Huskers Travel to No. 10 Minnesota

Nebraska (2-2)
at #10 Minnesota (4-1)
Williams Arena (14,625) 
Saturday, Dec. 3 ? 5 p.m.
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network
(98.1 FM-KFGE - Lincoln)/Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Television/Internet Video: Not available
Series Record: Nebraska Leads 5-3
Last Meeting: Nebraska won 68-47, Jan. 7, 1997 (Devaney Center)

Huskers Head to Minnesota to Battle No. 10 Gophers
The Nebraska women’s basketball team heads to Minneapolis this weekend to clash with the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1) on Saturday, Dec. 3. The game, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip-off, can be heard live on the Pinnacle Sports Network on 98.1 FM-KFGE in Lincoln and world wide on Huskers.com with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling the action. No television or Internet video broadcast will be available, but live stats will be accessible at Huskers.com.

Nebraska is coming off a 2-1 week that included wins over 2005 postseason qualifiers Creighton and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Huskers rolled to a 34-point win over Creighton on Monday, Nov. 21 in Lincoln, before cruising to a 76-64 victory over the Islanders in the final game of the Miami Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday, Nov. 27, in Coconut Grove, Fla.

Those two wins were sandwiched around a 74-55 loss to No. 3 LSU, which has advanced to the past two NCAA Women’s Final Fours. Although the Huskers fell victim to the Lady Tigers, Nebraska did lead LSU 36-30 at halftime.

Kiera Hardy, the top returning scorer this season in the Big 12 Conference, earned all-tournament honors by setting the tournament scoring record in Miami. The 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., averaged 22.5 points per game, including 26 points against LSU and 2005 National Player of the Year Seimone Augustus. Along with joining Augustus on the all-tournament team, Hardy earned the Big 12 Player-of-the-Week award for the third time in her career.

Kelsey Griffin also earned a spot on the Miami Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament team after producing possibly the best performance by a freshman in school history. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for her first career double-double against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She became the first freshman in history to score 30 or more points in a regulation game and she tied the school record with 18 free throw attempts. Griffin leads the Huskers with 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest and has led all players in scoring in three of her first four career games.

Scouting the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota moved into the national top 10 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls this week by shooting to a 4-0 start, but the Golden Gophers fell at No. 21 New Mexico, 62-44, in Albuquerque on Wednesday night to slip to 4-1 on the season. Minnesota’s loss to the Lobos marked its second contest against a top-25 foe on the young season, joining an impressive 84-77 win over Stanford at Williams Arena on Nov. 20.

Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Pam Borton, the Golden Gophers added solid wins over Nevada and Virginia last weekend to win the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Nov. 25-26.

Natasha Williams, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Skokie, Ill., has been the offensive leader for the Gophers. Williams is averaging a team-leading 13.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in her first season as a starter. She also leads the Gophers with 11 blocked shots on the season, while shooting 67.8 percent from the field.

Junior Jamie Broback has also supplied a strong scoring presence, averaging 12.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per contest in three games off the bench. The 6-3 guard/forward from Apple Valley, Minn., is Minnesota’s top returning scorer and rebounder with 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game a year ago, but sat out the Gophers’ first two games for disciplinary reasons. Liz Podominick, another 6-3 forward/center, is averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Along with an imposing front line, the Gophers feature an experienced backcourt anchored by 5-6 senior guard Shannon Schonrock, 5-11 senior guard/forward Shannon Bolden and 5-9 junior guard Kelly Roysland.

Roysland enters Saturday’s game averaging 9.2 points per game. Schonrock is averaging 7.4 points per contest after getting shut out on an 0-for-7 shooting night at New Mexico. Bolden leads U of M with eight three-pointers on the year, while averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Off the bench, Minnesota features a deep squad led by senior co-captain April Calhoun. The 5-8 guard, who started at New Mexico, is averaging 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and a team-leading 3.8 assists, along with a team-best 1.2 steals per game. Lauren Lacey, a 6-3 sophomore forward/center led Minnesota with 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench at New Mexico to improve her scoring average to 9.2 points per game. Emily Fox, a 5-9 freshman guard, has also made a significant contribution through Minnesota’s first five games.

As a team, Minnesota is averaging 72.0 points per game and shooting 46.0 percent from the field despit hitting just 28.3 percent (15-53) of its shots at New Mexico on Wednesday. The Gophers are hitting just 28.1 percent of their three-point attempts and 67.6 percent of their free throws. Minnesota has used its massive size to produce a plus-5.8 rebounding margin to make up for a minus-1.2 team turnover margin.

