Huskers Clash with Creighton Monday

Nebraska (0-1)
vs.
Creighton (0-1)
Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,595) 
Monday, Nov. 21 ? 7:05 p.m.
Special Event: Read to Succeed Book Drive (bring a book for Lincoln youth)
Internet Video: HuskersNside (subscription basis)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (1400 AM KLIN - Lincoln)
Huskers.com
NU Student Station - 90.3 FM KRNU
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads series, 20-10
Last Meeting: Creighton won 58-57, Dec. 18, 2004

Huskers Clash with Creighton in Annual In-State Series
The Nebraska women’s basketball team renews its long-standing in-state series with Creighton on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Tip-off time is set for 7:05 p.m. on Monday, with a live radio broadcast on the Pinnacle Sports Network (1400 AM-KLIN in Lincoln). The radio broadcast can also be heard live on Huskers.com, along with live stats from the game.

Fans are encouraged to bring a new or good condition picture or chapter book to be distributed to local elementary school students to promote reading at home. The Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is sponsoring the book drive in cooperation with the Lincoln Ventures in Partnership program.

Nebraska, which fell in its season opener to South Dakota State 68-49 on Saturday, will try to bounce back at home against a Creighton team that lost its season opener 93-77 at Northwestern on Saturday. The Huskers who saw a 24-game season-opening winning streak come to an end, have only started one season 0-2 in program history, when they dropped a pair of games on back-to-back days at Winnipeg in 1977.

The Bluejays have dropped back-to-back games to open a season eight previous times, most recently in 1997-98 when they opened the season 0-3, including an 80-59 loss to the Huskers in Lincoln.

Both teams struggled through rough shooting games in their openers. The Huskers hit just 32.2 percent (19-59) from the field against the Jackrabbits. The Bluejays also battled their shooting strokes against the Wildcats, hitting just 34.2 percent (27-79) of their shots. Creighton managed to score 77 points largely on the strength of a big rebounding effort. The Bluejays pulled down 47 rebounds, including a whopping 26 offensive boards. The Huskers were outrebounded by SDSU 52-32, and grabbed only seven offensive boards.

Nebraska freshman Kelsey Griffin provided a bright spot for the Huskers in the opener with her game-high 18 points and her team-leading seven rebounds. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, produced the third-highest point total by a freshman in a career-opening game in school history, trailing only the 22 points scored by current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge against Gonzaga on Nov. 24, 1995, and the 19 points put up by Deb Powell against Pacific Christian on Nov. 20, 1981.

Huskers Help "Read to Succeed" Book Drive
The University of Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring the "Read to Succeed" Book Drive on three dates in November, including Monday night’s women’s basketball game against Creighton.

Husker student-athletes ask fans to donate new or good condition picture or chapter books. The books will be given to Title 1 Lincoln Public Elementary Schools to encourage familiies to develop a love for reading together.

The books will be collected by Husker volunteers at the Devaney Center before the Creighton game, before the volleyball match with Colorado on Nov. 23, and before the men’s basketball game with Marquette on Nov. 30.

The Lincoln Public Schools Ventures in Partnership will assist the student-athletes with the distribution of the books to make sure they get into the hands of youngsters in need of books in their homes.

At each book drive location, fans who donate a book will be entered to win a prize awarded the night of each contest. The prizes will include four prime tickets to an upcoming women’s basketball game.

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Both teams will have to overcome relatively short turnarounds to be successful in their second games of the season. While the Huskers fell to a sharp-shooting South Dakota State squad Saturday, the Bluejays were bounced by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Saturday afternoon.

Angie Janis and Kristi Woodard return as Creighton’s top players this season. Janis averaged 19.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season, while Woodard added 13.3 points and 5.0 boards per contest. Janis opened the season with 19 points and five boards at Northwestern, while Woodard hit just 4-of-17 shots from the field, but managed 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Christy Erickson and Ally Thrall were also regular starters in the Creighton lineup last year, while Amy Hoffman added eight starts. Thrall contributed 12 points and five assists against the Wildcats, while Erickson managed just five points, four rebounds and three assists. Amy Hoffman was held scoreless in 10 minutes as a starter but did grab five rebounds.

