Huskers Open Homestand with Texas State

Nebraska (5-3)
vs. Texas State (7-1)
Devaney Center (13,595)
Tuesday, Dec. 20 ? 7:05 p.m.
Internet Video: HuskersNside (subscription basis)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network
(98.1-KFGE Lincoln/Huskers.com)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: First Meeting

The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens its longest regular-season homestand on Tuesday when the Huskers play host to Texas State (7-1) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m., with a live video stream available on HuskersNside, the premium site of Huskers.com.

The game can also 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.

Nebraska will be playing just its second home game in the past 29 days after playing five of its past six games on the road, including three straight Saturdays on the road in Big Ten country. The Huskers return home with a three-game winning streak after rolling to a 69-49 win at Michigan on Saturday.

The Huskers’ 20-point win at Michigan followed a 30-point victory at Northwestern on Dec. 10 and a 25-point win over Texas Southern in Lincoln on Dec. 7, in NU’s last home appearance.

Hardy Poised to Join Nebraska 1,000-Point Club
Kiera Hardy, the top returning scorer this season in the Big 12 Conference, needs just nine points to become the 22nd player in Nebraska history to score 1,000 career points. Hardy enters Tuesday night’s game with 991 career points after her 21-point effort on Saturday night at Michigan.

Hardy, who could reach the 1,000-point mark in just her 68th career game, has turned up the heat after a slow start in the season’s first two games. In the last six games, Hardy has averaged 19.8 points per contest, including a season-high 26 points against No. 3 LSU. Hardy scored 22 points and tied her previous career high with six assists on Dec. 3 at No. 10 Minnesota, before adding 20 points, including six three-pointers, and six more assists in Nebraska’s 93-68 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 7.

Hardy ranks among the top 10 players in the Big 12 in scoring (10th), assists (8th), steals (4th), three-pointers made (2nd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4th).

Griffin Off to Record-Breaking Start for Huskers
Kelsey Griffin is off to a record-breaking start to her Nebraska career. The 6-2 freshman forward from Eagle River, Alaska, has scored in double figures in six of her first eight games to become the fastest player in NU history to score 100 points. Griffin went over the century mark on the Huskers’ first basket of the game at Northwestern, and added 20 more points on the day.

Griffin has now scored 128 points through her first eight games to push her averages to 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.

Griffin produced possibly the best performance by a freshman in school history with 31 points and 14 rebounds for her first career double-double in a win over 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 ranks among the top 15 players in the Big 12 in scoring (11th), rebounding (12th), field goal percentage (10th) and offensive rebounds (5th).

Griffin will enjoy a reunion of sorts against Texas State on Tuesday. Griffin will go head-to-head with her former Chugiak High School teammate Erica Putnam, a starting forward for the Bobcats. Griffin and Putnam led Chugiak to the Alaska Class 4A state title in 2003.

Scouting the Texas State Bobcats
Coach Suzanne Fox brings her Texas State Bobcats to Lincoln after running to the best start in school history. The Bobcats opened the season with seven straight victories, before suffering a 67-51 setback at South Dakota State in Brookings on Friday night.

Texas State opened its season with an impressive 77-69 road win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Nov. 19. Outside of the win over the Cowgirls, the Bobcats have not played a schedule loaded with teams from major conferences. Texas State rolled to wins over Texas-Permian Basin (85-40), Prairie View A&M (78-46), Mississippi Valley State (85-51), Huston-Tillotson (95-61) and Schreiner (102-43) before beating Texas-Pan American in a narrow 67-65 win on Dec. 10. However, Texas State blew out their opponents in games two through six by 32 points or more, and comes to Lincoln outscoring the opposition by an average of 24.8 points per game.

The Bobcats have shot a solid 44 percent from the field, including an impressive 38.3 percent from three-point range. They have also outrebounded their opponents by an average of 8.9 boards per game, while committing just 15.3 turnovers per contest.

Last season, Texas State finished with a 14-14 overall record but finished in a tie for third in the Southland Conference with an impressive 11-5 mark. The Bobcats were picked to finish seventh in the league in the preseason, but team leaders Tamara Thompson, Joyce Ekworomadu and Jeana Hoffman have the Bobcats on the winning track.

