NU Hopes to Pack Devaney for No. 24 A&M

Nebraska
(12-9, 4-6)
#24 Texas A&M 
(18-5, 7-3)
Devaney Center (13,595) 
Saturday, Feb. 11 ? 1:05 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Net (National) 
Kevin Eschenfelder, Debbie Antonelli
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network
(98.1-KFGE Lincoln/Huskers.com)
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 12-3
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 73-59, Feb. 16, 2005 in College Station, Texas
Last Meeting in Lincoln: Nebraska won, 65-48, Jan. 17, 2004
Special Promotions: Pack the Devaney - Dollar Days
$1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 Pepsi products
Alumni Day
Red Cross Appreciation Day

Huskers Hope to Pack Devaney for No. 24 Texas A&M
The Nebraska women’s basketball team (12-9, 4-6) will be hoping for a big and boisterous crowd to help the Huskers in an upset bid of No. 24 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.

Tip-off at the Devaney Center is set for 1:05 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net, with Kevin Eschenfelder and Debbie Antonelli on the call. A live radio broadcast will also be available on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including 98.1 FM-KFGE in Lincoln and world wide on Huskers.com with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling the action.

Saturday’s game will be the Huskers’ final "Pack the Devaney" promotion of the season, with $1 general admission seating, $1 hot dogs and $1 Pepsi products. Nebraska fans have come out in droves for the "Dollar Days" promotion in the past two seasons, with two of the top four crowds in school history packing the house last season.

NU’s first "Pack the Devaney" promotion this season attracted a season-high 7,114 fans to the Devaney Center for a 73-61 win over Kansas on Jan. 7. The crowd was Nebraska’s largest crowd ever outside the month of February. Junior first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy continues to lead the Huskers by averaging 17.4 points and 3.8 assists per game. Nebraska’s single-game, single-season and career leader in three-pointers needs 21 points to climb to No. 11 on NU’s all-time scoring list. She is coming off a 19-point effort at No. 12 Baylor Wednesday.

Freshman forward Kelsey Griffin, the reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week, added 19 points of her own at Baylor, which followed a 28-point, 12-rebound performance at Kansas State last Saturday. Griffin leads the Huskers in rebounding and ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Junior forward Jessica Gerhart, who hit 5-of-6 shots from the field and scored 10 points at Baylor, has added 9.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the Huskers, who have won their last two games at the Devaney Center.

Huskers to Honor Jennings on Alumni Day at Devaney
Nebraska will honor the greatest women’s basketball player in school history on Saturday as part of its Alumni Day festivities at the Devaney Center.

Karen Jennings will be recognized for her career accomplishments during a brief ceremony, as a banner will be raised inside the arena commemorating her jersey retirement in 1994. Jennings’ banner joins men’s basketball greats Dave Hoppen, Stuart Lantz and Eric Piatkowski on the North side of the arena.

A standout on the court, in the classroom and in the community during her illustrious four-year career at NU from 1989-90 to 1992-93, Jennings won the Wade Trophy as the National Player of the Year in 1993. A first-team Kodak All-American in 1992-93, Jennings was a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year. The Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1989-90, Jennings was a three-time first-team all-conference selection.

Jennings finished her career as NU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,405 points, while ranking second all-time at Nebraska with 1,000 rebounds. She led the Huskers to their first NCAA Tournament victory in 1993.

In the classroom, Jennings was a three-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for women’s basketball. The Big Eight Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 1992-93, Jennings was also one of 10 finalists for the NCAA Woman-of-the-Year award. She also earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Jennings was voted the captain of Nebraska’s All-Century Team for women’s basketball in 1999-2000, as part of NU’s celebration of 25 years of women’s varsity athletics.

NU Passes the Bucket for Red Cross Appreciation Day
The Nebraska women’s basketball program and the NU Athletic Department will join in support of the American Red Cross by collecting donations during the annual Red Cross Appreciation Day at the Devaney Center on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Volunteers will be collecting donations by passing large white buckets with red crosses on them through the crowd during halftime activities of the Huskers’ game with Texas A&M. A video presentation on the HuskerVision screens will also be made at the start of halftime.

