Huskers Ready for Drake in WNIT

Nebraska 
(17-12, 8-8)
vs.
Drake 
(17-11, 13-5)
Devaney Center
Thursday, March 16 ? 7:05 p.m.
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network
(98.1-KFGE Lincoln/Huskers.com)
Internet Video: Huskers.com (Free)
Series Record: Nebraska Leads 9-8
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 73-60, March 28, 2004 in Lincoln (Postseason WNIT First Round)
Nebraska All-Time in Postseason WNIT: 5-5 (Fifth appearance)
Nebraska All-Time Postseason Appearances: 14

Huskers Set to Host Drake in WNIT First Round Thursday
The Nebraska women’s basketball team (17-12 overall, 8-8 Big 12) will make its third consecutive postseason appearance when the Huskers play host to the Drake Bulldogs (17-11 overall, 13-5 MVC) in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Thursday, March 16, at 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for Nebraska’s first-round WNIT game are available by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8-BIGRED or (402) 472-3111 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and until 4 p.m. on Thursday. Tickets, which run from $4 to $10 per person depending on seat location, can be picked up at the Devaney Center Will Call beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday night. Tickets will also be available for purchase the night of the game at the Devaney Center beginning at 5:30.

A live radio broadcast of the game will 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.

Both Nebraska and Drake head into the postseason as hot teams down the stretch in the regular season. The Huskers won five of their last seven games with their only losses coming on the road to top 25 teams, including a 73-64 setback to No. 22 Texas A&M at the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas on March 8. Drake has won nine of its last 11 contests and finished with a 13-5 record to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs are coming off a 78-62 loss to MVC Tournament champion Missouri State on March 10.

The Huskers will be hosting Drake for the second time in the past three seasons in the first round of the WNIT. In 2004, Nebraska defeated the Bulldogs, 73-60, at the Devaney Center on March 18. That game marked the first meeting between Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori and Drake Head Coach Amy Stephens.

Yori, who earned a victory in her first postseason appearance as NU’s head coach, defeated Stephens, a former player for the Huskers in the late 1980s and assistant coach for the Huskers in Yori’s first season in Lincoln in 2002-03.

Drake assistant coach Dr. Micah Parker was also a member of Yori’s first coaching staff at Nebraska. Parker served as the director of operations for one year before joining Stephens at Drake as an assistant coach for the 2003-04 season. Parker was formerly the head coach at Concordia in Seward, Neb.

Hardy Repeats as First-Team All-Big 12
Nebraska junior Kiera Hardy became just the second Husker to capture back-to-back first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors when the league office announced its 2006 teams before the Big 12 Tournament.

Hardy, a 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., enters the postseason averaging 17.5 points per game, while adding 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. Hardy’s 94 assists this season are just 17 shy of her career total of 111 entering her junior season, while her 52 steals are also a career-best total.

Hardy ranks second in the Big 12 with 72 three-pointers on the year, which has shattered Nebraska’s junior single-season record and ranks as the third-highest total in school history.

Last season, Hardy tied current Drake Coach Amy Stephens’ Nebraska single-season record with 85 three-pointers, including a school-record tying seven threes against Iowa in the second round of the WNIT. Stephens also hit seven three-pointers in a game for the Huskers against Kansas on Feb. 4, 1989.

Hardy, who smashed WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge’s career school three-point record this season, joined DeForge as the only Huskers to ever claim two first-team All-Big 12 awards. DeForge earned first-team honors in both 1997 and 1998.

The only players in school history to earn first-team all-conference awards in three straight seasons are 1993 Wade Trophy winner Karen Jennings and 1988 Big Eight Player of the Year Maurtice Ivy.

Hardy owns Nebraska’s career three-point record with 187 in just 88 games, while DeForge finished her career with 155 three-pointers. Hardy also ranks 10th on NU’s career scoring list with 1,363 points.

Hardy needs 70 more points to climb into ninth place on Nebraska’s all-time scoring list and may have a chance to become just the third Husker in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau next season.

Griffin Earns Spot on Big 12 All-Rookie Team
Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin claimed one of five spots on the Big 12 Conference All-Rookie Team announced on March 3, by the league office in Dallas. She added another impressive accomplishment when she was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the Dallas Morning News, after the newspaper named fellow league freshman Courtney Paris from Oklahoma as its Big 12 Player of the Year.