Chevelle Herring had a strong career-opening performance with 13 points, four assists and three steals off the bench, before fouling out in 23 minutes of action. Sara Cain added 10 points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes of playing time off the bench, while Kristina Voss pitched in six points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes off the bench.

Creighton shot a dismal 34.2 percent (27-79) from the field, but did knock down 36.8 percent (7-19) three-pointers. CU was solid at the free throw line, hitting 16-of-21 attempts (76.2 percent). The Bluejays also dominated the glass against the Wildcats, outrebounding Northwestern 47-38, including a staggering 26 offensive boards.

Northwestern shot well in all areas against the Creighton defense, knocking down 57.4 percent (35-61) of its attempts, including 54.5 percent (6-11) three-pointers. The Wildcats also hit 17-of-24 free throws (70.8 percent).

Nebraska vs. Creighton Series History
Monday’s game will mark the 31st meeting between Nebraska’s two Division I schools on the hardwood, with the Huskers owning a 20-10 series advantage. However, last season the Bluejays escaped from the Civic Auditorium in Omaha with a 58-57 victory over the Huskers.

In last year’s meeting, Kiera Hardy erupted for a game-high 29 points, including Nebraska’s last 11 points of the game in the final five minutes to bring the Huskers back from a nine-point deficit.

Trailing by one, Nebraska had the ball with 12 seconds left. Hardy had the ball in her hands one last time and attacked from the left wing, where she was tied up by CU’s Ally Thrall. Hardy was called for a travel with two seconds left to give the Jays the victory.

Hardy was the only player to manage double figures for the Huskers last season, while Jessica Gerhart contributed seven points and eight rebounds and Chelsea Aubry managed six points and six boards.

Laura Spanheimer, who was a senior guard last season, led CU with 21 points and five steals. Current seniors Angie Janis (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Kristi Woodard (13 points, 10 rebounds) both contributed double-doubles in the win for CU.

The home team has dominated the series over the past six seasons. The last team to record a victory on the visitor’s court came with Nebraska’s 82-74 win at the Civic Auditorium on Dec. 12, 1999. That victory was the last in a five-game series winning streak for the Huskers. Since then, the two teams have alternated home wins, with the Huskers picking up wins in 2001 and 2003, while Creighton notched wins in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Since Nebraska’s 21-point victory in 1997, only one of the past seven contests has been decided by more than nine points, coming with Creighton’s 55-40 win in Omaha on Dec. 1, 2002.

Huskers Fall in Season Opener to Jackrabbits
True freshman Kelsey Griffin scored a game-high 18 points and added a team-high seven rebounds, but the Nebraska women’s basketball team shot just 32.2 percent from the field in a 68-49 season-opening loss to South Dakota State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

Griffin, who started for the Huskers, led NU by hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field, while junior Jessica Gerhart chipped in eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Although Griffin and Gerhart combined to hit 11-of-19 shots from the field, the rest of the Huskers managed just 8-of-40 shooting, including a 2-for-20 effort from All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy.

Griffin’s 18-point effort tied for the third-best scoring total by a freshman in a career-opener, but the Huskers saw their streak of 24 consecutive season-opening victories snapped by the Jackrabbits. Griffin’s production trails only WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge’s school-record 22 points against Gonzaga on Nov. 24, 1995, and Deb Powell’s 19 points against Pacific Christian on Nov. 20, 1981, among NU freshmen in career-opening games.

Nebraska’s cold shooting included just 21.4 percent (6-28) in the first half, which allowed South Dakota State to race to a 37-18 halftime lead, which the Huskers were never able to overcome.

