Huskers Host Chadron State Tonight

Nebraska Cornhuskers
(21-12, 9-7 Big 12, 2007-08)
vs.
Chadron State Eagles
(9-18, 6-13 RMAC, 2007-08)

Devaney Center (13,595) ? Lincoln, Neb.
Friday, Oct. 31 ? 7:05 p.m.
Promotion: Husker Haunted Hoops (Candy, Costume Contest)
Live Audio: Huskers.com (free)

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s basketball team will hit the floor for the first time in 2008-09 by clashing with Chadron State in the Huskers’ exhibition opener at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night.

Tip-off for the game between the Huskers and Eagles is set for 7:05 p.m., with a free audio broadcast available on Huskers.com, with Husker Sports Network announcers Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling the action.

The Halloween Night exhibition opener will include a special Husker Haunted Hoops promotion with candy and costume contests for fans of all ages. The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team, which will be playing host to the 2009 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in April at the Devaney Center, will be passing out candy at the doors. Single-game tickets range from $3 to $9. UNL Students with ID and children under 6 will be admitted free.

The Huskers head into the 2008-09 season with high hopes after returning 12 letterwinners and four starters from a team that advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Nebraska finished with a 21-12 overall record and a 9-7 Big 12 mark in 2007-08, despite a lineup that featured four first-time starters and a roster filled with 10 freshmen and sophomores.

The Huskers, who were the only Big 12 team that had 10 players compete in every league game last season, are hoping a year of experience and a strong offseason will help them take another step forward in 2008-09.

Two-time first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin returns to lead the Huskers in 2008-09. The senior from Eagle River, Alaska, has amassed 1,348 points and 665 rebounds in her career and could contend for All-America honors on and off the court this season. However, Griffin has been slowed for nearly 10 weeks by a bone bruise on her ankle. She has not practiced and is not expected to play against Chadron State.

Dandy Dozen Return for Huskers in 2008-09
After entering 2007-08 as one of the youngest teams in the Big 12, the Huskers will benefit across the board from a year of experience heading into 2008-09.

Overall, Nebraska returns 83 percent of its scoring and rebounding, to go along with 88 percent of its steals and 91 percent of its assists for the coming season.

The only player the Huskers lost from their 2007-08 roster was senior starter Danielle Page, who ranked among the top 20 players in the Big 12 in both scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). She also set a single-season school record with 78 blocked shots as a senior to finish No. 2 all-time at NU with 207 blocks in her career. Page earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 accolades as a senior and went on to earn a spot with the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. She will spend the 2008-09 season competing overseas in Europe before returning to the Sun.

Kelsey Griffin headlines NU’s 12 returnees after earning first-team All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season. A first-team Preseason All-Big 12 selection by the league coaches in 2008-09, Griffin ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 15.3 points per game, while ranking 12th in the league in rebounding with 7.2 boards per contest.

Griffin ranks seventh on NU’s career rebounding list (665), eighth in blocked shots (68), and 11th on the Huskers’ career scoring list (1,348).

Tay Hester, who started all 33 games for NU in her first season after transferring from Mt. San Antonio College, joins Griffin in the Husker senior class. Hester averaged 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and played a major role in NU’s 2008 NCAA Tournament win with 13 points against Xavier.

Yvonne Turner leads a talented and maturing junior class. The Omaha native claimed Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors while leading the conference in league games with 2.6 steals per contest. She finished with 81 steals on the year, which ranked as the second-best total by a sophomore in NU history. Turner also greatly expanded her offensive game as the season progressed, ranking fourth in the league by hitting 39.3 percent of her three-point attempts in Big 12 play. She capped her season with 23 points and five three-pointers in an NCAA Tournament loss at Maryland, going head-to-head with Terp All-American Kristi Tolliver.

Cory Montgomery, who made the first four starts of her career when Griffin was out of the lineup with a rib injury at the end of non-conference play last season, is expected to step into a full-time starting role in 2008-09. One of the Big 12’s best off the bench in 2007-08, Montgomery averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She averaged 10 points and 3.5 boards per game in NCAA Tournament play, and 12 points per game as a starter.