Scouting the No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies
No. 24 Texas A&M enters Saturday’s game in the hunt for one of the top four seeds in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The Aggies improved to 7-3 by beating Texas, 73-53, in Austin on Wednesday to remain in a tie for second with No. 12 Baylor in the Big 12 standings behind unbeaten Oklahoma.

Texas A&M has won back-to-back games against in-state rivals Texas Tech (65-48) and at Texas before coming to Lincoln. The Aggies’ win over the Longhorns in Austin ended UT’s 31-game home winning streak against Big 12 Conference competition.

A&M has won four of its last five league contests, including a 20-point home win against Missouri and a nine-point victory at Colorado. The Aggies have added double-digit wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas State and at Kansas, while suffering a one-point loss at Texas Tech and an 11-point setback at Baylor.

After visiting Lincoln, the Aggies have South Division home contests against Baylor and Texas along with road trips to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. A&M’s only remaining North division foe is Iowa State.

At 7-3 in the league, Texas A&M has already secured its best Big 12 Conference record in school history, surpassing the 5-11 mark it posted in 2001-02 when the Aggies finished in a tie for ninth in the league.

Texas A&M features the youngest starting lineup in the Big 12, as the Aggies started three sophomores and two freshmen in their win over Texas on Wednesday. A&M has five freshmen and five sophomores on its 15-player roster that features just two seniors.

The Aggies feature an interchangeable lineup, with no player averaging 13 or more points per game, and only two contributing in double figures in scoring. No Aggie is averaging six rebounds per game, but as a team, A&M is outscoring opponents by 16 points per game and outrebounding the opposition by 2.4 boards per contest.

Sophomore swing player Morenike Atunrase leads the Aggies in scoring, steals and blocked shots. She is averaging 12.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while leading A&M with 46 total steals and 44 blocks. She is also tied for the team lead with 21 three-pointers.

Freshman Takia Starks is adding 11.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while sophomore point guard A’Quonesia Franklin has added 9.0 points per game, while leading A&M with 4.4 assists per contest. Franklin has also hit 21 three-pointers, while Starks has knocked down 20 triples to give the Aggies three legitimate shooting threats from long range.

Freshman swing player Danielle Gant has contributed 8.9 points and a team-leading 5.4 rebounds per game off the bench, while leading the Aggies with her 58.5 field goal percentage. Senior forward Tamea Scales has added 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game primarily as a starter. Sophomore forward Patrice Reado earned a start at Texas, as did freshman post player La Toya Micheaux.

Texas A&M is shooting just 42 percent from the field as a team and just 31.4 percent from three-point range, while hitting just 64.6 percent of its free throws.

While the Aggie offense has not been eye-catching, the defense and possession-earning has been spectacular. A&M owns one of the nation’s most dominant turnover margins with plus-10.2 per game. The Aggies are forcing 24 turnovers per contest, while committing just 13.9 per game. Texas A&M also owns a plus-2.4 rebounding margin.

The Aggies’ ball-hawking has gained them an astounding 15 more field goal attempts and 2.1 free throw attempts per game than the opposition, which has led them to outscore opponents, 71.6-55.7 this season. A&M leads the Big 12 in scoring margin (+16.0) and scoring defense, while also leading the league in steals, turnover margin, assist-to-turnover ratio and offensive rebounds.

Nebraska vs. Texas A&M All-Time Series
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Texas A&M, 12-3, including a 73-59 win at Texas A&M on Feb. 16, 2005. Chelsea Aubry led the Huskers in that game by hitting 7-of-7 shots from the field and all five of her free throw attempts to finish with a career-high 20 points. Kiera Hardy added 18 points, including four three-pointers. Hardy scored 13 points in the game’s first nine minutes to shoot NU to a 13-point first-half lead. Jina Johansen also dished out a career-high 11 assists in a game that allowed Nebraska to improve to 8-4 in Big 12 play before dropping its final four regular-season conference games.

