snagged two steals in the 70-51 win over the Sooners. She added a sensational 10-point, six-rebound, five-assist effort in NU’s 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. She had a solid 11-point, five-rebound effort against Kansas State that included a career-high five steals. She has pushed her season averages to 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Spiric owns eight double-figure scoring efforts on the year, with all of them coming in NU’s last 17 games.

Spiric made her first Big 12 start in Nebraska’s 103-99 triple overtime victory over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, and erupted for career highs with 19 points and nine rebounds to help the Huskers to an upset over the Bears. She added her second Big 12 start in the loss at No. 23 Kansas State on Jan. 15, scoring 10 points and pulling down five boards. She added seven points and four rebounds in NU’s loss to No. 10 Texas Tech on Jan. 19.

The Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17, Spiric averaged 13 points and six rebounds in wins over Colorado and Missouri to open Big 12 play. She averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against Baylor and Kansas State. In the win over Baylor, Spiric hit 15-of-16 free throws, including eight straight free throws to open the third overtime period to lead the Huskers to victory.

Spiric’s 15 made free throws rank as the second-highest total in NU history, while her 16 attempts rank fourth on the Husker career chart. Her 44 minutes played against the Bears also demolished her previous career high of 26 minutes played one week earlier against Colorado.

Spiric scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while also dishing out four assists and grabbing two steals in Nebraska’s 81-74 win at Missouri on Jan. 8. During NU’s decisive 26-6 run in the final 8:26, Spiric hit 5-of-6 free throws, while adding one rebound, one assist and one steal to help the Huskers.

In Big 12 play, Spiric is Nebraska’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder with 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. In the win over Colorado on Jan. 5, Spiric scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds, while snagging two steals. She added seven points, three boards and two steals in NU’s win over Kansas on Jan. 29, and added seven points and three boards in NU’s win over OSU on Feb. 1.

In the Huskers’ win over Memphis on Dec. 30, Spiric scored 10 points, while dishing out a career-best six assists and pulling down five rebounds. In NU’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20, Spiric had the first double-figure scoring effort of her career with 10 points, while adding four rebounds and three assists.

Through Nebraska’s first seven games this season, when she started five contests, Spiric averaged just 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

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.

Aubry Providing Solid Inside Presence at Both Ends
Sophomore Chelsea Aubry has been one of Nebraska’s most solid players at both ends of the court in her second season with the Huskers. The 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario leads the team in rebounding and ranks second on the club in scoring with 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Aubry produced one of the best performances of her career after scoring a career-high 20 points, while adding four rebounds in a 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. Aubry was perfect from the field against the Aggies, hitting 7-of-7 field goal attempts, including her only three-pointer. She was also perfect at the free throw line, knocking down all five of her attempts. She was huge in the clutch, as she and freshman Danielle Page joined forces to score all 17 of Nebraska’s points in the final six minutes to turn a three-point lead into a 14-point victory.

After starting each of Nebraska’s 12 non-conference games, Aubry suffered a foot injury in practice on Jan. 1, and did not play in NU’s first three Big 12 games this season. She came off the bench in the Huskers’ next three league games, before making her first start in Big 12 action in Nebraska’s 59-48 victory over Kansas in Lincoln on Jan. 29.

Aubry scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and set a career high with three steals in the Huskers’ 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. In Nebraska’s win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6, Aubry scored seven points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in NU’s 70-51 victory. In the Huskers’ loss at Texas on Feb. 9, Aubry was Nebraska’s lone weapon in the first half, producing eight points and grabbing seven rebounds, before finishing with 10 points and eight boards on the night.

After playing just nine minutes at Kansas State on Jan. 15, Aubry led the Huskers with eight rebounds, while adding five points in 19 minutes against No. 10 Texas Tech on Jan. 19. She came off the bench again at Iowa State, producing eight points, six rebounds and a career-high three assists in 26 minutes. She scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out an assist and snagged a steal in her return to the starting lineup against Kansas.

One of Nebraska’s best interior defenders, Aubry leads the Huskers in the number of charges drawn this season. Aubry put her versatility on display in Nebraska’s win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1, by just missing her first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds against the Lady Lions.