While the Huskers struggled from the field, South Dakota State was red hot from beyond the three-point arc. The Jackrabbits threatened the Devaney Center record by knocking down 13-of-25 three-pointers on the afternoon. SDSU’s 13 three-pointers fell just one shy of the Nebraska opponent record and the Devaney Center mark of 14, which has been accomplished on three occasions, most recently by Iowa State on Jan. 26, 2002.

Heather Sieler led the Jackrabbits with 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while freshman Ashlea Muckenhirn pitched in 13 points off the bench, including a game-high four three-pointers. Megan Vogel added 13 points for the Jacks, while nearly posting a double-double with nine rebounds. Vogel also pitched in five assists.

The Jackrabbits received solid contributions from eight players who each scored five or more points.

Nebraska forced SDSU into 21 turnovers, producing 10 steals, but the Jacks grabbed 52 rebounds to the Huskers’ 32. South Dakota State held the Huskers to 18 points in the first half, while hitting 41.7 percent of its shots from the field. SDSU also hit seven three-point attempts in the first half.

Griffin Gets Freshman Season Off to High-Flying Start
True freshman Kelsey Griffin scored a game-high 18 points and added a team-high seven rebounds in Nebraska’s season opener against South Dakota State on Saturday.

Griffin, who started for the Huskers, led NU by hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field. Her 18-point effort tied for the third-best scoring total by a freshman in a career-opener, trailing only WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge’s school-record 22 points against Gonzaga on Nov. 24, 1995, and Deb Powell’s 19 points against Pacific Christian on Nov. 20, 1981, among NU freshmen in career-opening games.

All-American Karen Jennings also scored 18 points in her career debut against St. Louis on Nov. 24, 1989, while Angie Miller added 18 points in her first career game against South Florida on Nov. 25, 1983.

All four of the other Huskers who have scored 18 or more points in the first games of their careers went on to score 1,500 or more points at Nebraska.

Griffin’s solid opening-game effort came as no surprise to the Huskers. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 72.2 percent from the field in a pair of exhibition victories. Griffin’s strong collegiate debuts included starts in both games and a 19-point performance on 9-of-10 shooting from the field in the opener against Nebraska-Omaha.

Griffin was the 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year after averaging 19.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as a senior a year ago at Chugiak High School.

Hardy Shows Efficiency, Unselfishness in Exhibitions
Despite a rough shooting performance in Nebraska’s regular-season opener, first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy led Nebraska to a pair of efficient offensive performances in the Huskers’ exhibition wins over Nebraska-Omaha and Nebraska-Kearney.

Hardy, a 5-6 native of Kansas City, Mo., averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game, while hitting 15-of-23 shots (65.2 percent) from the field, including 8-of-13 three pointers (61.5 percent). She produced those impressive numbers while playing just 21 minutes per game.

She hit 4-of-5 shots from the field against UNK, including 3-of-4 three-pointers. Last season, Hardy did not attempt fewer than 10 shots from the field in any of NU’s 32 games, while averaging 17.5 attempts per game for the season. Against UNK, Hardy nearly produced her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high nine assists, while adding three steals in just 15 minutes of action.

With Hardy setting the offensive tone, Nebraska shot 54.4 percent from the field in exhibition play, including 44.4 percent (8-18) from three-point range. Hardy hit all eight of NU’s three-pointers during those two contests, after tying NU’s single-season record with 85 three-pointers last season.

Hardy Earns Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 Honors
Nebraska junior guard Kiera Hardy captured one of five spots on the Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 squad voted on by the league coaches and announced by the Big 12 Conference office in Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Hardy, a 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., joins Baylor’s Sophia Young, Texas’ Tiffany Jackson, Texas Tech’s Erin Grant and Oklahoma’s Leah Rush on the five-player preseason honor squad. Hardy, Grant, Jackson and Young, who was voted the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, all earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2004-05, while Rush claimed a spot on the second-team a year ago.