The Huskers have won back-to-back games in the series, including a 65-48 victory over the Aggies at the Devaney Center in Coach Gary Blair’s first year at Texas A&M. Overall, Nebraska is a perfect 6-0 against Texas A&M at the Devaney Center dating back to a 92-86 win on Dec. 10, 1983.

The first meeting in series history came back on Feb. 27, 1981 in College Station, with the Huskers posting a 71-64 win.

Huskers Drop Road Game Against Defending Champs
Kiera Hardy and Kelsey Griffin each scored 19 points, but it was not enough to stop defending national champion Baylor from running to a 91-69 victory over the Huskers in Waco, Texas, on Wednesday.

Nebraska hit just 28.6 percent of its shots from the field in the first half, while the No. 12 Lady Bears came out hot, connecting on 54.5 percent of their attempts from the field. BU led from start to finish and built a 23-point halftime lead.

Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Sophia Young led six Lady Bears in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds, while Chameka Scott added 16 points and seven rebounds in a strong effort for BU, which improved to 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12.

Rachel Allison added a career-high 15 points off the bench for the Bears, while Abiola Wabara contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.

Young scored the first two points of the night and four of the game’s first six points as Baylor sprinted to a 6-0 lead in the opening 1:15. Chelsea Aubry, who scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Huskers, hit a three-pointer to get Nebraska on the board and Jessica Gerhart added a jumper to cut BU’s lead to 6-5.

Baylor then outscored the Huskers 26-7 over the next 10 minutes to stretch its lead to 20 points at 32-12 and never looked back. BU’s lead grew as large as 37 points midway through the second half before the Huskers started to heat up from the field.

Hardy hit 6-of-7 field goal attempts in the second half, while Griffin finished the night 4-of-6 from the field overall and 11-of-12 at the free throw line. Jessica Gerhart added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Nebraska finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range. The Huskers also hit 76.9 percent (20-26) of their free throw attempts. Baylor connected on 50.8 percent of its field goals, including 4-of-12 three-pointers (33.3 percent). BU also hit 80.8 percent (21-26) of its shot from the foul line.

Baylor dominated the boards, outrebounding the Huskers, 40-24, on the night, while pulling down 15 offensive rebounds. The Lady Bears turned their board work into 32 second-chance points to help BU outscore the Huskers 52-18 in the paint. BU attempted 14 more shots from the field than the Huskers.

Griffin Captures Second Big 12 Rookie Award
Kelsey Griffin earned her second Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honor in the past month when the conference office announced its weekly award winners on Monday.

The 6-2 freshman forward from Eagle River, Alaska, produced one of the top five performances by a freshman in school history with 28 points and 12 rebounds at Kansas State on Feb. 4. She was 9-of-18 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line against the Wildcats. She also set a career high with three blocked shots and knocked down the first three-pointer of her career.

Griffin, who produced arguably the finest performance by a freshman in school history with 31 points and 14 rebounds against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27, has notched three double-doubles in her first season at Nebraska, including a 16-point, 12-rebound performance against Missouri.

The 2005 Alaska Gatorade High School Player of the Year, Griffin won her first conference weekly honor on Jan. 9. She has scored in double figures 16 times while making all 21 starts this season for NU. She has scored no fewer than seven points in any game. She has pulled down at least seven rebounds on 12 occasions, including a trio of double-figure rebounding efforts.

Griffin enters the Texas A&M game averaging 14.7 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game. She ranks among the top 15 players in the Big 12 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and offensive rebounds.

Husker Starters Come to Play Every Day
Nebraska has featured the same starting lineup through each of the first 21 games of the season heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup against No. 24 Texas A&M.

A consistent starting five is nothing new for the Huskers. In 2003-04, Nebraska was one of only eight NCAA Division I teams to start the same five in every game.