Griffin, a 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, is averaging 13.4 points and a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game while starting all 29 games for the Huskers during the regular season. Griffin’s impressive numbers came despite being limited significantly during the last six games by illness.

Griffin’s scoring average and field goal percentage (55.2 percent) rank among the top five freshman seasons in school history, while she set an NU freshmen record with 113 free throws made and ranks second with 162 free throw attempts. She has added solid totals with 38 steals and 22 blocked shots on the season.

She enjoyed two of the top five games by a freshman in school history with her 31-point, 14-rebound effort in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Miami, Fla., on Nov. 27, and her 28-point, 12-rebound performance at Kansas State on Feb. 4. She added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Missouri on Jan. 11.

Griffin earned two Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors during the league season, with her first coming after helping the Huskers to wins over Colorado and Kansas to open the Big 12 season on Jan. 9. She earned her second award after her performance at Kansas State on Feb. 6.

After earning her second Big 12 weekly award, Griffin produced another dominant week by averaging 19.5 points per game in losses at No. 12 Baylor and to No. 24 Texas A&M. Against the Aggies, Griffin scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field for her fourth 20-point performance of the season.

Against the Lady Bears, Griffin hit for 19 points while knocking down 11-of-12 free throws. For the week, she hit 13-of-16 shots from the field and 13-of-15 free throws.

Hot Huskers Clinch Third Straight Postseason Berth
In Coach Connie Yori’s fourth season at Nebraska, the Huskers have clinched their third straight winning season and have secured their third straight trip to the postseason.

Nebraska won four of its last five regular-season games and notched a 1-1 record in the Big 12 Tournament to post a first-round tournament win for the second straight season. Nebraska enters the Postseason WNIT with a 17-12 overall record, which follows on the heels of a pair of 18-win campaigns for the Huskers in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The 2005-06 Huskers finished Big 12 play at 8-8 to claim a tie for sixth for the second straight season. NU produced its second straight .500 league mark, accomplishing the feat for the first time since back-to-back .500 or better Big 12 records in 1999 and 2000.

The Huskers’ success over the last three years comes in stark contrast to their three previous seasons, which all ended in losing records. In Yori’s first season in Lincoln, a handful of scholarship players managed just an 8-20 record and a 1-15 league mark in 2002-03.

Nebraska has earned postseason trips to the WNIT the past three seasons and the Huskers have won first-round games in each of the past two seasons, including a 73-60 victory over Drake in Lincoln in 2004.

A Look at the 2006 Postseason WNIT Field
The 2006 Postseason WNIT expanded to 40 teams this year, adding eight more spots to last year’s 32-team field. The Big 12 Conference is well-represented in this year’s WNIT field, as Nebraska joins Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas in the tournament. The Missouri Valley Conference added three teams to the mix with appearances by Drake, regular-season league champion Indiana State and Northern Iowa.

Play in the tournament begins on Wednesday with four preliminary-round games scheduled, including Stony Brook at Hofstra, Belmont at Tennessee Tech, Jackson State at Rice and Western Illinois at Illinois.

Action heats up on Thursday night, as the four other preliminary-round games (Northern Iowa at Kansas, Cincinnati at Florida International, UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State and Santa Clara at Oregon State) join first-round matchups between Eastern Michigan and Indiana State, UW-Green Bay at Iowa State and Drake at Nebraska in a busy night of basketball.

The remaining first-round games will conclude on March 17 and 18.

The winner of the first-round game between Drake and Nebraska in Lincoln, will face the winner of the Wyoming vs. Santa Clara or Fresno State game, which will be played March 18.

No game date, time or location has been set for a potential second-round game for the Huskers in the tournament. The second round is scheduled to be played March 19-21, while the quarterfinals are set for March 22-24.

The WNIT semifinals will be played March 25-28, while the championship game is set for March 29-April 1.

All games in the WNIT are played at host sites determined by the WNIT on a round-by-round basis.