Hardy is the top returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference this season after averaging 19.0 points per game as a sophomore in 2004-05, including a league-leading 20.9 points per contest in conference games. She set Nebraska’s sophomore single-season scoring record with 609 points, while also tying the school record with 85 made three-pointers on the season.

Gerhart Opens 2005-06 with Strong Exhibition Efforts
Nebraska junior forward Jessica Gerhart produced a pair of solid performances in the Huskers’ exhibition wins over UNK and UNO. The 6-2 native of Fenton, Iowa, led all scorers with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting against UNK on Sunday to close exhibition play averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Gerhart hit 60.9 percent of her shots from the field in exhibition play.

Gerhart opened the regular season with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, which all came in the second half after picking up three first-half fouls.

Gerhart started NU’s first 18 games last season and averaged 15.8 points per game through NU’s first five contests. Through NU’s first 14 games a year ago she ranked second on the team with 13.2 points, while leading the club with 7.0 rebounds per game.

She battled illness and a shooting slump for the rest of the season to finish with 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Huskers Face Loaded 2005-06 Schedule
Nebraska will have a pair of chances to knock off 2005 NCAA Women’s Final Four teams when the Huskers battle LSU and defending national champion Baylor this season.

Overall the Huskers play 13 games against 2005 postseason qualifiers, including 10 contests against NCAA Tournament teams. Six opponents were ranked among the top 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Preseason poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 7 Baylor, No. 12, Texas, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 17 Minnesota and No. 25 Oklahoma.

"This is our toughest non-conference schedule since I have been at Nebraska," Head Coach Connie Yori said. "In making our schedule, we have always considered the quality and position of our program. We think this is the best team that we have been able to put on the floor in our time at Nebraska, so we are going to play our best schedule."

After opening against a tough South Dakota State squad on Nov. 19, Nebraska will get its first taste of postseason-caliber competition when the Huskers face Creighton at the Devaney Center on Nov. 21. The Bluejays posted 19 wins a year ago and earned a bid to the WNIT.

NU will hit the road for the first time at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic where they will face preseason No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25. The Tigers produced a 33-3 record while running the table to win the SEC title. The Tigers lost to Baylor in the Final Four to end their season.

Things won’t get much easier for NU two days later when the Huskers tangle with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Miami. The Islanders produced a 23-7 mark a year ago and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

Nebraska remains on the road to start December when the Huskers battle Big Ten power Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers finished 26-8 last season and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 where they lost to Baylor. Minnesota earned a trip to the Final Four in 2004.

After returning home to tackle Texas Southern, the Huskers continue their road trip through Big Ten cities by playing Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 10, before traveling to Ann Arbor to meet Michigan on Dec. 17.

The Huskers close non-conference competition with home contests against Texas State (Dec. 20), Grambling State (Dec. 29) and Northern Arizona (Dec. 31).

The Huskers open a rugged Big 12 schedule on the road at Colorado on Jan. 4, the site of their final conference regular-season game of the 2004-05 season. After battling the Buffaloes, Nebraska returns to the Devaney Center to face Kansas (Jan. 7) and Missouri (Jan. 11), before beginning a stretch in which the Huskers will face seven 2005 postseason teams in the next eight games.

Highlighting that eight-game stretch will be Devaney Center showdowns with 2005 NCAA qualifiers Texas (Jan. 18), and Iowa State (Feb. 1), along with Texas A&M (Feb. 11), which advanced to the third round of the 2005 WNIT. The Huskers start the eight-game stretch at Iowa State on Jan. 14, and also travel to 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 participant Texas Tech (Jan. 21), NCAA qualifier Kansas State (Feb. 4) and to 2005 NCAA champion Baylor (Feb. 8). The Huskers knocked off Baylor 103-99 in triple overtime at the Devaney Center last season.

The Huskers travel to Kansas on Feb. 15, before closing their home schedule against Kansas State (Feb. 18) and Oklahoma State on Senior Night (Feb. 21). Nebraska ends the regular season on the road with trips to Oklahoma (Feb. 26) and Missouri (March 1), before heading to Reunion Arena in Dallas for the Big 12 Championship (March 7-11).