Junior guard Kiera Hardy has made 49 consecutive starts to lead the Huskers, while junior forward Chelsea Aubry has added 35 consecutive starts. Freshman forward Kelsey Griffin has started each of the first 21 games of her career.

Huskers Taking Care of the Rock in Big 12 Action
Saturday’s game between Nebraska and Texas A&M will feature the top two teams in the Big 12 in turnover margin. The Aggies lead the conference and possibly the nation with a plus-10.2 turnover margin, while the Huskers rank second with a plus-4.9 advantage.

Nebraska has been phenomenal at protecting the basketball during Big 12 Conference action this season. The Huskers have committed no more than 15 turnovers in any league game, including a season-low eight turnovers against Missouri on Jan. 11.

The Huskers opened conference play by committing 10 turnovers at Colorado on Jan. 4, before committing just 10 more miscues against Kansas in Lincoln on Jan. 7. Through 10 league games, NU has committed just 120 turnovers, an average of just 12.0 turnovers per game. The Huskers are forcing 16.1 turnovers per contest for a plus-4.1 turnover margin in league action.

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.

Through 21 games in 2005-06, the Huskers have been even better, averaging just 14.2 turnovers per game. Nebraska has turned the ball over just 298 times this season. With six regular-season games remaining and one more game guaranteed in the Big 12 Tournament, even if the Huskers averaged 20 turnovers per game, they would still finish the season with the second-lowest turnover total in school history with 438.

NU has committed more than 17 turnovers in only two games this season (LSU, Grambling State). The Huskers committed a season-high 24 turnovers against Grambling State, but NU’s high turnover total in the win over the Lady Tigers followed on the heels of 11 turnovers against Texas State on Dec. 20.

Nebraska turned the ball over just 11 times at Texas Tech on Jan. 21, 11 times against Colorado Jan. 28, and 11 more times at Kansas State on Feb. 4. The Huskers recorded just 13 turnovers against South Dakota State and Michigan, while adding 14 turnovers against Creighton, Texas Southern and Texas. NU committed 15 turnovers against Northern Arizona and a Big 12 season-high 15 in both games against Iowa State and at No. 12 Baylor.

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.

Hardy Quickly Climbing Nebraska Career Scoring List
Kiera Hardy, the top returning scorer this season in the Big 12, became the 22nd player in Nebraska history to score 1,000 career points with her 15-point effort in the Huskers’ 96-47 win over Texas State on Dec. 20.

Over the past six weeks, Hardy has climbed from 23rd to 12th on NU’s scoring list with 1,222 points and needs just 63 points to break into NU’s all-time top 10.

Hardy struck for 26 points and four three-pointers in Nebraska’s loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 21, after an impressive 29-point effort against Texas. She hit 6-of-10 three-pointers against the Longhorns and became Nebraska’s career three-point leader. It was the fifth time in her career that she hit six or more three-pointers in a game.

Hardy opened Big 12 play with 26 points against Kansas on Jan. 7, one of five times this season she has scored 26 or more points. She scored a season-high 32 points against Northern Arizona on Dec. 31, after striking for 26 points against No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25.

She has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and 23 times in her career.

Hardy, who reached the 1,000-point mark in just her 68th career game, has scored in double figures 17 times this season, including eight games with 20 or more points. She opened the season with back-to-back eight-point efforts, before scoring 26 against No. 3 LSU. She added 22 points with six assists on Dec. 3 at No. 10 Minnesota, before scoring 20 points with six three-pointers and six more assists in Nebraska’s 93-68 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 7. Only Iowa State, which limited her to single digits in both meetings, has kept Hardy from double-figure scoring totals in the past 19 games.

In addition to her dynamic scoring abilities, Hardy has increased her impact for the Huskers in 2005-06 on both the offensive and defensive ends. Through 21 games, Hardy is averaging 3.8 assists to rank among the top 15 players in the Big 12. She produced a career-high nine-assist effort in the win over Colorado on Jan. 28 and added seven assists at Kansas State on Feb. 4. With 79 total assists this season, Hardy has shattered her 2004-05 total of 67 in 32 games. She has also committed just over half the number of turnovers.