Kala Kuhlmann, Nicole Neals and Nikki Bober also played significant roles in Nebraska’s deep rotation as sophomores in 2007-08, and will be working hard for more improvement as juniors.

Dominique Kelley, who set a Husker record by starting 33 games as a true freshman in 2007-08, also worked to make major gains during the offseason. Kelley, who became just the fifth Husker freshman in history to start every game of her rookie campaign, averaged 6.4 points and 2.9 boards per contest while supplying solid defense.

Kaitlyn Burke joined Kelley in making a major impact as a freshman by averaging 5.4 points and a team-leading 2.4 assists per game. Burke also ranked second on the team with 33 three-pointers on the year and will continue to give the Huskers one of the deepest backcourts in the Big 12 as a sophomore.

Catheryn Redmon, who played in 16 games in NU’s deep and talented forward rotation, could see a major increase in playing time this season. Redmon averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in just 6.8 minutes per game, while showing some natural defensive skills with nine blocks and four steals.

In addition to the return of 6-4 center Jessica Periago, who is a member of the French Junior National Team, and 5-11 guard Monique Whittaker for their sophomore seasons, the Husker roster will also be fortified by the addition of a pair of talented incoming freshmen - Harleen Sidhu and Layne Reeves.

At 6-1, Sidhu is a versatile forward who could provide the Huskers with depth both in the backcourt or on the block. A native of British Columbia, Sidhu is one of the most talented young players in Canada. Reeves, a native of Lubbock, Texas, had her high school season cut short by a knee injury but could help the Huskers with her pure shooting touch on the perimeter.

Scouting the Chadron State Eagles
First-year coach Tim Connealy leads the Chadron State Eagles into the 2008-09 season with their first-ever meeting against Nebraska. Connealy spent the past two seasons as the assistant head coach to former Husker Carol Russell at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. A 1999 graduate of Chadron High School, Connealy spent two seasons on the Chadron State men’s basketball team after high school before playing one season at Hastings College. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Hastings College in 2004, before spending two seasons as a graduate assistant for Russell at UNK. Connealy replaced Mike Maloney as Chadron State’s head coach after Maloney resigned on July 29.

Connealy inherited a relatively experienced club with returning starters Sunni Busch, Samantha Arkulari and Chelsea DeHaven. Busch, a 5-8 junior guard from Mission, S.D., is a Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-East Team selection after averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the 9-18 Eagles a year ago.

Arkulari added 8.1 points and 3.2 rebounds for the Eagles last season, while DeHaven joined Busch in the starting lineup for every game and averaged 3.3 points and 4.5 boards per game.

As a team, Chadron State averaged just 60.2 points per game, while surrendering 67.9 points per contest. The Eagles were also outrebounded, 36.0-35.2 on the year. However, CSC’s most glaring statistical weakness came in the turnover department, as the Eagles averaged 20.8 turnovers per game and struggled with a negative-3.6 turnover margin.

Chadron State, which posted a 6-13 RMAC record last season, is picked to finish 11th overall in the 14-team league. Nebraska’s next exhibition foe and Connealy’s former team, UNK, is the preseason pick to finish second in the RMAC.

Huskers Take Show on Road with Exhibition in Grand Island
Nebraska will close exhibition play by battling Nebraska-Kearney at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7:05 p.m.

The exhibition game between Nebraska and UNK will mark the Huskers’ first appearance in Grand Island since Dec. 8, 1982, when NU defeated the Lopers at Grand Island Northwest High School.

Ticket prices have been set at $8 for adults and $4 for children (ages 5 through high school). Children 4 and under will be admitted free. Ticket sales are being handled by the Heartland Events Center through its box office at Fonner Park in Grand Island and through Ticketmaster outlets across Nebraska, including Ticketmaster.com. Fans can call Ticketmaster in Lincoln at (402) 475-1212 and order tickets through the Fonner Park Box Office at (308) 382-4515, during regular box office hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).

"We are excited about the chance to take our team to the central part of the state to promote the sport statewide to young girls playing the game, while also reaching out to new fans," Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori said. "We know we have great fans across the state who support our program, and we wanted to give them a chance to watch us in person. We also have great respect for Coach Carol Russell and her program at Nebraska-Kearney, so we are hoping for a great environment at the Heartland Events Center."