Minnesota owns the distinction of being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by the eventual national champions in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Minnesota fell to Baylor, 64-57 in the Sweet 16. In 2004, the Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA Final Four before losing to Connecticut, 67-58. The Gophers have actually advanced to the tournament’s second round each of the past four years, including three straight trips to the Sweet 16.

Nebraska vs. Minnesota Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Minnesota 5-3, including a 68-47 win on Jan. 7, 1997, in the last meeting between the two teams. Saturday’s game will mark only the second meeting between the two schools in women’s basketball in the past 17 years.

Before the 1997 matchup, the previous meeting between Minnesota and Nebraska came in Lincoln on Nov. 25, 1988, when the Huskers ran to a 90-77 victory in the season-opening game of the Nebraska Invitational at the Devaney Center.

The last meeting between the Huskers and Gophers in Minnesota came on Nov. 30, 1984, with a 90-79 victory by Minnesota. Nebraska is 0-2 all-time at Minnesota and 5-1 all-time against the Gophers in Lincoln, including a 68-67 overtime victory in the first meeting between the two schools on Dec. 30, 1977.

Nebraska has only had three letterwinners call the state of Minnesota home, most recently Chris Dillavou from Southland High School in Rose Creek, Minn., in 1994-95. LeeAnna Hiestand from Moorhead, Minn., lettered for the Huskers in 1990 and 1991, while Annie Adamczak lettered for NU in basketball in 1984, before earning All-America honors for the Nebraska volleyball team in 1985.

Nebraska will feature a Minnesota player on its 2006-07 roster with the addition of Cory Montgomery from Cannon Falls.

Hardy Earns Big 12 Player-of-the-Week Award
Kiera Hardy, a first-team All-Big 12 guard as a sophomore for the Huskers in 2004-05, earned her first Big 12 Conference Player-of-the-Week award this season on Monday after averaging 22.5 points per game to earn all-tournament honors at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic.

Hardy, a 5-6 junior from Kansas City, Mo., scored a tournament record 45 points in two games, including a season-high 26 points against No. 3 LSU on Friday. Hardy’s point total surpassed 2005 National Player of the Year Seimone Augustus, who scored 43 points in the tournament.

In addition to her 22.5 points per contest, Hardy added 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game in the tournament. She was flawless with the ball against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, going without a turnover for the second time in the past three games. For the week, Hardy averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 steals per game to help NU to a 2-1 record.

Griffin Erupts for 31 Points, 14 Rebounds vs. Islanders
After producing one of the top career-opening performances by a freshman in school history against South Dakota State, Kelsey Griffin produced perhaps the best game by a freshman in school history with 31 points and 14 rebounds in NU’s 76-64 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic.

The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska hit 9-of-18 shots from the field and 13-of-18 free throws to lead the Huskers with 31 points in 31 minutes. She pulled down six offensive rebounds among her career-best 14 boards, which marked the highest rebounding total by a Husker since Margaret Richards grabbed 15 rebounds on Dec. 21, 2003.

Griffin became the first Husker freshman in history to score 30 or more points in regulation, while becoming just the second Husker frosh to hit for 30 points, trailing only Deb Powell’s 34-point outburst on Feb. 25, 1982 in an overtime contest with Notre Dame. Powell got her 34 points while playing 44 minutes against the Fighting Irish. She added 12 rebounds in a stellar all-around performance by one of the best players in NU history.

Griffin’s 18 free throw attempts against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi set the NU freshman mark and tied the overall school record in that category, previously held by Margaret Richards (Eastern Kentucky, Nov. 29, 2003) and Nicole Kubik (Kansas, Jan. 16, 1999).

Hardy, Griffin Claim All-Tournament Honors in Miami
Huskers Kiera Hardy and Kelsey Griffin captured all-tournament honors at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic over the weekend.

Hardy led all players with a tournament record 45 points to average 22.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game for the tournament. Hardy scored 26 points and grabbed five steals in an opening-round loss to No. 3 LSU, before adding 19 points and five assists in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Hardy’s all-tournament honors marked the second straight season that she earned a spot on an all-tournament team at Thanksgiving, joining her accolades at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, last season.

Griffin opened the tournament with a seven-point, five-rebound performance while going head-to-head with LSU’s 6-6 center Sylvia Fowles in the opener, before bouncing back with one of the best performances by a freshman in school history with 31 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

For the tournament, Griffin averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Husker Lineup Features Three 30-Point Scorers
Kelsey Griffin’s 31-point eruption against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 27 added a third player to Nebraska’s starting lineup who has scored 30 or more points in a single game during their collegiate careers.