On the season, Hardy also ranks among the top 10 players in the Big 12 with her 1.68-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (79 assists-47 turnovers). Last season, Hardy’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 1-to-1.34 (67 assists-90 turnovers).

Defensively, Hardy has been stellar. She leads the Huskers and ranks among Big 12 leaders with 2.0 steals per game. Her 42 steals are just nine steals shy of her 51 steals in 32 games a year ago.

Hardy Takes Over Nebraska Career Three-Point Record
First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy will continue to rewrite the Nebraska record book for the rest of her career as the top three-point shooter in school history.

Hardy smashed Nebraska’s three-point record with six three-pointers against Texas on Jan. 18. She finished the night with 158 threes in 75 games, shooting past current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge’s previous mark of 155 three-pointers in 117 career games. Not only did Hardy shatter the mark in 42 fewer games played than DeForge, she hit her first 155 three-pointers in 18 fewer attempts.

Hardy has increased her career total to 167. She is the only player on Nebraska’s top-10 three-point list who has played fewer than 100 career games.

Hardy matched her season-high with six three-pointers against Texas, after hitting six three-pointers against Texas Southern on Dec. 7, when she moved ahead of Husker all-time greats Amy Stephens and Nicole Kubik on NU’s three-point chart. She tied the school single-game record with seven threes against Iowa in the 2005 WNIT.

Hardy ranks among Big 12 leaders with 52 three-pointers this season, an average of 2.48 three-pointers per game. After tying the school single-season record with 85 three-pointers last season and smashing the school’s sophomore record, Hardy has established a Nebraska junior single-season record with 52 threes this year, surpassing the 47 three-pointers hit by Sabrina Brooks in 1987-88.

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.

Gerhart Erupts for Career High in Win Over Buffaloes
Nebraska forward Jessica Gerhart poured in a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field in the Huskers’ 70-54 win over Colorado on Jan. 28. Gerhart’s effort against the Buffaloes surpassed the 20 points she scored last season against Northern Colorado, and crushed her previous season high of 14 points against Creighton in NU’s second game of the year.

Gerhart has provided a solid scoring option for the Huskers through her first 21 games this season, contributing double figures on 11 occasions. The 6-2 junior from Fenton, Iowa, is averaging 9.4 points and 3.5 boards per game.

Gerhart was extremely consistent through NU’s first 13 games, producing double figures in eight of those 13 contests, while scoring no fewer than six points in any contest before going scoreless against No. 24 Missouri on Jan. 11. She bounced back with her ninth double-figure effort of the season with 12 points and five rebounds at Iowa State on Jan. 14.

Gerhart struck for 14 points and eight rebounds in NU’s 84-50 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 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.

Against Texas State, Gerhart missed her first seven shots from the field before erupting for 11 straight points to turn a 12-point NU lead into a 23-point cushion in a span of just three minutes. She finished with 13 points by hitting six of her final seven shots from the field, including a three-pointer at the end of the first half. She added 10 points in the Huskers’ win over Kansas on Jan. 7.

Gerhart has also shown improvement on the defensive end. With 14 steals on the season, Gerhart has surpassed her total from all of 2004-05. She needs just two more steals to match her career total of 16 in 60 games in 2003-04 and 2004-05 combined.

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.

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 16 of her first 21 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.

The 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year has continued her strong scoring pace by crossing the 200-point plateau in her 14th game against Missouri. She produced the second double-double of her career with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Tigers.

She has demonstrated amazing consistency, crossing the 300-point mark in her 21st game against No. 12 Baylor in Waco on Wednesday, when she scored 19 points while going head-to-head with Baylor All-American Sophia Young. Griffin has scored 309 points through 21 games and is averaging 14.7 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game. She is on track to produce one of the top-five seasons by a freshman in school history in both categories.

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.

She added another top-five effort by a freshman with 28 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots at Kansas State on Feb. 4. That performance earned her second Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honor of the season. She earned her first award on Jan. 9.