UNK, which is coached by former Husker Carol Russell, is coming off a 27-7 season when the Lopers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. UNK’s 27 wins were the second-most in school history. The Lopers will be led by senior guard Jade Meads from Elm Creek, who averaged 15.4 points per game last season.

The game will mark the eighth straight season the two schools have met in exhibition play. The last time the two teams squared off in a regular-season game came in Grand Island, when the Huskers posted a 93-78 victory. Last year, the Lopers hung tough against the Huskers in Lincoln in the exhibition opener before falling to NU, 62-48.

2008 Huskers Claim Third NCAA Tournament Victory
The Huskers notched their third NCAA Tournament win in school history with a 61-58 victory over ninth-seeded Xavier at College Park, Md., on March 23. Nebraska made its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, joining trips in 1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2007.

Nebraska, which earned the No. 8 seed in the Spokane Regional, led the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament champion Musketeers from start to finish. The Huskers’ last win had come against New Mexico (76-59) on March 13, 1998 in Norfolk, Va. Nebraska earned its first NCAA Tournament victory against San Diego (81-58) on March 17, 1993, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.

Huskers Post 11th 20-Win Campaign, Second Straight Under Yori
Nebraska secured its 11th 20-win season in school history with its 55-45 win over Iowa State in the regular-season finale at the Devaney Center on March 5. The Huskers added win No. 21 with their third-ever NCAA Tournament win by beating Xavier in the first round on March 23.

NU’s 21 wins tied for the seventh-best total in school history, while the Huskers posted their first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 1998 and 1999. This season, the Huskers will take aim at becoming the first team in NU history to post three straight 20-win seasons.

Over the last five seasons under Coach Connie Yori, the Huskers have averaged 19.6 wins per season. In the previous five years, the Huskers averaged just 14.6 wins per season.

Huskers Picked Preseason No. 8 in Loaded Big 12
Coming off a pair of NCAA Tournament trips and back-to-back 20-win seasons, the Nebraska women’s basketball team was picked to finish eighth in a vote by league coaches in the Big 12 preseason poll on Oct. 8.

The Huskers, who return four starters and 12 letterwinners from a team that finished 21-12 and advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, earned 56 points, as 11 points were awarded for each first-place vote, and one point was awarded for each 11th-place vote. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.

In 2007-08, the Big 12 was ranked as the best conference in the nation in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), and sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 also became the first conference in NCAA history to post a perfect 8-0 record in the NCAA first round, while 11 of the 12 league teams earned postseason bids. All 11 teams produced postseason victories.

Oklahoma was a majority choice to win the conference title, as the Sooners earned seven first-place votes to finish with 124 points. The Sooners were a clear favorite, but the four other league teams received at least one first-place vote, including preseason No. 2 Texas, which finished with 95 points and earned one No. 1 vote.

Iowa State was the only Big 12 North Division team to earn a spot among the top six teams in the preseason conference poll, as the Cyclones were picked third with 93 points. ISU, which returns seven starters from last year’s team that went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, claimed a pair of first-place votes.

Baylor was picked fourth with 89 points and earned one first-place vote, while defending conference tournament champion and NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Texas A&M was picked fifth with 85 points. Oklahoma State, which advanced to the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16, earned the final first-place vote but was picked to finish sixth in the league.

Defending Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas State, which returns four starters from a team that moved on to the NCAA second round in 2008, was the preseason choice to finish seventh with 71 points.

Kansas (41), Texas Tech (36) and Colorado (18) filled in the No. 9 through No. 11 spots, after all three teams earned wins in the 2008 Postseason WNIT a year ago. Missouri, which returns five starters from last year’s team that did not earn a postseason bid, was picked 12th with 15 points.