Scouting the Drake Bulldogs
The Drake Bulldogs (17-11 overall, 13-5 MVC) enjoyed their best season under third-year coach and former Husker Amy Stephens in 2005-06. After opening the year with a 4-5 non-conference record, the Bulldogs worked their way to a 13-5 record in the Missouri Valley Conference and earned the No. 2 seed in last week’s league tournament.

Drake has produced victories in nine of its last 11 games, but suffered a setback in its last appearance with a 78-62 loss to eventual Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., on March 9.

The Bulldogs are making their 17th postseason tournament appearance in school history and their eighth trip to the WNIT, joining trips in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1999 and 2004. Drake was knocked out of the 2004 WNIT by Nebraska, 73-60, in Lincoln on March 18.

Junior Jill Martin leads the Bulldogs as a two-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. Martin ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 16.1 points per game, while ranking third in the league in rebounding with 9.0 boards per contest. The Norwalk, Iowa native produced 13 double-doubles on the season, including a 22-point, 10-rebound effort in the loss at Missouri State.

Senior guard Linda Sayavongchanh earned All-MVC honors for the third straight season while adding MVC All-Defensive team accolades. Sayavongchanh has added 9.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, while leading Drake with 73 assists and 55 steals on the season. In two career meetings with Nebraska, Sayavongchanh has averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals against the Huskers, including 15 points, seven assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes against NU in the 2004 WNIT.

Sophomore Brandy Dahir ranks as Drake’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 51.9 percent from the field.

Sophomore Lindsay Whorton has added 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while leading the Bulldogs with 51 three-pointers on the season. Senior Natalie Raub rounds out Drake’s probable starting lineup, averaging 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Bulldogs have outscored opponents by an average of just 0.6 points per game (64.6-60.0), but have outrebounded foes 36.0-33.9 on the year. Drake carries a minus-1.5 team turnover margin and has hit just 41.9 percent of its shots from the field, including just 28.8 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs are a solid free throw shooting team, hitting 72.3 percent of their attempts. Opponents are shooting 43.7 percent from the field, including an impressive 35.2 percent from long range against Drake.

Nebraska vs. Drake All-Time Series
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Drake 9-8, including a 73-60 victory over the Bulldogs in the first round of the 2004 Postseason WNIT.

The win by the Huskers over the Bulldogs in 2004, ended NU’s three-game losing streak to Drake that dated back to 1999. Despite that losing streak to Drake, the Huskers have won eight of the past 11 meetings in the series with the Bulldogs, including a seven-game winning streak from 1986 to 1998.

Drake opened the all-time series with the Huskers by winning four of the first five games from 1980 to 1982. Overall, the Huskers are just 4-5 against the Bulldogs in Lincoln, but 4-3 against Drake in Des Moines.

Hardy Huge for Huskers in Postseason Play
Two-time first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy has been nearly unstoppable for the Huskers in four career Postseason WNIT games. Hardy has averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in postseason play, including a 26-point effort that included a school-record seven three-pointers in her last home Postseason WNIT appearance against Iowa in 2005.

Hardy added 21 points in the Huskers’ first-round 2005 WNIT win at Marquette last season, and scored 20 points in NU’s 2004 Postseason WNIT home loss to Oregon State.

In her first-ever postseason appearance as a freshman, Hardy scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals in the Huskers’ 73-60 win over Drake on March 18, 2004.

Huskers Earn 14th Postseason Tournament Bid
The Nebraska women’s basketball team earned its 14th postseason tournament bid in school history when it accepted an invitation to the 2006 WNIT. The Huskers are making their third straight trip to the Postseason WNIT and have posted first-round victories in each of the last two years.

Overall, the Huskers are 5-5 in the WNIT, including a 2-1 record in their first appearance in the NWIT in Amarillo, Texas, in 1976. The Huskers went 1-2 in the NWIT in 1992.

Nebraska owns six all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, including bids in 1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The Huskers also claimed three AIAW Regional Tournament bids in 1979, 1980 and 1981. NU defeated Drake, 64-63, in the AIAW Regional in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 8, 1980.

Drake Owns Strong Ties to Nebraska
The Drake women’s basketball team possesses some strong ties with the Cornhuskers and the state of Nebraska. The Bulldogs’ connections with Nebraska start with head coach Amy Stephens, who is the third-leading scorer in the history of Husker women’s basketball.