Griffin ranks among the top 15 players in the Big 12 in scoring, rebounding, offensive rebounds and field goal percentage.

Although it is early in her young career, Griffin has already etched her name in the Nebraska record books in several categories and is threatening to do even more damage as the Big 12 Conference season heats up.

Griffin became just the 17th Husker (56 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.

Among Big 12 Conference freshmen, Griffin trails only Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, a strong contender for national freshman of the year, in scoring and rebounding.

Rebounding, Turnover Margins Creating Victories for NU
Nebraska has been solid this season in the key areas of rebounding and turnover margin.

Through 21 games, the Huskers have produced a stellar plus-4.9 team turnover margin by averaging just 14.2 turnovers per game, while forcing an average of 19.0 turnovers per contest. Nebraska also owns a team rebounding margin of plus-1.3 per game.

NU’s success in those two categories has helped the Huskers attempt an average of 5.2 more shots per game than their opponents, while also getting to the free throw line an average of 2.0 more times per game.

Nebraska produced its most lopsided turnover margin of the season by going plus-12 in the turnover column in a 70-54 win over Colorado on Jan. 28. NU committed just 11 turnovers against the Buffaloes, while forcing 23 CU miscues.

The Huskers have enjoyed at least a plus-five turnover margin in 14 of 21 games this season, and only three opponents - No. 3 LSU, Iowa State (Jan. 14) and No. 12 Baylor - forced negative turnover results by NU. In the other four games, No. 10 Minnesota and Northwestern matched the Huskers’ turnover total, while the Huskers were a plus-one in the turnover column at Texas Tech and plus-two at Kansas State.

The Huskers managed plus-10 turnover margins against Michigan and Texas State, while adding plus-nine turnover results against Creighton and Texas Southern. NU produced plus-eight turnover marks against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Missouri, while enjoying a plus-seven turnover advantage in three straight games against Grambling State, Northern Arizona and Colorado. The Huskers added a plus-six turnover result against Iowa State on Feb. 1, and plus-five turnover margins against South Dakota State, Kansas and Texas.

Nebraska has enjoyed five double-figure rebounding advantages this season, including a season-high plus-22 rebound margin at Northwestern. The Huskers grabbed 19 more rebounds than Texas State, 13 more than No. 10 Minnesota, 11 more than Creighton and 10 more than Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Only three teams have produced double-digit advantages on the glass against the Huskers, as Texas posted 17 more rebounds (40-23) than the Huskers, No. 12 Baylor was plus-16 (40-24) and South Dakota State grabbed 10 more boards than NU in the season opener.

Huskers Displaying Defensive Dominance
Nebraska’s defense has shown the ability to shut down opponents at a record pace. The Huskers put a stranglehold on Northwestern, giving up just 50 points on Dec. 10. A week later, Nebraska was even better on defense, allowing just 49 points to a solid Michigan squad. Against Texas State on Dec. 20, the Huskers may have played their best defense of the season, giving up 47 points to a team that entered the game averaging 80 points per contest.

The Huskers lowered their best defensive total of the season to 40 points in the win over Grambling State on Dec. 29. The win over Grambling State marked the first time in school history that the Huskers held four straight opponents to 50 or fewer points.

Nebraska held Iowa State to just 42 points on Feb. 1, the third-lowest scoring total by an NU Big 12 foe in the 10-year history of the league.

The Huskers have held six of their first 21 opponents, including Creighton, Northwestern, Michigan, Texas State, Grambling State and Iowa State to 50 or fewer points this season.

Last year, Nebraska held five opponents to 50 or less in 32 games, which marked the first time since 1996-97 that an NU team had held five foes to 50 or less during a season. The 1996-97 squad held six opponents to 50 or fewer points, which was the most since holding eight opponents to 50 or fewer points in a 36-game season in 1978-79. NU has twice held nine foes to 50 or less in a season (1974-75 and 1976-77).