Griffin Earns Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 Honors
Nebraska senior Kelsey Griffin claimed one of five spots on the Preseason All-Big 12 team named by the league’s women’s basketball coaches and announced on Oct. 15. Griffin, a 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, joined Preseason Big 12 Player-of-the-Year Courtney Paris from Oklahoma, Kansas State’s Shalee Lehning, Oklahoma State’s Andrea Riley and Texas A&M’s Takia Starks on the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

A two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection (top 10 players in the league), Griffin averaged 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season, while leading the Huskers to a 21-12 overall record, a 9-7 league mark, and the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. She ranked among the top 10 players in the Big 12 in both scoring and rebounding and was at her best in Big 12 play, when she averaged 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds despite playing the entire season with a cracked rib.

Griffin carried the Huskers to their third NCAA Tournament victory in a decade by scoring 26 points in Nebraska’s win over Xavier in the first round at College Park, Md.

In her three-year career as a starter at Nebraska, Griffin has amassed 1,348 points and 665 rebounds. She also ranks in the top 10 on the NU career chart with 68 blocked shots.

Griffin, who was also a preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2007-08, has extended Nebraska’s streak to four straight seasons with at least one first-team All-Big 12 selection. Kiera Hardy was also a two-time preseason first-team all-league choice in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

The Huskers join Oklahoma as the only other school to have at least one preseason first-team all-conference pick each of the past four years. Eight of the league schools have had one or fewer selections during that span.

Big 12 Conference Sends 11 to Postseason, All 11 Get Wins
The Big 12 Conference ranked as the nation’s strongest league throughout the 2007-08 season and the postseason tournament fields verified that ranking.

Eleven of the Big 12 schools advanced to postseason play, including eight teams in the NCAA Tournament. League schools went a perfect 8-0 in the first round, including wins by Nebraska, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas, marking the first time in history a league went 8-0.

All eight of the Big 12 teams earned No. 8 seeds or higher in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, including Big 12 Tournament champion Texas A&M, which advanced to the Elite Eight. Oklahoma State also moved on to the Sweet 16, as the league finished the NCAA Tournament with an 11-8 record.

In addition to those eight Big 12 schools, which all posted 20 or more wins on the season, three more Big 12 teams (Colorado, Kansas, Texas Tech) earned bids to the 2008 Women’s National Invitation Tournament. All three of those schools earned opening-round byes in the 48-team tournament.

Texas Tech advanced to the round of 16 in the WNIT with a 33-point over Texas State. Kansas also went 1-1 in the WNIT, while Colorado advanced to the WNIT semifinals before ending its season. Overall, the Big 12 went 16-11 in the 2008 postseason.

Huskers Join Baylor, Oklahoma Among Big 12’s Best
Along with back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths and 20-win seasons, the Huskers notched their second consecutive winning record in Big 12 Conference regular-season action by finishing with a 9-7 league mark.

In Coach Connie Yori’s sixth season at Nebraska, a 13-player Husker roster filled with 10 freshmen and sophomores helped NU to its fourth consecutive .500 or better Big 12 season. Nebraska joins Baylor and Oklahoma as the only Big 12 programs to accomplish that feat in the last four years.

NU’s 2007-08 success came against a league that was rated the best in the nation and sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament. Along with sending No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Kansas State, No. 7 Iowa State, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 8 Texas to the NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 also had three conference teams (Colorado, Kansas, Texas Tech) earn opening-round byes in the 48-team Postseason WNIT field.

Nebraska has earned five consecutive postseason tournament appearances - the longest stretch in school history. NU earned a trip to the 2007 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 22-10 overall record along with a 10-6 conference mark in 2006-07.

Griffin To Contend for National Honors as Senior
Two-time first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin was dominant down the stretch for the Huskers as a junior, averaging 19 points and nine rebounds per game over the Huskers’ last 12 contests.

Griffin finished the year as the No. 7 scorer (15.3 ppg) and No. 12 rebounder (7.2 rpg) in the Big 12 Conference, despite playing with a cracked rib the entire season, which limited her playing time to just 25.9 minutes per game. Despite being limited by the injury, Griffin ranked among the top three players in the Big 12 in points per minute and rebounds per minute, joining 2006 National Player of the Year Courtney Paris. Griffin trailed only Andrea Riley in points per minutes, while trailing only Paris in rebounds per minute across the league.