Stephens scored 1,976 points in her four-year career as a starter for the Huskers. A member of Nebraska’s All-Century Team announced in 2000, Stephens also ranks fourth all-time at NU with 444 career assists and third all-time in steals with 280. She started 113 games in her NU career and was a first-team All-Big Eight pick in 1989.

She helped the Huskers to their only Big Eight Conference title as a junior in 1988, and scored 20 points in a loss to USC in Nebraska’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988.

Stephens, who spent eight seasons as the head coach at Nebraska-Kearney, joined Coach Connie Yori’s first coaching staff at Nebraska for the 2002-03 season, before taking the top job at Drake.

Drake assistant coach Dr. Micah Parker also has strong ties to Nebraska. Parker served as the director of basketball operations on Yori’s first staff in Lincoln before joining Stephens in Des Moines. Before coming to the University of Nebraska, Parker was the head coach at Concordia College in Seward, Neb.

South Sioux City, Neb., native Jane Horkey is also a member of the Bulldog roster. Horkey has appeared in 16 games with one start and averaged 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.

Huskers Sweep Big 12 North Foes in Rematches
Nebraska was a perfect 5-0 this season in rematches with Big 12 Conference North division teams and added a sixth victory by defeating Colorado for the third time this season in the opening round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Dallas on March 7.

The Huskers, who posted regular-season sweeps of both Kansas and Colorado for the first time in school history, opened their second tour of the league’s northern half with a 70-54 home win over Colorado on Jan. 28. The Huskers opened the conference season with an 80-62 win at Colorado for their first win in Boulder in 20 years.

Four days later, Nebraska notched a 54-42 victory over Iowa State in Lincoln, that avenged a 79-57 loss to the Cyclones in Ames on Jan. 14.

The Huskers closed the sweep of Kansas with a 65-57 win in Lawrence on Feb. 15, after handing the Jayhawks their first loss of the season in a 73-61 win in Lincoln on Jan. 7.

Nebraska came back from a 12-point second-half deficit in a 64-62 overtime win over Kansas State at the Devaney Center on Feb. 18, to avenge a 71-64 loss at Manhattan on Feb. 4.

The Huskers suffered a 64-58 loss to No. 24 Missouri on Jan. 11, in NU’s first loss of the Big 12 season that snapped an eight-game Husker winning streak at the time, but Nebraska avenged that setback with a 75-62 win over the Tigers in Columbia to close the regular season on March 1.

Overall, the Huskers finished 8-3 against the Big 12 North in 2006, the best record by any North division schools against other members of the North. Nebraska matched Missouri with a 7-3 regular-season record against North teams before adding a win over Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament.

Hardy Joins Top 10 on Nebraska Career Scoring List
Two-time first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy continues to climb the Nebraska career scoring list.

Heading into the Postseason WNIT, Hardy ranks 10th all-time at Nebraska in scoring with 1,363 points and needs 70 points to move into ninth place.

With 507 points this season, Hardy’s scoring total ranks fifth all-time among Nebraska juniors. The top returning scorer this season in the Big 12, Hardy 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.

Hardy has scored in double figures 25 times this season, including 11 20-plus scoring efforts with her most recent coming with 28 points and six rebounds in NU’s loss to No. 22 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament on March 8. She scored a season-high 32 points in a win over NCAA Tournament qualifier Northern Arizona on Dec. 31.

Five of Hardy’s 20-point scoring efforts came against 2006 NCAA Tournament teams. She produced her top performance of the Big 12 campaign with 29 points, including six three-pointers, against Texas on Jan. 18, before adding 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field in the regular-season finale at Missouri on March 1.

Hardy, who has scored 26 or more points seven times this season, scored 26 points against No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25, 26 more in a loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 21, and 26 a third time in a win over Kansas on Jan. 7.

Hardy, who owns 26 career 20-point scoring efforts, reached the 1,000-point mark in just her 68th career game.

Hardy Rewriting Nebraska’s Three-Point Record Book
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 187. 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. She tied the school single-game record with seven threes against Iowa in the 2005 WNIT.

Hardy ranks second in the Big 12 with 72 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 72 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.