In the Huskers’ home win over Washington State on Nov. 22, Aubry tied her then-career high with 16 points 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 NU’s first seven points of the second half. She also pulled down all seven of her rebounds after halftime to help erase WSU’s 14-rebound edge in the first half. Aubry opened the season with a then-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 on Nov. 12. She added 16 points and four boards in the loss at No. 10 Notre Dame on Nov. 14.

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.

Gerhart on Mend After Having Appendix Removed
One of three leaders of Nebraska’s solid sophomore class, Jessica Gerhart did not travel to Oklahoma State on Feb. 1, and did not play against Oklahoma on Feb. 6, after undergoing routine surgery to have her appendix removed on Feb. 1 in Lincoln.

The procedure went well and Gerhart returned to the court for the first time at Texas on Feb. 9, and saw action off the bench against Iowa State, at Texas A&M, at Kansas and in the loss to No. 17 Kansas State. The 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa did not start NU’s win over Kansas on Jan. 29, playing just five minutes after experiencing flu-like symptons for much of the week leading up to the game.

Despite missing two full games and playing a total of 36 minutes in her six previous appearances, Gerhart erupted for 10 points against Missouri to shoot the Huskers into the lead after NU trailed by five midway through the second half. It was Gerhart’s first double-figure scoring effort since her double-double against the Tigers in Columbia, Mo., on Jan. 8.

Although she missed most of February, Gerhart still ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding with 8.7 points and 4.8 boards per game. She was averaging 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game through the Huskers’ first 15 contests.

A CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee who has spent her time working in the classroom, in the community and on the court, Gerhart has far surpassed her production from all of last season. Through her 25 games, Gerhart has scored 218 points, 127 more than the 91 points she scored last season. She has also hit 14 three-pointers this season, after going without a made three-pointer last season.

Gerhart ranks second on the team with 119 rebounds, a total that has more than doubled the 52 boards she grabbed in all 30 games last season. She also ranks second on the squad with 11 blocked shots on the season.

Gerhart produced her first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Missouri on Jan. 8. 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. She also led the Huskers with 16 points in NU’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20, and 13 points in the Huskers’ rout of Memphis on Dec. 30. She added 16 more points in NU’s win over Colorado Jan. 5.

Gerhart hit the first three three-pointers of her career and finished with 13 points in the second-round Preseason WNIT loss at No. 10 Notre Dame. Her performance against the Fighting Irish 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. She added 13 points at No. 10 Ohio State.

Hardy Attacking Nebraska Sophomore Scoring Record
Although she has played just 27 games in her sophomore season and just 54 games with 26 starts in her college career, Kiera Hardy became Nebraska’s active career scoring leader with her 29-point outburst at Creighton (37th career game) on Dec. 18. The 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., has pushed her career total to 767 points, including 520 points in 27 games this season and 247 points in 27 games as a true freshman last season.

Hardy needs 12 more points this season to match Maurtice Ivy’s total of 532 points scored as a sophomore in 1985-86. Karen Jennings, who was a two-time All-American and earned the Wade Trophy as a senior, owns the sophomore scoring record at Nebraska with 574 points. Hardy needs 54 more points to catch Jennings in the top spot, and barring injury, Hardy should get a minimum of two more games to reach that mark with one more regular-season game and at least one game in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Huskers have also made themselves postseason eligible with 16 wins on the season.

NU senior guard Jina Johansen was the Huskers’ active leader in career points with 413 points in 97 career games, including 72 starts, entering the Creighton game. Johansen now ranks second among active Huskers with 548 points in 115 career games.

With 99 three-pointers in her career, Hardy is also Nebraska’s active three-point leader, ahead of Johansen’s 60 career three-pointers.

Hardy’s 37 in Baylor Win Places Her Among NU Elite
Kiera Hardy’s career-high 37-point performance in Nebraska’s win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, in Lincoln placed her among an elite list of Huskers.

Not only did Hardy’s total tie for the seventh-highest single-game effort in school history, it also provided her with her second 30-point effort of the season. Her first 30-point performance came against Hampton in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on Nov. 27.