In Coach Connie Yori’s four seasons in Lincoln, the Huskers have held opponents to 50 or fewer points 18 times in 111 games. In Nebraska’s six previous seasons (beginning in 1996-97), which included three trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Huskers held only 19 opponents to 50 or less in a span of 185 games.

Aubry Providing Solid Leadership, Production in Big 12
Junior captain Chelsea Aubry continues to give the Huskers strong production, despite playing somewhat out of position as Nebraska’s three-player this year.

Aubry made the move from power forward to the wing after the season-ending knee injury to Jelena Spiric in fall practice. Aubry’s scoring average has dipped from her sophomore season, but her rebounding, assist and steals totals are on the rise.

Through 21 games, Aubry is averaging 7.0 points per game, down from her 9.2 points per contest in 2004-05, while contributing 5.3 rebounds per game. Her production and comfort level on the wing have continued to improve throughout the season, and she has produced double figures four times in Big 12 Conference action, after managing double figures just twice in 11 non-conference contests. She had a 13-point performance in the Huskers’ win over Iowa State on Feb. 1, when she tied her career high with a trio of three-pointers. She added two more three-pointers at Kansas State, and another at Baylor to rank second among the Huskers with 17 threes on the season. She has hit six of her last 10 attempts from long range heading into the Texas A&M game.

Aubry opened Big 12 play by scoring 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field at Colorado on Jan. 4. She added nine points and five boards in the Huskers’ win over Kansas on Jan. 7, before contributing 11 points and five rebounds against No. 24 Missouri on Jan. 11. She added 10 points, including tying a career best with a trio of three-pointers at Iowa State on Jan. 14.

Aubry has already dished out 21 assists this year, surpassing her total in 29 games a year ago, while snagging 16 steals through 21 games to surpass the 10 steals she produced in 30 games as a freshman and nearly match the 17 steals in 29 games as a sophomore in 2004-05.

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 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. She added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field at Colorado on Jan. 4. She has produced double figures in points 23 times in her career. She also set a career best with four assists against Northwestern on Dec. 10.

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.

Page Earns Spot in Husker Top 10 in Blocked Shots
Danielle Page swatted a pair of Iowa State shots away on Feb. 1 to crack Nebraska’s all-time top 10 list in blocked shots with 52 in her brief Husker career. She added a trio of blocks at No. 12 Baylor to increase her career total to 55. She needs just eight more blocks to move into a tie for eighth place on Nebraska’s all-time list with Wade Trophy winner and Kodak All-American Karen Jennings and Pyra Aarden with 63.

Page blocked 31 shots as a freshman to put together the fourth-best total by an NU freshman in history. She needs just three more blocks to rank in the top five on the Huskers’ sophomore single-season block list, after posting 24 through 21 games this year.

The 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., got off to a slow start to the 2005-06 season while coping with a breathing condition that limited her playing time early in her sophomore season.

However, after averaging just 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds through the season’s first five games, Page helped fuel Nebraska’s eight-game winning streak from Dec. 7 through Jan. 7.

During NU’s winning streak, Page averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots and 1.1 steal per game. She had 10 points, two rebounds, one block and one steal to help the Huskers win in her home state of Colorado for the first time in Page’s lifetime (20 years).

Page produced 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and a career-high tying three steals against Grambling State on Dec. 29. Page had six points and a season-high 10 boards in a season-high 23 minutes against Texas State.

She scored a season-high 14 points and pulled down six rebounds in just 16 minutes at Northwestern on Dec. 10, after scoring seven points and grabbing six boards in 18 minutes against Texas Southern on Dec. 7.

Page enters the Texas A&M game averaging 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while leading the Huskers with 24 total blocked shots.

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 5.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 0.6 steals per game. She enjoyed her best Big 12 effort with 11 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in the Huskers’ 70-54 win over Colorado on Jan. 28. It was LaFleur’s fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season and first in Big 12 play.