Hoffman, and her twin sister Jenna, came to the San Marcos, Texas school from Mitchell, S.D. The all-state performers are both in the Bobcat starting lineup in their sophomore seasons. Jeana Hoffman is averaging 11.0 points and 3.4 points per game, while hitting 10 three-pointers on the year. Jenna Hoffman has added 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while leading the Bobcats with 4.5 assists per contest.

Thompson, a 6-0 senior forward, leads Texas State in both scoring and rebounding at 17.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She was also the Southland Conference Player of the Week for games Dec. 5-11.

Sophomore swing player Joyce Ekworomadu has also played well for the Bobcats, averaging 14.1 points and 3.9 rebounds while leading the team with 17 steals. Ekworomadu is also shooting a stellar 50 percent (12-24) from three-point range.

Junior Erica Putnam rounds out Texas State’s starting lineup. Putnam, a 6-1 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, was a high school teammate of Nebraska freshman forward Kelsey Griffin. Putnam and Griffin teamed to lead Chugiak to the Alaska Class 4A state title during Griffin’s sophomore season in 2003.

Ashley Leffingwell, a 5-9 freshman guard, has provided the Bobcats with a solid threat off the bench, averaging 8.9 points per game, while hitting a team-high 13 three-pointers. Ally Kelly, a 5-6 senior guard who transferred from Mississippi, has added 6.8 points per game off the bench for Texas State.

Tuesday’s game with the Bobcats will mark the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Texas State in women’s basketball.

Huskers Cruise to Road Win at Michigan, 69-49
Kiera Hardy scored a game-high 21 points, including a trio of three-pointers, to propel Nebraska to a 69-49 victory over Michigan at Crisler Arena on Saturday.

Despite playing with a minor back strain suffered earlier in the week, Hardy connected on 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 three-pointers to produce the 19th 20-point scoring effort of her career. Hardy a first-team All-Big 12 guard, scored 15 points and knocked down all three of her three-pointers in the second half, as Nebraska turned a 28-24 halftime lead into a runaway win.

Junior forward Jessica Gerhart added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists to help the Huskers.

Freshman forward Kelsey Griffin managed seven points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots despite sitting on the bench for 14 minutes in the first half with foul trouble.

Senior point guard LaToya Howell also played a solid game with six points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Chelsea Aubry added six points and six rebounds in a strong effort.

Nebraska shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the field for the game, including 53.8 percent (14-26) in the second half. The Huskers were even better from three-point range, knocking down 53.3 percent (8-15) of their three-pointers, including 87.5 percent (7-8) in the second half. Nebraska also hit 9-of-13 free throws (69.2 percent).

The Huskers enjoyed a major advantage in turnover margin, committing just 13 turnovers while forcing the Wolverines into 23 miscues on the night. Michigan did manage to outrebound the Huskers, 32-31.

Nebraska held Michigan to just 37.3 percent (19-51) from the field, including just 27.8 percent (5-18) from three-point range. Michigan did hit 75 percent of its free throws, but managed just eight trips to the line.

The Huskers led from nearly start to finish, trailing only in the game’s opening minutes after Michigan’s Janelle Cooper hit a three-pointer on the Wolverines’ first possession. After a Griffin basket, Hardy scored to give Nebraska the lead for good, before Griffin added another score to give NU a 6-3 lead.

Nebraska led by nine points on seven occasions until TK LaFleur buried a three-pointer with 10:40 to play in the game to push NU’s lead to 12 points at 46-34. The Huskers quickly turned the 12-point lead into a 20-point cushion with an 8-0 run over the next four minutes.

Huskers Add Freshman to Roster During Finals Week
University of Nebraska freshman Sara Hieb experienced a whirlwind Finals Week in her first semester in Lincoln last week. The Brandon, S.D., native was added to the Nebraska women’s basketball team’s roster on Thursday after going through her first practice of the season on Wednesday. She received her No. 3 jersey on Friday and joined the Huskers for their trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., on Friday afternoon.