The two 30-point outbursts during her breakout sophomore season place her among a select group of Huskers who accomplished multiple 30-point games as sophomores. The last NU sophomore to produce a pair of 30-point games was two-time All-American Karen Jennings, who did it in 1990-91.

Debra Powell, who was an All-Big Eight performer on the court and an All-American sprinter on the track, was the first Husker sophomore to score 30 in a game on multiple occasions. Powell produced three 30-point games in 1982-83.

Maurtice Ivy, who was the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1988 after leading the Huskers to their only conference title in school history, matched Powell’s feat with a trio of 30-point performances as a sophomore in 1985-86.

A year later, Amy Stephens added two 30-point efforts during her sophomore season in 1986-87.

Hardy’s 37 points is the highest single-game total among the elite group of NU sophomore scorers and ranks as the second-highest scoring performance in school history by a sophomore, trailing only a 41-point eruption by Crystal Coleman against Oklahoma State on Feb. 19, 1983. The performance was Coleman’s only 30-point or more scoring game of her career, which ended at Nebraska after her sophomore season.

Hardy is just the seventh player in Nebraska history to record two or more 30-point efforts in the same season, and one of just eight Huskers to score 30 twice in her career. The last player to score 30 points twice in the same season was Kubik, who had a trio of 30-point performances in 1998-99. Only 16 different Huskers in history have scored 30 or more points in a single game - a total of 54 times. Jennings owns the NU record with 12 30-point scoring efforts in her career, including eight in 1991-92.

Johansen Sets Tone for Husker Turnaround
Jina 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 is the only Husker to start all 27 games this year and leads the Huskers with 36.2 minutes per game after playing a school and Big 12 record 55 minutes in NU’s 103-99 triple overtime win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12. That marathon performance by Johansen came after playing the full 40 minutes for the 13th time in her career in the win at Missouri on Jan. 8. She added her 14th 40-minute effort in the Huskers’ win over Kansas on Jan. 29, and a 15th 40-minute performance in the win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. She is coming off playing the full 45 minutes in the Huskers’ overtime loss to Missouri on Saturday.

Johansen owns 90 career starts, including 58 straight starts heading to Colorado. She started all 30 games as a junior and 27 of 28 contests as a sophomore in 2002-03, stepping out of the starting lineup only on Senior Night. 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.

Johansen has been just as good from long range this season, hitting 41.2 percent (21-51) of her three-pointers on the year, including 52.0 percent (13-25) in Big 12 action. Her career 37.5 percent (60-160) success rate from long range ranks as the fourth-best three-point shooting percentage in school history.

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.

Johansen has set her own single-sesaon best with 157 assists and is averaging 5.8 assists per game this season. She needs 13 more assists to break Nebraska’s senior single-season record of 169 assists held by NU’s all-time assist leader Meggan Yedsena (1993-94).

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. She carries a 3.696 grade-point average as a nutrition/dietetics major.

Johansen Tough to Turn Over
One of the top point guards in the Big 12 Conference, senior Jina Johansen has proven herself as one of the most consistent ball-handlers in the league. Not only does she rank third in the Big 12 with 157 total assists, she also ranks third in the conference with a 2.53 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Johansen has committed just 62 turnovers against her 157 assists. She set her career high with 11 assists in NU’s 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16, after tying her previous career best with nine assists in Nebraska’s 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. Johansen did not commit a turnover and also set a career high with 16 points, while tying her career high with four three-pointers against the Cyclones.

She added a nine-assist effort at No. 23 Kansas State, along with an eight-assist performance at Missouri on Jan. 8, when she played the full 40 minutes without turning the ball over. She added eight more assists while playing a school and Big 12 record 55 minutes in Nebraska’s 103-99 triple overtime victory over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12.

As impressive as Johansen’s overall assist-to-turnover ratio is, she has been even better at the Devaney Center this year. Johansen has helped the Huskers to a 12-3 home record by dishing out 92 assists and committing just 28 turnovers in NU’s 14 home contests. Those numbers translate to a 3.29 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Diaz Earns Role as Starter in Big 12 Action
Elena Diaz has provided a major contribution in her first year at Nebraska after transferring from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College. Diaz has made 18 starts, including each of Nebraska’s last 13 Big 12 games.