LaFleur produced a career-high 16 points in the win over Texas State on Dec. 20, scoring 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the second half. She erupted for a 15-point, two-assist, three-steal effort against Texas Southern on Dec. 7, just four days after scoring 10 points at No. 10 Minnesota. LaFleur has come off the bench in each of Nebraska’s first 21 games, but ranks fifth on the team in scoring.

Against Minnesota, LaFleur hit a pair of three-pointers and added threes in wins over Texas Southern, Northwestern and Michigan. She hit two more three-pointers against Texas State and has increased her season total to 12, which ranks third on the team behind Kiera Hardy’s 52 and Chelsea Aubry’s 17.

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 Continue to Rank among Big 12 Leaders at Line
Nebraska has continued its recent tradition of ranking among the top Big 12 teams at the free throw line. Through 21 games, the Huskers have hit 72.8 percent of their free throws.

Nebraska ranks second in the Big 12, trailing only Colorado’s 74.4 percent accuracy. The Huskers’ success rate would rank as the fifth-best percentage in school history. The past two seasons, the Huskers have hit 74.9 percent (2004-05) and 74.0 percent (2003-04) from the line. The school record is 79.0 percent set in 1981-82. NU added the third-best shooting percentage in school history with 74.5 percent accuracy in 1988-89.

The Husker lineup features six players shooting better than 70 percent at the line, including Jessica Gerhart (88.2 percent), Kiera Hardy (77.8 percent), LaToya Howell (77.4 percent), Chelsea Aubry (76.0 percent), Danielle Page (75.6 percent) and Sarah White (73.1 percent).

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 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).

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 South Dakota State on Nov. 19.

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 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’s 2005-06 schedule features some of the toughest teams in the nation, including five teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.

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 AP poll, including No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Baylor, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 19 Texas and No. 20 Oklahoma.

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 added a 96-47 win over a Texas State team that came to Lincoln with a 7-1 record. The Huskers added a 69-40 pounding of Grambling State on Dec. 29, the preseason pick to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. NU closed non-conference play with a 70-56 win over Northern Arizona on Dec. 31.

The Huskers opened 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 beating the Buffaloes, 80-62, at CU for the first time since 1985, Nebraska returned to the Devaney Center and knocked off previously unbeaten Kansas, 73-61.

Tied with No. 24 Missouri atop the conference standings at 2-0, the Huskers played host to the 12-2 Tigers on Jan. 11. NU carried an eight-game winning streak into the contest, while MU brought an 11-game winning streak to Lincoln, including a win over defending national champion Baylor to snap the Lady Bears’ 30-game winning streak. The Tigers snapped NU’s streak with a 64-58 win.

The Huskers opened an eight-game stretch in which they face seven 2005 postseason qualifiers. The showdowns started on Jan. 14 in Ames, when the Huskers suffered a 79-57 setback at 2005 NCAA qualifier Iowa State. NU then suffered a 70-62 setback to Texas, another NCAA squad, on Jan. 18 in Lincoln.

NU traveled to NCAA qualifier Texas Tech on Jan. 21, and suffered a narrow 61-59 defeat, before returning home to defeat Colorado, 70-54, Jan. 28. The win gave the Huskers their first regular-season sweep of the Buffaloes since 1983-84. NU split the season series with Iowa State by working its way to a 54-42 victory in Lincoln on Feb. 1, before falling to NCAA qualifier Kansas State 71-64 on Feb. 4. NU suffered a 91-69 loss at defending national champion and No. 12 Baylor Feb. 8, before playing host to No. 24 Texas A&M (Feb. 11), which advanced to the third round of the 2005 WNIT.

Nebraska travels to Kansas on Feb. 15, before closing its home schedule against Kansas State (Feb. 18) and Oklahoma State on Senior Night (Feb. 21). NU 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.

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 rankings from several 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.

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 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
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 297-107 (.735) in games played in the arena, including 107-68 (.611) in conference games. Nebraska is 8-3 at home this season.

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. The Huskers drew their largest crowd outside of the month of February in school history with 7,114 fans at the Devaney Center on Jan. 7, 2006, for the Huskers win over Kansas.

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.