In Nebraska’s last 12 games, Griffin scored 20 or more points on six occasions, including a remarkable 26-point effort against Xavier’s inside duo of Amber Harris and Ta’Shia Phillips to lead the Huskers to their first NCAA Tournament win in 10 seasons. Griffin also notched four double-doubles in NU’s last 12 games, including a season-high 14-rebound effort at Texas Tech.

Griffin was at her best in Big 12 play, ranking fifth with 16.8 points per game and sixth with 8.2 rebounds per contest, despite being the focus of every opposing defense. She also ranked among the top 10 players in the league in both field goal and free throw percentage. She had season highs of 26 points against Xavier, at home against Colorado and at home against Missouri, carrying NU to victories in all three games.

She opened February as the Big 12 Player-of-the-Week on Feb. 4, after producing 23 points and nine rebounds in a win at Missouri on Feb. 3, after going for 19 points and 11 rebounds against No. 18 Kansas State on Jan. 30. She added 25 points in a comeback win at Colorado on Feb. 6, producing 17 second-half points for the second straight game.

Defensively, Griffin led the Huskers with 20 charges drawn in 2007-08, while adding a career-best 40 steals. She also blocked 25 shots on the year.

Griffin ranks 11th on Nebraska’s all-time scoring list with 1,348 points, seventh on NU’s career rebounding list with 665 and eighth on the Husker career block chart with 68.

Turner Earns Big 12 All-Defensive Honor
A Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection, Yvonne Turner led the conference with 2.6 steals per game in league action. She had six steals against No. 15 Texas and No. 21 Texas A&M, and five steals against Kansas (Jan. 12). Turner had a steal in 21 straight games before going without a steal at Texas Tech.

The 5-8 guard from Omaha ranked second on Nebraska’s sophomore single-season steals list with 81. She climbed to eighth on NU’s overall single-season steals chart.

Turner’s 81 steals in 2007-08 gave her 45 more than NU’s leader - Kelsey Griffin - had in 2006-07. In fact, Turner surpassed the combined steals total of Griffin (36) and first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy (33) who combined for 69 steals in 2007-08.

Huskers Face Nation’s Best in 2008-09
Nebraska will face one of the toughest regular-season schedules in school history in 2008-09 with nine games against teams that finished 2007-08 among the top-25 RPI teams in the nation.

A total of 21 games will come against teams that competed in postseason tournaments in 2008, including 15 games against 2008 NCAA Tournament teams.

Nebraska’s home schedule features big names and big games nearly every night in 2008-09. NU’s home schedule features a date with 2008 Big Ten co-champion Ohio State, which has advanced to six straight NCAA tournaments. After battling the Buckeyes on Dec. 6, the Huskers will square off with Pac-10 power Arizona State on Dec. 28. The Sun Devils have advanced to at least the second round of four straight NCAA tournaments.

The Big 12 promises to feature a postseason atmosphere every night at the Devaney Center. Oklahoma, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State all joined NU in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, while Colorado, Texas Tech and Kansas all advanced to at least the third round of the Postseason WNIT.

While the Huskers’ 15-game home schedule features nine contests against 2008 postseason clubs, the road will offer even more challenges. Nebraska will play 12 road games against 2008 postseason qualifiers, including a New Year’s date with LSU in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers have advanced to five consecutive NCAA Final Fours. NU will also travel to UTEP, which advanced to the 2008 NCAA second round, and 2008 NCAA qualifier New Mexico.

In Big 12 action, NU’s road schedule includes trips to NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Texas A&M, NCAA Sweet 16 participant Oklahoma State, and journeys to Texas, Iowa State and Kansas State, which all advanced to the 2008 NCAA second round.

Huskers to Be a Fixture on FSN in 2008-09
Nebraska will be featured four times on Fox Sports Net national television games in 2008-09. The Huskers will battle Arizona State, Iowa State, Colorado and Texas Tech in national television matchups this season.

Nebraska’s marquee non-conference matchup with perennial Pac-10 power Arizona State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Sunday, Dec. 28, at noon (central), is one of only two out-of-conference games in the Big 12’s 26-game national package for women’s basketball this season. The other will be defending national champion Tennessee’s showdown at Texas on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Nebraska’s second appearance on FSN will come on Saturday, Jan. 24, when the Huskers take on Iowa State at the Devaney Center. The special Saturday tip time with the Cyclones will be at 8 p.m. The NU-ISU women’s game will be the second of two televised basketball games at the Devaney Center on Jan. 24, as the Husker men will battle Oklahoma State at 3 p.m.