Over Nebraska’s last seven games, Diaz is averaging 8.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. She is coming off a 10-point, seven-rebound effort against Missouri, after producing 10 points and a career-high tying nine rebounds in the loss to No. 17 Kansas State on Feb. 23.

Her performance against KSU followed an eight-point, four-rebound effort at Kansas that included a career-high four steals. She added six points and set her career high with nine rebounds at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. She provided a bright spot for NU in the loss at Kansas on Feb. 20 with eight points, four rebounds and a career-high four steals.

In NU’s 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 14, Diaz produced one of the best all-around efforts of her career when she scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a career-high six assists. She has increased her season averages to 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game on the season, after averaging just 4.0 points and 3.4 boards per game through NU’s first 14 games this season.

In Nebraska’s 103-99 triple overtime win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, Diaz tied a career high with 11 points, while pulling down seven rebounds. She earned her second straight start at Kansas State and contributed six points and eight rebounds.

Diaz added a solid outing with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal against No. 10 Texas Tech, and eight points and three rebounds in NU’s win over Kansas on Jan. 29. She also started against Colorado on Jan. 5. Diaz added a solid seven-point, seven-rebound effort in the win over Oklahoma on Feb. 6, before pitching in nine points and three boards in the loss at Texas on Feb. 9.

On the season, Diaz leads the team with her 54.3 field goal percentage, including a team-best 57.5 percent in Big 12 Conference action. Diaz’s shooting percentage would rank second in Big 12 play and third overall among all players in the league, but she has not met the Big 12 minimum requirement of 3.0 made field goals per game. On the season, Diaz is averaging just 2.33 made field goals per game, but she is averaging 2.80 made field goals per game in Big 12 action.

Since taking over as a starter in the last 13 games, Diaz is shooting a sizzling 60.9 percent (42-69) from the field. In her last 10 games,

Diaz set her career high with 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 and her third start in the win over Tennessee-Martin, before getting the nod at No. 10 Ohio State.

Husker Individuals among Big 12 Leaders
Senior point guard Jina Johansen and sophomore Kiera Hardy are ranked among the Big 12 Conference leaders in several categories. Hardy ranks second in the league in scoring at 19.3 points per game, trailing only Kansas State senior Kendra Wecker (20.8 ppg). Hardy also ranks second in the conference with 2.56 made three-pointers per game, while her 69 three-pointers rank second in the Big 12. Hardy also ranks fifth in the league in free throw percentage (81.8 percent). Jelena Spiric (78.2 percent) ranks seventh in the league in that category.

Jina Johansen ranks third in the Big 12 with 157 total assists, while her 5.81 assists per game also rank third in the Big 12. She also ranks third in the Big 12 with her 2.53 assist-to-turnover ratio (157 assists-to-62 turnovers).

Husker freshman Danielle Page has vaulted up the Big 12 blocked shot chart. Page, who has 16 blocks in the past 10 games, ranks 10th in the league with 1.07 blocks per game. Her 29 total blocks rank as the fourth-best total by a freshman in school history.

Junior guard LaToya Howell has continued her climb up the league steals chart to rank fifth with 2.08 steals per game. In Big 12 games only, Howell ranks second in the conference with 2.33 steals per contest.

Howell Keys Husker Defensive Pressure
LaToya Howell has earned six starts this season, but has come off the bench in each of the last 13 games to provide an offensive and defensive spark for the Huskers.

Howell has helped the NU defense turn up the heat on the opposition by averaging 2.5 steals per game (43 total steals) over the last 17 games, including a career-high five steals against Missouri on Feb. 26, and five games with four steals each during that stretch (at Creighton, vs. Colorado, at Kansas State, vs. Kansas, vs. Kansas State).

The 5-5 guard started NU’s first two Big 12 Conference games, but has come off the bench in each of the Huskers’ last 13 contests. In the Huskers’ 103-99 triple overtime win over No. 2 Baylor, Howell sparked the Huskers with nine points off the bench. In NU’s 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12, Howell scored eight points, including six in the first half, while producing three rebounds and two steals. She added eight points, four rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes off the bench against No. 10 Texas Tech on Jan. 19.