Hieb, a 5-3 guard out of Brandon Valley High School, had three practices and spent the weekend studying Nebraska’s offense before suiting up for the first time against Michigan in Crisler Arena.

Not only did the walk-on suit up for the game, she played more than one minute in the Huskers’ 69-49 win over the Wolverines.

Hieb, an architecture major at Nebraska, led Brandon Valley to state tournament appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2004 as an All-ESD Conference player. She earned a spot on the South Dakota Class AA All-State Tournament Team in 2004, after setting the tournament record with 11 three-pointers.

Hieb’s record was later broken by current Texas State starter Jenna Hoffman in the state championship game that same season.

Drmanac Returns to Court in Win Over Wolverines
Nebraska senior forward Ivana Drmanac made her first appearance of the season in Nebraska’s 69-49 victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

Drmanac, who missed the first seven games of the season after undergoing knee surgery, went through a full schedule of practices last week before seeing her first playing time of the year in the game’s final minute at Michigan.

Unfortunately for Drmanac, her usual jersey No. 30 did not make the trip to Michigan with her, so she made her first appearance of the year wearing No. 10.

Page Experiences Uniform Malfunction in Michigan
Ivana Drmanac wasn’t the only Husker playing in disguise in the Huskers’ win over the Wolverines on Saturday night.

Sophomore forward Danielle Page took the court sporting a No. 20 jersey for the first time. Page’s No. 52 and all of her other travel gear failed to reach Ann Arbor in time for tip-off. Page was the only Husker who arrived in Michigan without her belongings, as all of Nebraska’s other baggage arrived safely and on time.

Page’s luggage was finally delivered to the team hotel on Saturday night, just in time for her to re-check the bag on Monday for the return trip to Lincoln.

Pass-Happy Hardy Powering Husker Offense
The top returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference this season, first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy has added the title of Nebraska’s top passer so far in 2005-06. Through eight games, Hardy is averaging 4.5 assists to rank eighth in the Big 12. During a four-game stretch from Nov. 27 to Dec. 10, Hardy was even better at distributing the basketball, averaging 6.3 assists per contest.

Hardy set or tied her career high in assists in three straight games against Minnesota, Texas Southern and Northwestern, including eight assists in a 30-point win over the Wildcats. With 36 assists on the year, Hardy has already dished out more than half of her total number of assists (67) in one-fourth of the games compared to last season.

Over the last five games, Hardy has distributed 26 assists, while committing just seven turnovers. On the season, Hardy ranks fourth in the Big 12 with her 2.57-to-1 ratio. Last season, Hardy’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 1-to-1.34.

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, leads the Huskers in rebounding with 7.4 boards per game, while ranking second on the squad with 16.0 points per game. Both averages are challenging school freshman records of 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game produced by Debra Powell in 1981-82.

Griffin became the fastest Husker ever to score 100 points, crossing the milestone in the first minute of her seventh game, before finishing the game with 22 points. She enters the Texas State game with 128 points through eight contests.

Griffin, who has led all players in scoring in four of NU’s first eight games and has been the Huskers’ top rebounder in five of eight contests, 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.

Hardy Ready to Join Huskers in 1,000-Point Club
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 into the game with 991 career points in 67 career games.

Through eight games this season, Hardy leads the Huskers with 16.9 points per game, including 19.8 points per contest over the past six games. 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 19 games with 20 or more points in her career, including a season-high 26-point effort against No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25 and 22 points at No. 10 Minnesota on Dec. 3. She is coming off a 21-point effort at Michigan Saturday. Seven 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.

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 eight career games, all starts, Griffin ranks among the top 15 players in the Big 12 in scoring (16.0 ppg, 11th), rebounding (7.4 rpg, 12th) and field goal percentage (56.3, 10th). She ranks ahead of four of the five Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 selections in nearly all of the categories, trailing only Baylor’s Sophia Young, the 2005 NCAA Tournament MVP, in all three categories, teammate Kiera Hardy in scoring, and Tiffany Jackson of Texas in rebounding.