One week later, FSN will follow the Nebraska women’s basketball team to Boulder when the Huskers clash with Colorado at the Coors Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. central time.

Nebraska will wrap up its regular-season FSN national television appearances on Saturday, Feb. 14 at noon, when the Huskers play host to Texas Tech at the Devaney Center.

In addition to Nebraska’s national telecasts on Fox Sports Net, the Huskers will also appear frequently on Fox Sports Midwest in the state of Nebraska. The Huskers will debut on Fox Sports Midwest on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they travel to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

The Huskers will appear on Fox Sports Midwest again on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m., when they travel to Manhattan, Kan., to challenge Kansas State. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the Huskers’ clash with Iowa State in Ames will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest at 7 p.m. NU will wrap up its scheduled Fox Sports Midwest appearances on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., when the Huskers collide with Kansas in Lawrence.

Big 12 Hits One Million in Home Attendance Again in 2007-08
For the second straight season and third time overall Big 12 Conference women’s basketball teams attracted more than one million fans to their home arenas in 2007-08.

The Big 12 has led the nation in attendance in each of the past nine years and is the only league to hit the one million fan milestone in NCAA history. In addition to 2006-07 and 2007-08, the conference also recorded one million fans in 2001-02. The 2006-07 cumulative attendance of 1,023,576 is the NCAA record. In 2007-08, the Big 12 recorded 1,014,309 patrons.

Griffin Climbing Husker Career Scoring, Rebounding Charts
Kelsey Griffin has jumped to No. 11 on the Nebraska career scoring chart with 1,348 points at the conclusion of her junior season, while ranking seventh with 665 career rebounds and eighth with 68 blocked shots.

Griffin will enter her senior season needing 86 points to move ahead of Diane DelVigna in the Huskers’ career top 10. Griffin has averaged nearly 450 points per season in her three-year NU career, and a similar senior season would put her close to 1,800 career points. Only seven Huskers in history have scored 1,800 or more points. Griffin needs 662 points to become the third player in NU history to acheive the 2,000-point plateau joining 1993 National Player of the Year Karen Jennings and 1988 Big Eight Player of the Year Maurtice Ivy.

On the career rebounding list, Griffin has averaged 222 boards per game in her first three years in Lincoln and similar production would creep her close to 900 career boards. Kathy Hagerstrom ranks third on NU’s career chart. Only two Huskers, Jennings with 1,000 from 1990-93 and Janet Smith with 1,280 from 1979-82, have recorded 900 rebounds in their NU careers.

Turner Sparks Husker Turnover Turnaround
With Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection leading the way with 81 steals on the year, Nebraska’s defense ranked fifth in the Big 12 with a plus-1.22 turnover margin in 2007-08. The Huskers forced 627 total turnovers for an average of 19.0 turnovers forced per contest, which ranked third in the league.

Those 627 turnovers forced come in striking contrast to Coach Connie Yori’s first two seasons at Nebraska. In Yori’s first season in 2002-03, NU forced opponents into just 451 turnovers on the year, before forcing just 444 turnovers in 2003-04, an average of just 14.8 turnovers per game.

The last time a Nebraska team forced more than 600 turnovers in a season came in 1999-00, when the Huskers forced opponents into 688 turnovers.

Kelley Sets NU Record with 33 Starts as Freshman
Lincoln native Dominique Kelley set the school record for starts by a true freshman after earning the nod in all 33 games for the Huskers in 2007-08. Kelley, a 5-7 guard out of Lincoln Northeast High School, became just the fifth NU freshman in history to start every game and the first since teammate Kelsey Griffin started 32 straight for the Huskers in 2005-06.

Kelley finished the season ranked sixth on the team in scoring at 6.4 points per game, while adding 2.9 rebounds per contest. She also finished fourth on the squad with 2.0 assists per game. Kelley ranked among the top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 in scoring (eighth), rebounding (eighth) and assists (third). Her 17 three-pointers ranked seventh among league freshmen, as did her 37.8 percent accuracy from long range.