Huskers Set School Turnover Mark Against Cowgirls
Nebraska set a school single-game record by committing just four turnovers in the Huskers’ 81-56 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21.

Although it was the lowest turnover mark in school history, the Huskers’ low number in that category continues an impressive trend for Nebraska over the past several seasons.

The Huskers are on their way to producing their fourth of the top five turnover marks in school history in Coach Connie Yori’s four years at Nebraska.

In 2005-06, the Huskers are averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game. Nebraska has turned the ball over just 404 times this season for the second-lowest turnover total in school history. NU has committed more than 17 turnovers only three times all season (LSU, Grambling State, Texas A&M).

The Huskers were even better in Big 12 regular-season play, averaging just 12.3 turnovers per game, while forcing 16.6 turnovers per contest to rank second in the league with a plus-4.3 turnover margin. NU committed more than 15 turnovers just once (Texas A&M, 25) in 16 league games. They produced single-digit turnover marks against Oklahoma State (4), Missouri (8) and at Kansas (9).

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

In 2003-04, the Huskers committed just 488 turnovers (16.3 per game), which ranked as the second-lowest total in school history, trailing only the 369 turnovers in 32 games in 1991-92 (11.5 per game).

The Huskers achieved their fourth-lowest turnover total with 497 total turnovers (17.8 per game) in Coach Connie Yori’s first season at Nebraska in 2002-03.

Gerhart’s Hot Shooting Fuels Huskers’ Streak
Jessica Gerhart helped spark Nebraska’s 5-2 record to close the season with her hot shooting from the field. Over the past seven games, the 6-2 forward from Fenton, Iowa, has hit 54.8 percent (40-73) of her attempts from the field, including a perfect 8-for-8 shooting night against Oklahoma State on Feb. 21.

Gerhart scored 16 points in just 15 minutes in one of the most efficient performances by a Husker this season against the Cowgirls. She added 15 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field in the Huskers’ regular-season finale at Missouri, before opening the Big 12 Tournament with 10 points and seven rebounds in a first-round win over Colorado in Dallas on March 7. She opened NU’s winning streak by hitting 6-of-9 shots from the field to score 14 points at Kansas on Feb. 15.

She began her hot shooting by knocking down 5-of-6 shots from the field against No. 12 Baylor on Feb. 8.

Gerhart is averaging to 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 84.0 percent at the free throw line. She scored a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting against Colorado on Jan. 28, and has scored in double figures 15 times this season.

While her shooting touch has been on fire, her defensive intensity has also heated up. Over the past nine contests, Gerhart has grabbed seven steals, including a career-high four steals in the Huskers’ overtime win over Kansas State on Feb. 18. Her seven steals in the past nine games surpassed her total of six steals from her entire freshman season when she played in all 30 games for NU, while pushing her season total to 19, surpassing the 16 total steals she had in 60 games entering her junior year.

Aubry Giving Huskers Dangerous Threat from Outside
Junior Chelsea Aubry has become a potent threat from long range during Big 12 Conference action. The 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, shot 41.0 percent from three-point range during regular-season league play.

She hit 16-of-39 shots from beyond the arc against league foes and sizzled in NU’s final nine games of the Big 12 season, burying 12 of her last 29 three-point attempts, including tying her career high with three three-pointers against both Iowa State on Feb. 1 and Oklahoma State on Feb. 21.

Overall this season, Aubry ranks second among the Huskers with 24 three-pointers, nearly doubling her total of 13 three-pointers from a year ago. Aubry’s growing confidence from long range has helped the Huskers down the stretch in regular-season Big 12 play.

Aubry has found her offensive niche while playing somewhat out of position for NU this year. She 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.

Aubry enters the postseason averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures six times this season, including four times in Big 12 play. She has dished out 29 assists this year, nearly doubling her total of 16 in 29 games a year ago, while snagging 20 steals to surpass the 17 steals she had in 29 games as a sophomore.

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.

She added 13 points in the Huskers’ win over Iowa State Feb. 1, when she tied her career high with a trio of three-pointers. Aubry opened Big 12 play by scoring 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field at Colorado on Jan. 4. She contributed 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.

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.

Howell Helps Huskers Push for Postseason Play
Senior LaToya Howell has helped ignite Nebraska’s 5-2 record over the past seven games with drastically improved production in all areas of her game.