Junior guard Kiera Hardy produced a pair of 30-plus scoring efforts during her All-Big 12 campaign a year ago, including a career-high 37 points in a 103-99 triple overtime victory over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, 2005, and a 31-point performance in a win over Hampton on Nov. 27, 2004.

While Griffin and Hardy have produced 30-point outbursts in Husker uniforms, senior guard LaToya Howell owns the top single-game point total with her 38-point effort against Minnesota as an Air Force Falcon on Nov. 30, 2002. Howell added a 30-point performance as a freshman against San Diego State on Feb. 21, 2002.

Griffin Placing Self Among Big 12’s Top Newcomers
After her explosive 31-point, 14-rebound performance in the Huskers’ win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 27, Kelsey Griffin has established herself as a force of the future in the Big 12 Conference.

Through her first four career games, all starts, Griffin ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring and eighth in the league in rebounding with 18.8 points and 8.3 boards per game. She ranks ahead of four of the five Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 selections in both categories, trailing only Baylor’s Sophia Young, the 2005 NCAA Tournament MVP.

Among Big 12 freshmen, Griffin ranks second in scoring and third in rebounding. Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris leads league freshmen with 21.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per contest through six games, while Kansas State’s Marlies Gipson has added 9.5 boards per contest to rank ahead of Griffin in that category. Paris and Griffin are the only two freshmen in an extraordinarily strong Big 12 freshman class averaging better than 15 points per game.

Griffin’s Opening Game Among Best in School History
Freshman Kelsey Griffin, the 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year, tipped off her Nebraska career by scoring a game-high 18 points and adding a team-high seven rebounds to go along with two steals in Nebraska’s opener against SDSU on Nov. 19.

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.

In the win over Creighton, Griffin re-established her career high with 19 points, while matching her career bests with seven rebounds and two steals. She also set career bests with two assists and two blocked shots, while connecting on 9-of-14 shots from the field against the Bluejays.

Griffin on Pace for Best Freshman Year in NU History
Although it is extremely early in her young career, Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin has already etched her name in the Nebraska record books in several categories and is threatening to do even more damage as the season begins to heat up.

Griffin, who became just the 17th Husker (55 performances) in history to score 30 or more points in a game with her 31-point effort against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 27, is averaging 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game through her first four career games. Both averages would be school records, surpassing the 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game produced by Debra Powell in 1981-82.

Griffin, who has led all players in scoring in three of her first four career games, is also on pace to threaten school records for field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted and field goal percentage by a freshman. She is on track to become the fastest Husker ever to 100 points and could become the first Husker freshman to score 500 points in a season, based on her current scoring average.

Hardy Closing in on 1,000-Point Plateau
Nebraska junior guard Kiera Hardy is quickly closing in on becoming the 22nd Husker in history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Hardy heads to Minnesota with 917 career points in 63 career games.

Through four games this season, Hardy ranks second among the Huskers with 15.3 points per game. Last season, Hardy led the Big 12 in conference games with 20.9 points per contest on her way to averaging 19.0 points per game.

The top returning scorer in the Big 12 and one of the most explosive players in the country, Hardy has produced 16 games with 20 or more points in her career, including a season-high 26-point effort against No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25. Six of Hardy’s 20-plus scoring efforts have come against top-25 opponents, including her career-high 37 points in Nebraska’s 103-99 triple-overtime victory over eventual national champion and then-No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, 2005. She added a 31-point effort against Hampton on Nov. 27, 2004.

Hardy Climbing Career Three-Point List at Record Pace
First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy has hit 123 three-pointers in just 63 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 six 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.

Aubry Comes Up Big in Win Over Bluejays
|Junior captain Chelsea Aubry provided one of the best efforts of her career with 18 points and eight rebounds in Nebraska’s 84-50 victory over Creighton on Nov. 21.

The 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario, hit 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, while adding a pair of assists and a steal to help the Huskers blow past the Bluejays.

Aubry’s performance against Creighton came after being held without a shot in NU’s season opener against South Dakota State. Aubry’s seven made field goals against CU tied her career high, while her point total was just two shy of her career-best 20 points at Texas A&M last season.

Aubry’s 18 points marked the 18th time in her career that she has produced double figures in points. Last season, Aubry started 26 games for NU and averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Over the summer, Aubry helped the Canadian National Team qualify for the 2006 World Championships in Brazil. The appearance at the 2006 World Championships will be the first for the Canadians since 1994.

Aubry 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.

Gerhart Back on Track Early in 2005-06
Nebraska forward Jessica Gerhart has provided a solid scoring option for the Huskers through their first four games this season. The 6-2 junior from Fenton, Iowa, has knocked down 19-of-41 shots from the field (46.3 percent) through the first four games to average 10.0 points and 3.8 boards per contest.