Among Big 12 freshmen, Griffin ranks second in scoring and rebounding. Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris leads league freshmen with 21.5 points and 14.1 rebounds per contest through 11 games. Paris and Griffin are the only two freshmen in an extraordinarily strong Big 12 freshman class averaging better than 15 points per game.

Hardy Climbing Career Three-Point List at Record Pace
First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy has hit 138 three-pointers in just 67 career games to shoot into third place on Nebraska’s career three-point list. Hardy has hit 2.1 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 moved 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) with her first three-pointer against Texas Southern on Dec. 7, before burying five more trifectas on the night against the Lady Tigers. Hardy ranks second in the Big 12 with 23 three-pointers this season, an average of 2.88 three-pointers per game which also ranks second in the league.

Hardy ranked second in the Big 12 Conference with 3.06 made three-pointers per game in league contests last season. 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 2005 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.

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 Nov. 25-27.

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.

Gerhart Back on Track Early in 2005-06
Nebraska forward Jessica Gerhart has provided a solid scoring option for the Huskers through their first eight games this season. The 6-2 junior from Fenton, Iowa, has knocked down 38-of-82 shots from the field (46.3 percent) through the first eight games to average 10.3 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. She scored 12 more points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field in the Huskers’ rout of Texas Southern on Dec. 7, before adding another dozen at Northwestern on Dec. 10. She scored 12 again and added five rebounds in the Huskers’ 69-49 win at Michigan on Dec. 17.

Gerhart has produced double figures in five of NU’s first eight games, and has scored at least six points while starting all eight games for the Huskers this season. Last year, Gerhart started NU’s first 18 games. Through 14 contests 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 games.

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.

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 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game. She erupted for a career-high 15-point, two-assist, three-steal effort against Texas Southern on Dec. 7.

The game against the Lady Tigers was LaFleur’s second straight double-figure scoring performance off the bench, joining her 10 points at No. 10 Minnesota.

LaFleur has looked increasingly comfortable in Nebraska’s offense and is starting to gain confidence in her outside shot. Against Minnesota, LaFleur hit a pair of three-pointers and added threes in wins over Texas Southern, Northwestern and Michigan. Her seven made three-pointers rank second among the Huskers, trailing only Kiera Hardy’s 23.

LaFleur has come off the bench in all eight games for the Huskers, scoring six or more points in four of those eight contests.

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.

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 while continuing to improve her solid defensive play.

The 5-6 junior guard from Kansas City, Mo., not only ranks among the top 10 in the Big 12 with 16.9 points per game (10th) and 2.88 made three-pointers per contest (2nd), she also ranks among the league’s top 10 in assists (4.5 apg, 8th), steals (2.63 ppg, 4th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.57-1, 4th). She also ranks 14th in three-point field goal percentage at 37.7 percent.

Hardy has gone without committing a turnover in three of her last seven games (Creighton, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern). 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 and was tabbed "The Most Likely Player to Go Off for 40 Points" by the Dallas Morning News,

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’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.

Hardy Earns Big 12 Player-of-the-Week Award Nov. 28
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 Nov. 28, 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.

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.

She added a strong performance with 13 points and five rebounds while matching her career high with three assists in just 18 minutes of action against Texas Southern on Dec. 7. It was the second time this season and 19th time in her career that she has produced double figures in points.

Aubry is averaging 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. She has also improved her assist statistics over the past three contests. She tied a career high with three assists in the win over Texas Southern on Dec. 7, before setting a career best with four assists in the win over Northwestern on Dec. 10. She added an assist at Michigan, and with 12 assists already this season, she needs just four more to match her season total from a year ago. She is averaging 1.5 assists 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 on 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.

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.

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. Five opponents are ranked among the top 25 in the current USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Baylor, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 21 Texas.

Minnesota was the fourth consecutive 2005 postseason qualifier the Huskers have faced this season and the second 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier. Nebraska is 2-2 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 remained on the road to start December when the Huskers fell to Big Ten power and No. 10 Minnesota 78-70 in Minneapolis on Dec. 3. 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 for a 93-68 run past Texas Southern, the Huskers continued their road trip through Big Ten cities with an 80-50 rout of Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 10, and a 69-49 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor 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.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 291-105 (.735) 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.