Aubry Aids Canada’s Run to World Championships
Nebraska forward Chelsea Aubry scored eight points and hauled down six rebounds to help the Canadian National Team roll to an 89-57 victory over the hosts from the Dominican Republic in the final game of the FIBA Americas Tournament in Hato Mayor on Sept. 19.

With the victory, the Canadians finished third at the eight-team event and qualified for the 2006 World Championships in Brazil. The appearance at the 2006 World Championships will be the first for the Canadians since 1994. The Canadians finished the five-day tournament with a 3-2 record, while Cuba won the event with a perfect 5-0 mark. Brazil finished second with a 4-1 record, while Argentina captured the final spot in the World Championships by finishing fourth with a 2-3 mark.

Aubry, a 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario, has spent the past two seasons as a member of the Canadian Senior National Team. She was also a member of the Canadian World University Games Team in 2003 as a member of the Canadian Under-20 National Team.

Spiric Out for Season with Injury in Fall Practice
Nebraska forward Jelena Spiric was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered during the first official week of fall practice. Spiric, a 6-1 senior from Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, underwent surgery and will likely apply for a medical hardship.

Spiric captured Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year honors in her first season at Nebraska in 2004-05, despite playing most of the season at less than 100 percent after suffering a similar injury to her other leg in the final game of her junior college career.

Spiric averaged 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with 23 starts as a junior, including 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in Big 12 competition. In a pair of Postseason WNIT games, Spiric averaged 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Kephart Out for Season with Recurring Injury
Sophomore guard Heather Kephart is out for the season with a recurring injury, Nebraska Coach Connie Yori announced last week.

Kephart, a 5-8 shooting guard from Canute, Okla., appeared in only one game for the Huskers last season and was granted a medical hardship to regain her sophomore season of eligibility this year.

However, Kephart has continued to struggle with injuries and was limited to only partial participation through the opening weeks of practice.

One of the top scorers in the history of Oklahoma high school basketball (2,747 career points), Kephart appeared in just 11 games as a freshman before being sidelined with an injury.

Huskers Fifth in Preseason Big 12 Poll
The Nebraska women’s basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2005-06 Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, released by the league office in Dallas on Thursday, Oct. 13. The Huskers, who return four starters from last year’s club that advanced to the postseason for the second straight year, were picked higher than any other team from the Big 12 North Division.

Schools from the Big 12 South Division occupied the top four spots in the poll, with defending national champion Baylor (113) claiming the No. 1 position with six first-place votes from opposing coaches in the league. Texas (110) earned the No. 2 spot with two first-place votes, while Texas Tech (108) took the No. 3 spot with four first-place votes. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the 1-12 predicted order of finish.

After the predicted log jam in the top three spots, Oklahoma, which tied Nebraska in sixth place in the final 2004-05 Big 12 standings, received the fourth-highest vote total with 91 points. Nebraska was picked to finish fifth with 70 points, while fellow Big 12 North foe Kansas was close behind with 66 points. The four schools ahead of the Huskers in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll have all received top 25 national rankings from several preseason publications.

Texas A&M (7th, 59 points), Kansas State (8th, 56 points), Iowa State (9th, 45 points), Missouri (10th, 37 points), Oklahoma State (11th, 23 points), and Colorado (12th, 14 points) rounded out the poll.

Yori Establishing Firm Foundation at Nebraska
Now in her fourth 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.

Nebraska continued the momentum last year by replacing four senior starters from 2003-04 team and finishing with an 18-14 overall mark and its second straight postseason bid. The Huskers’ 8-8 Big 12 mark was their best finish since 2000, and included the biggest victory in school history, a 103-99 triple overtime win over eventual national champion and then-No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, 2005.