The 5-5 point guard from Chicago, Ill., enters the Postseason WNIT averaging 3.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

During NU’s last seven games, Howell is averaging 4.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She has grabbed 19 of her 43 steals on the season in her last eight games, while setting her career rebounding mark twice with eight rebounds against Kansas State on Feb. 18 and a career-high nine boards at Missouri on March 1. Her eight rebounds in the Huskers’ 64-62 overtime victory over Kansas State on Feb. 18, came in a career-high 41 minutes.

Howell played one of her best games of the season in Nebraska’s win over Colorado in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship on March 7 in Dallas. Howell scored nine points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six boards to help the Huskers advance to the second round in the tournament for the second straight season.

Howell tied her career high with 10 assists in just 24 minutes in the Huskers’ 81-56 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21, the second time in league play she has dished out 10 assists (at Iowa State, Jan. 14).

She has started 28 of NU’s 29 games, coming off the bench behind Ashley Ford only against Texas A&M.

Page Surging Down Stretch for Huskers
Sophomore Danielle Page has provided Nebraska with a major lift off the bench during the past seven games, playing a major role in NU winning five of its past seven games.

The 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has averaged 5.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shot per contest over the last seven games. She has pulled down 16 of her 36 offensive boards on the season and grabbed 10 of her 22 steals on the year in the past seven contests.

Page has also played an average of 20.1 minutes per game in the past seven contests, compared with just 15.8 minutes per game on the season.

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

During that eight-game winning streak, Page averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots and 1.1 steals per game. She scored a season-high 14 points and grabbed six boards in NU’s win at Northwestern on Dec. 10. She added 12 points and five rebounds against Grambling State and produced her third double-figure scoring effort of the season with 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, who blocked 31 shots as a freshman, leads the Huskers with 35 blocks this season to rank as the third-best total by a sophomore in school history. She is just the second player in school history, joining NU all-time block leader Janet Smith, to post back-to-back 30-block seasons during her freshman and sophomore campaigns. Page needs just one more block to catch Charlie Rogers (1997-98) in second on NU’s sophomore list.

Page ranks eighth at Nebraska with 66 blocked shots and needs just one more block to into sole possession of seventh on NU’s all-time list. She needs just two more blocks to produce one of the top 10 overall single-season totals in school history.

Turnover Margin Creating Victories for Huskers
Nebraska has been solid this season in the key area of turnover margin.

The Huskers have produced a stellar plus-4.8 team turnover margin by averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game, while forcing an average of 18.7 turnovers per contest.

NU’s success in creating turnovers while taking care of the basketball has helped the Huskers attempt an average of 4.2 more shots per game than their opponents, while also getting to the free throw line an average of 1.4 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 added a plus-11 turnover total in their overtime win over Kansas State on Feb. 8, forcing 23 Wildcat turnovers while committing only 12 turnovers of their own, including just three after halftime.

The Huskers added a plus-10 turnover margin in their win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21, committing a school-record low four turnovers while forcing 14 Cowgirl miscues. The Huskers also provided plus-10 turnover margins against Michigan and Texas State in non-conference play.

The Huskers have enjoyed at least a plus-five turnover margin in 18 of 29 games this season, and only four opponents - No. 3 LSU, Iowa State (Jan. 14), No. 12 Baylor, No. 24 Texas A&M (Feb. 11) - 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, plus-two at Kansas State and plus-two against Texas A&M (March 8).

Huskers Displaying Defensive Dominance
Nebraska is allowing just 62.4 points per game this season, its best team scoring defense average in the past decade, trailing only the 1996-97 squad’s 58.7 points allowed per contest.

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 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 119 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.

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 29 games, the Huskers have hit 72.7 percent of their free throws.

Nebraska ranks third in the Big 12, trailing only Colorado’s 74.0 percent accuracy and Iowa State’s 73.6 percent success. The Huskers’ success rate ranks 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 (84.0 percent), Kiera Hardy (78.6 percent), LaToya Howell (76.5 percent), Danielle Page (75.0 percent), Chelsea Aubry (72.7 percent) and Sarah White (73.3 percent).