Gerhart struck for season highs of 14 points and eight rebounds in the win over Creighton on Nov. 21, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field with her only two misses coming from beyond the three-point arc. Gerhart opened the regular season with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, which all came in the second half.

She added 12 points in NU’s win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 27, which featured 10 points in the first half, including a buzzer-beating jumper to end the first half.

In Nebraska’s exhibition wins to open this season, Gerhart produced a pair of solid performances with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting against UNK. She added 11 points in the opener against UNO to average 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Gerhart hit 60.9 percent of her shots from the field in exhibition play.

Gerhart started NU’s first 18 games last season. 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 also hit nearly 50 percent of her shots from the field through the first 14 contests.

She battled illness and finished the season by hitting 44.8 percent of her shots from the field on the year. She finished the year averaging 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Hardy Expands Her Game After All-Big 12 Season
Kiera Hardy has expanded her impact on the Nebraska women’s basketball team early in her junior season, showing a commitment to getting her teammates involved offensively while continuing to improve her solid defensive play.

The 5-6 junior guard from Kansas City, Mo., not only ranks among Big 12 leaders with 15.3 points per game, she also ranks 12th in the league with 3.75 assists per game and fifth in the conference with 2.75 steals per game.

Hardy’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.14 ranks 12th in the league, and she has gone without committing a turnover in two (Creighton, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) of her last three games. Last year, Hardy’s assist-to-turnover mark was 1-to-1.34, with 67 assists and 90 turnovers in 32 games.

Last season, Hardy set a school record with 609 points as a sophomore, to become just the third sophomore in NU history to earn first-team all-conference accolades. She finished the year shooting 40.4 percent from the field, including 35.7 percent from three-point range. She also tied the school record with 85 three-pointers.

A streaky shooter who was tabbed "The Most Likely Player to Go Off for 40 Points" by the Dallas Morning News, Hardy opened the 2005-06 season red hot during exhibition play. She 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.

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.

LaFleur Making Solid Contributions as Freshman
Although fellow freshman Kelsey Griffin has grabbed headlines with her eye-popping career-opening performances, TK LaFleur is also showing her talents early in her Husker career. The 5-9 guard from Houston, Texas, is averaging 3.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game off the bench through four contests.

LaFleur has also shown the ability to lock down opposing players by providing solid ball pressure for the Huskers. Along with her impressive defensive abilities, LaFleur has proven she can hit from outside, knocking down a pair of three-pointers in the season opener against South Dakota State.

Ranked as the No. 5 two-guard in the nation by the All-Star Girls’ Report in 2003-04, LaFleur’s family moved from the Houston area to Grayslake, Ill., for her final two years of high school. She played at Warren Township High School and earned third-team Class AA all-state honors. As a sophomore at Langham Creek High School in Houston, she averaged 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 4.1 assists per game in 2002-03.

She was an adidas Top 10 All-Star in both 2003 and 2004 and earned Street & Smith’s Honorable-Mention High School All-America honors.

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 are ranked among the top 25 in the current USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Baylor, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Oklahoma and No. 24 Texas Tech.

Minnesota will be the fourth consecutive 2005 postseason qualifier the Huskers have faced this season and the second 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier. Nebraska is 2-1 against 2005 postseason qualifiers so far in 2005-06.

"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 got its first taste of postseason-caliber competition when the Huskers blew past Creighton, 84-50 at the Devaney Center on Nov. 21. The Bluejays posted 19 wins a year ago and earned a bid to the WNIT.

NU hit the road for the first time at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic where the Huskers lost to No. 3 LSU, 74-55, on Nov. 25. The Lady Tigers produced a 33-3 record while running the table to win the 2005 SEC title. The Tigers lost to Baylor in the Final Four to end their season.

The Huskers posted their second win of the year over a 2005 postseason qualifier with a 76-64 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic. 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).

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 Likely Out for Season with Recurring Injury
Sophomore guard Heather Kephart is likely out for the season with a recurring injury, Nebraska Coach Connie Yori announced in early November.

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 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 has taken solid care of the basketball so far in 2005-06, committing just 13 turnovers against South Dakota State, while adding just 14 turnovers while seeing full-court pressure from Creighton on Monday. Through four games, Nebraska is averaging 17.3 turnovers per game, while dishing out 14.0 assists per contest as a team. The Huskers are forcing 21.8 turnovers per game by their opponents for a plus-4.5 team turnover margin.

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.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 290-105 (.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.