The Huskers also won their first Big 12 Tournament game since the 2000 campaign and continued their climb in the classroom as well. NU posted a team GPA of better than 3.0 during the spring 2005 semester, as 10 Huskers earned spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor.

Nebraska has also enjoyed a rejuvenation at the turnstiles, with attendance surging nearly 60 percent over the past two seasons. The Huskers ranked 25th nationally in average home attendance in 2004-05, averaging 4,022 fans per game. The increase represented a nearly 30 percent increase over the 2003-04 season, and included a pair of crowds of more than 12,400 at the Devaney Center with a season-high 13,023 against Kansas State. Nebraska averaged nearly 5,800 fans per game during Big 12 action at the Devaney Center.

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

Six Recruits Set to Join Huskers for 2006-07 Season
Nebraska women's basketball coach Connie Yori announced the signing of six impressive recruits to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period for the 2006-07 season on Wednesday.

The Huskers, who are entering their fourth season under Yori, will be joined next season by Nikki Bober (Murdock, Neb.), Ana Fakatou (Long Beach, Calif.), Kala Kuhlmann (Charter Oak, Iowa), Cory Montgomery (Cannon Falls, Minn.), Nicole Neals (Chandler, Ariz.) and Yvonne Turner (Bellevue, Neb.).

Yori said the large incoming class promises to give the Huskers their deepest and most talented team during her tenure for the 2006-07 campaign. The group also makes it possible to give NU its first full roster since Yori's arrival at Nebraska in 2002-03, when the Huskers had only a handful of active scholarship players.

"We are very excited about this incoming class, not only because of the depth it might create for us next year, but also because there are some very talented players in this group," Yori said. "Hopefully next year we will finally feel like we have overcome the numbers situation that we have had in our first four years in the program. This class takes us another step closer to being able to play the exciting style of up-tempo basketball we want to be able to play."

For complete biographies on Nebraska’s incoming recruiting class, visit Huskers.com. Click on Basketball under the Women’s Sports menu. Then click Roster and click on 2006-07 season.

Fastbreakers Booster Club
The Nebraska Women’s Basketball Booster Club, the Fastbreakers, and Lil’ Breakers Booster Club provide dynamic support to the Huskers. Membership benefits include regular e-mail news flashes during the season, a free Nebraska Yearbook, game information, invitations to monthly pre-game meals with the coaches, access to preferred parking, an invitation to the postseason awards banquet and much, much more.

For more information on the Fastbreakers and Lil’ Breakers Booster Club, please visit the Nebraska women’s basketball home page on Huskers.com, e-mail Fastbreaker President Susan Ferris at scf333@aol.com or call the Nebraska women’s basketball office at (402) 472-6462.

The Fastbreakers will host several pregame "Backboard Banquets" during the season. The banquets begin at 5:30 p.m. and are held on the upper concourse of the Devaney Center. This year’s banquets will include guest speakers and several giveaways, along with great food from Premier Catering.

The cost of each meal is $10 per person and the proceeds go to the Husker women’s basketball program. For reservations to attend any of the "Backboard Banquets" please call Rose Sousek at the basketball office at (402) 472-6462.

2006 Fastbreakers Pregame Backboard Banquet Schedule
Monday, Nov. 21 - Creighton, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7 - Kansas, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 1 - Iowa State, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 21 - Oklahoma State, 5:30 p.m.

Huskers Launch Season with Madness
The Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball teams celebrated the official start of practice for the 2005-06 season with Husker Madness on Friday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Nearly 2,500 Husker fans attended the free event to watch the new batch of Huskers in action for the first time.

The Husker women tipped off the Friday, Oct. 14, festivities, which included free men’s and women’s basketball schedule posters and schedule cards, autograph cards, $1 hot dogs and $1 Pepsi products, with a "Select Your Seat" event from 3 to 6 p.m. After the women’s fans chose their seats for the entire season to watch the Huskers at home in the Devaney Center, they got their first look at the 2005-06 women’s squad in action.