In NU’s win over Kansas on Jan. 29, Howell knocked down her only three-point attempt and hit a free throw to score the first four points of Nebraska’s decisive 10-0 run midway through the second half. Howell’s spark helped turn a 39-37 NU lead with 11 minutes left into a 49-37 edge with 7:50 to play against KU. She knocked down all six of her free throw attempts and snagged a pair of steals to help the Huskers to a 73-71 win over Oklahoma State on Feb 1.

Howell enters the Colorado game averaging 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a team-leading 2.1 steals per game. In conference play, she ranks second in the Big 12 with 2.33 steals per game.

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, 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 a season-high 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and distributed three assists against Northern Colorado. She added seven points, a season-high six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win over Washington State. She dished out a season-best six assists in the win over Southeastern Louisiana.

The junior 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.

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.

Samardziska Shows Solid Production
Bojana Samardziska made a splash with a career-high 19 points in Nebraska’s 69-60 win over Tennessee-Martin on Dec. 7, and the junior college transfer has shown she is capable of producing solid numbers at times during the season.

Samardziska, a 6-4 center from Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, arrived against Tennessee-Martin by knocking down 9-of-12 shots from the field. She also hit her only free throw attempt of the game, while pulling down five rebounds, blocking two shots and snagging one steal in the win over the Skyhawks. She did all that in just 13 minutes of court time, in an amazingly productive performance.

Samardziska had scored just 21 points in Nebraska’s first seven games before her outburst against Tennessee-Martin. She entered the UT-Martin game averaging 3.3 points per game.

She added another hugely productive outing in the win over Memphis on Dec. 30, when she scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds and added a blocked shot in just 11 minutes of action off the bench.

In Nebraska’s win over Colorado to open Big 12 Conference play on Jan. 5, Samardziska helped the Huskers with 10 points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in a career-high 20 minutes. She made her first start of the year in place of an injured Chelsea Aubry in the win at Missouri on Jan. 8.

Samardziska is averaging 3.4 points per game, despite playing just 7.0 minutes per contest. She has added 1.9 rebounds per game, while ranking third on the team with nine blocks. For the season, Samardziska is shooting 51.9 percent (28-55). She has also contributed eight steals and four assists.

In her two-year career at Colby (Kan.) Community College, Samardziska scored 1,038 points and grabbed 601 rebounds. She captured first-team NJCAA Region VI All-Tournament honors by averaging 26 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocked shots per game in 2004. She averaged 17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game on her way to second-team All-Jayhawk West Conference honors last season.

White, Drmanac Add Depth to Nebraska Roster
Freshman Sarah 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 produced a career-high seven-point performance in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1.

White, who has played in 16 games this season, scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in 12 minutes. She added six more points and one rebound in just six minutes of work against Colorado. She tied her career high by playing 12 minutes in the loss at Texas, where she scored two first-half points and added three rebounds. She added two more points and three rebounds in just four minutes in the win over Iowa State on Feb. 12, before scoring two points and grabbing one rebound in the win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16. She matched her career-high again with 12 minutes at Kansas on Feb. 20, including significant minutes in the first half against her homestate school. She is averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.

Junior college transfer Ivana Drmanac has also added depth to Nebraska’s backcourt. The 6-1 forward has played in 17 games and averaged 0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds per game for the Huskers. She has also knocked down four three-pointers for the Huskers, and dished out eight assists in just 5.8 minutes per game.

Huskers Take Care of the Rock
The Huskers have produced two of the top three turnover marks in school history in Coach Connie Yori’s first two seasons at NU and are on their way to their best season of taking care of the basketball under Yori this season.

Nebraska is averaging just 15.4 turnovers of per game (416 total turnovers) and committed a season-low seven turnovers in its win at Missouri on Jan. 8. The Huskers are averaging 16.0 turnovers per contest in conference play.

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.

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 just 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.

Nebraska Leads Big 12 at the Free Throw Line
Nebraska is shooting a Big 12 Conference-leading 75.3 percent at the free throw line this season, and the Huskers have continued to improve at the line throughout the season.