Kelley, who scored in double figures seven times in her rookie campaign, established her career high with 16 points in a 90-63 win over Florida on Nov. 17, before leading the Huskers with 13 points and seven boards in a 75-47 win over Akron on Nov. 25. She added 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds in NU’s win over Denver on Dec. 30. Kelley also hit a career-best three three-pointers against the Pioneers. She had a strong 10-point effort in a win over No. 21 Texas A&M, that included career highs with five assists and two steals.

The 2007 Nebraska High School Player of the Year and a WBCA Honorable-Mention High School All-American, Kelley produced one of the best prep careers in Nebraska history at Lincoln Northeast.

Kelley led the Rockets to a 70-3 record in her final three seasons, scoring 595 points as a senior, just 19 points shy of the Class A single-season scoring record set by former Husker and 1988 Big Eight Player-of-the-Year Maurtice Ivy. Kelley averaged 24.7 points per game in 2006-07.

Montgomery Ranked Among Big 12’s Best Off the Bench
During Nebraska’s run in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Cory Montgomery continued to show why she was one of the best players coming off the bench in the Big 12 Conference in 2007-08.

The 6-2 sophomore forward from Cannon Falls, Minn., averaged 10 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the Huskers’ two games in the NCAA Tournament, including a difference-making 12 points and five boards in just 18 minutes in NU’s win over Xavier on March 23. Montgomery hit 5-of-11 shots from the field against the Musketeers, including a pair of three-pointers. She also hit three straight mid-range jumpers during a crucial second-half stretch to hold off Xavier’s late charge.

Montgomery finished the season averaging 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as one of the most productive reserves in the Big 12. Montgomery made four consecutive starts to close non-conference action, but returned to her reserve role for the start of league play against No. 15 Texas when first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin returned to the lineup.

Montgomery scored in double figures 15 times in 2007-08. She matched her career high with 21 points to go along with eight rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench in NU’s win at Iowa State on Jan. 19. She added 18 points and five rebounds in just 17 minutes against No. 17 Oklahoma State. She added 14 points and six rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes in her second career start at No. 18 Ohio State on Dec. 22. Montgomery also set a career-best with two three-pointers against the Buckeyes, which she matched against Oklahoma State and Xavier.

Montgomery came up big in Nebraska’s 87-69 victory over USC on Dec. 8, by setting a career high with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds. Montgomery produced the first double-double of her career with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in Nebraska’s win over Robert Morris on Dec. 2. She earned a spot on the five-player all-tournament team at the Oahu Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, by averaging 10.3 points off the bench in three tournament games.

Hester Gives Huskers All-Around Threat on Wing
Senior guard Tay Hester gives Nebraska an all-around offensive and defensive threat. The 5-10 guard from Moreno Valley, Calif., started all 33 games for the Huskers as a junior in 2007-08, producing double figures on eight occasions, including a huge 13-point effort in NU’s first-round NCAA Tournament win over Xavier on March 23.

In the win over the Musketeers, Hester hit 5-of-9 shots from the field, including her fifth three-pointer of the season, while knocking down a pair of clutch free throws in the game’s final minute. She added two big defensive rebounds in the final minutes, while dishing out two assists and a steal in one of her best games of the season.

Hester started her NU career off strong by producing her first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the season opener against her former teammates from UTEP. The Miners went on to their best season in school history by rolling to the Conference USA crown and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling at eventual NCAA runner-up Stanford.

Hester’s double-double was the first by a Husker wing player since Keasha Cannon-Johnson had 11 points and 10 rebounds in NU’s Postseason WNIT victory over Drake on March 18, 2004.

Hester had a career-high 14 points and four assists in a loss at No. 18 Ohio State on Dec. 22. She had 10 points and five rebounds at No. 11 Oklahoma on Jan. 16, before adding 10 points and six boards at No. 6 Baylor on Jan. 26. She added a career-best six assists with no turnovers in NU’s win over Iowa State on March 5.

Hester averaged 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while ranking third on the team with 67 assists and 35 steals on the season.