Hardy Increases Passing Proficiency in Junior Season
In addition to her dynamic scoring abilities, Kiera Hardy has increased her impact for the Huskers in 2005-06 on both the offensive and defensive ends. Through 29 games, Hardy is averaging 3.2 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 94 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 1.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (94 assists-61 turnovers). Last season, Hardy’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 1-to-1.34 (67 assists-90 turnovers).

Defensively, Hardy has been solid. She leads the Huskers and ranks among Big 12 leaders with 1.8 steals per game. Her 52 steals are a career high, surpassing the 51 steals she had in 179 more minutes a year ago.

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 19 of her first 29 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 achieved the 300-point mark in her 21st game against No. 12 Baylor in Waco on Feb. 8, when she scored 19 points while going head-to-head with Baylor All-American Sophia Young. Griffin added 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field against No. 24 Texas A&M.

She has scored 390 points through 29 games and needs just 10 more points to become just the fifth freshman in Nebraska history to score 400 points. She is averaging 13.4 points and a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game.

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 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.

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.

Huskers Enjoy Success Against Strong Schedule
Nebraska put together its third straight winning season despite playing some of the nation’s toughest competition week in and week out in the Big 12 Conference and throughout the non-conference season.

Overall the Huskers played 15 games against 2006 postseason qualifiers, including eight contests against NCAA Tournament teams and seven more against WNIT qualifiers. Seven opponents were ranked in the top 25 at game time, including No. 3 LSU, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 12 Baylor, No. 22/24 Texas A&M and No. 24 Missouri.

The Huskers’ 2005-06 schedule was highlight by a road game at defending national champion Baylor on Feb. 8 in Waco, Texas, and a matchup with two-time NCAA Final Four participant and then-No. 3 LSU at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic.

NU faced a third top 12 team on the road when the Huskers took on Minnesota in Minneapolis on Dec. 3, and made it a fourth road appearance against a top 12 squad at Big 12 champion Oklahoma on Feb. 26.

While four of the Huskers’ 12 losses came at the hands of top 12 opponents, three more setbacks came to top 25 foes, including a pair of setbacks to Texas A&M, and a loss to Missouri on Jan. 11.

The Huskers posted one of their biggest wins of the season by knocking off the Tigers in the regular-season rematch at Missouri on March 1 to conclude the regular season. NU added a win over another 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifier by beating Northern Arizona in Lincoln on Dec. 31.

In addition to the two wins over 2006 NCAA Tournament foes, the Huskers added four victories over teams in the 2006 WNIT field, including a pair of wins over Kansas, another win over Kansas State and a victory over Iowa State.

Yori Establishing Firm Foundation at Nebraska
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 has the Huskers securely placed among the top tier of teams in the always tough Big 12 Conference.

For the second straight season, Nebraska earned the No. 6 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and won a first-round game in the league tournament. The Huskers also finished with a .500 league record for the second straight season, while earning their third consecutive postseason trip to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The Huskers closed the 2005-06 regular season with a 17-12 record and 8-8 Big 12 mark. That follows on the heels of an 18-14 overall mark and an 8-8 league mark in 2004-05, when the Huskers advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the second straight year. Nebraska’s successful season came despite replacing four starters from the the 2003-04 squad, 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.

NU’s postseason streak began with an 18-12, 7-9 season in 2003-04, when the Huskers posted a first-round home WNIT victory over Drake. That season, the Huskers produced one of the nation’s top turnarounds with a 10-game improvement over their 2002-03 campaign, which tied for the ninth-best swing in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in 2003-04. NU’s amazing improvement came despite playing a powerful schedule that included 19 games against teams that advanced to postseason play.

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.

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.

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.).

On Feb. 15, Turner became just the second Husker recruit in history to earn All-America status from the WBCA. She is scheduled to compete in the WBCA High School All-Star game on April 1 at the NCAA Women’s Final Four at the FleetCenter in Boston. 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.

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 299-108 (.735) in games played in the arena, including 109-69 (.612) in conference games. Nebraska finished the regular season 10-4 at home in 2005-06.

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 ranks among the top 30 schools nationally with an average home attendance of 3,316 fans per game in 2005-06.

The Huskers ranked 25th nationally last season by averaging 4,022 fans per contest. 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.