In Big 12 games, the Huskers have connected on a conference-best 78.0 percent of their free throws. Nebraska starters Jina Johansen (89.5 percent) and Kiera Hardy (81.8 percent) are both shooting better than 80 percent from the line, while Jessica Gerhart (78.6 percent), Jelena Spiric (78.2 percent), Chelsea Aubry (77.0 percent), LaToya Howell (75.4 percent) and Danielle Page (71.0 percent) have each hit better than 70 percent of their free throws this season.

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 Facing Another Challenging Schedule
After playing 19 games against teams that advanced to the postseason in 2004, the Huskers are again squaring off against another loaded schedule in 2004-05.

The Huskers, who played 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 defeated Tennessee-Martin, 69-60, on Dec. 7. Nebraska suffered its second loss to a top 10 team this season when it fell at No. 10 Ohio State, 86-61, on Dec. 11. The Buckeyes advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers fell to 2004 WNIT Champion Creighton, 58-57, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Dec. 18, before rebounding for an impressive 81-70 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, which finished its non-conference season with a 10-3 record, on Dec. 20. Nebraska closed the non-conference season with its best performance of the year in an 82-50 rout of 2004 WNIT qualifier Memphis at the Devaney Center on Dec. 30. The Lady Tigers returned four starters from a team that won 20 games in 2003-04.

Nebraska opened Big 12 play with an impressive 84-62 win over Colorado to give the Huskers their second straight victory over a 2004 postseason qualifier, and made it three wins in a row over 2004 postseason teams with 81-74 come-from-behind win at Missouri on Jan. 8. The Huskers added the biggest win in school history by knocking off No. 2 Baylor, 103-99 in triple overtime at the Devaney Center on Jan. 12.

The Huskers suffered their first conference loss in a 74-59 setback at No. 23 Kansas State on Jan. 15, before dropping their first home game in league action to No. 10 Texas Tech, 68-58, on Jan. 19. NU also fell at No. 19 Iowa State 74-54, to end a streak of four straight games against ranked foes.

Nebraska rebounded with a 59-48 win over Kansas in Lincoln on Jan. 29, before knocking off Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Feb. 1. The Huskers snapped a six-game series losing streak to 2004 NCAA qualifier Oklahoma with a 70-51 win over the Sooners in a FSN national television broadcast on Feb. 6, before falling at No. 17 Texas 83-53, on Feb. 9.

The Huskers rebounded with their most lopsided win over a ranked opponent in school history with an 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. The Huskers added their third road Big 12 win of the year with a solid 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16, before falling on the road to Kansas 67-53 on Feb. 20. NU lost its second straight game with a 94-69 setback to No. 17 Kansas State on Feb. 23 in Lincoln, before falling 70-65 in overtime to Missouri on Feb. 26.

Through 27 games in 2004-05, Nebraska is 4-9 against teams that advanced to the 2004 NCAA Tournament and 2-2 against 2004 Postseason WNIT qualifiers, giving the Huskers a 6-11 overall record against 2004 postseason clubs.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 289-103 (.737) in games played in the arena, including 104-66 (.612) in conference games.

The Huskers have rolled to a 12-3 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 home postseason play, with an 81-58 win 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 next 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.

This season, the Huskers produced two of the four largest crowds in school history in back-to-back games on Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. Nebraska closed the season with its third-largest crowd of the year with 6,068 fans on Senior Night on Feb. 26 to push its average home attendance to 4,100 fans per game. NU’s 1,026 fan per game increase represents a 33 percent increase over last season and ranks as the fourth-highest average home attendance in school history.

NU drew its fourth-largest crowd in school history with a season-high 12,429 fans in attendance for an 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. It was NU’s largest crowd in the past five seasons, dating back to a school-record crowd of 13,226 against Kansas State on Feb. 26, 2000. The Huskers surpassed the mark in their next home game when 13,023 fans filled the Devaney Center to watch NU clash with Kansas State on Feb. 23. It was the first time in school history that Nebraska had back-to-back crowds of more than 12,000.

Nebraska ranked 14th nationally in average home attendance in 1999-2000 with 4,772 fans per game, after ranking 15th nationally with a school-record average of 5,000 fans per game in 1998-99. NU added an average home crowd of 4,204 in 2000-01.