The women went head-to-head in a full-court scrimmage for 20 minutes. The Husker Red Team used a strong inside game to roll to a 29-18 victory over the White Team. Junior forward Chelsea Aubry scored the first two points of the year for the Huskers and led all scorers with eight points to lead the Reds.

First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy added seven points, including a three-pointer, while sophomore Sarah White pitched in five points. Senior point guard LaToya Howell contributed three points.

Along with the strong showing of their returning players, the Reds received impressive production from true freshman forward Kelsey Griffin, who added six points. The 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year, Griffin also joined White and Aubry in strong efforts on the glass for the Reds.

Senior forward Elena Diaz and sophomore Heather Kephart each scored six points to lead the Whites. Kephart, who sat out the 2004-05 season as a medical redshirt, knocked down a pair of three-pointers to help keep the White squad close. Jelena Spiric, Jessica Gerhart and TK LaFleur each added two points for the Whites.

Although Gerhart’s White team came out on the losing side in the scrimmage, Gerhart stole the show with her winning effort in the women’s three-point competition. Gerhart knocked down 8-of-15 three-point attempts, including a pair of two-point "Money Balls" to finish with 10 points to win the competition.

Gerhart defeated Howell’s runner-up score of nine points, while Kephart finished with eight points. Hardy, who tied the Nebraska school record with 85 three-pointers last season, including a school-record tying seven threes in a the Huskers’ season finale against Iowa, finished fourth with seven points.

Hardy Climbing Career Three-Point List at Record Pace
First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy has hit 117 three-pointers in just 60 career games and has already shot into fifth place on Nebraska’s career three-point list. Hardy has hit 1.95 three-pointers per game in her brief career, and is on pace to shatter the school record during her junior season.

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 100 career games. Kate Galligan, who ranks No. 2 on NU’s career list with 145 three-pointers, knocked down her shots in 103 games (1.4 pg) for the highest frequency among the former players on the NU top-10 list.

Hardy needs just 12 three-pointers to move into a three-way tie for third on Nebraska’s career three-point chart with Nicole Kubik (129, 1997-2000) and Amy Stephens (129, 1986-89).

Hardy ranked second in the Big 12 Conference with 3.06 made three-pointers per game in league contests. She hit six three-pointers in the win over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, and matched that total with six three-pointers in the win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 1.

She established her career high with a school-record tying seven three-pointers in NU’s season finale against Iowa in the Postseason WNIT at the Devaney Center. She also vaulted into a tie for the single-season school record with 85 threes on the season, previously set by Amy Stephens in 1988-89. The previous NU three-point record by a sophomore was Galligan’s 50 three-pointers in 1993-94.

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.

Huskers Take Care of the Rock
The Huskers produced three of the top four turnover marks in school history in Coach Connie Yori’s first three seasons at Nebraska.

Last season, the Huskers averaged just 15.4 turnovers per game (493 total turnovers) for the third-fewest total turnovers in school history.

In 2003-04, 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 fourth-lowest turnover total with 497 total turnovers (17.8 per game) in Coach Connie Yori’s first season at Nebraska in 2002-03.

Nebraska took good care of the basketball in its regular-season opener against South Dakota State, committing just 13 turnovers against a tough Jackrabbit defense.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 289-105 (.734) in games played in the arena, including 104-66 (.612) in conference games.

The Huskers rolled to a 12-4 home record in 2004-05, after running to a 13-4 home mark in 2003-04. Nebraska is 2-2 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. Nebraska closed its 2004-05 season with a 71-67 loss to Iowa on March 25, 2005 in the second round of the WNIT.

Attendance is a big part of the Huskers’ success. Nebraska’s average home attendance increased by almost 60 percent since the 2002-03 season. Last year, Nebraska ranked 25th nationally by drawing 4,022 fans per game to the Devaney Center.

In 2004-05, the Huskers attracted two of the four largest crowds in school history in back-to-back games on Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. 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.