Huskers Announce Non-Conference Schedule

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s basketball program will welcome some of the nation’s top teams to the Bob Devaney Sports Center as part of a  challenging schedule in 2009-10.

 

Nebraska Coach Connie Yori announced the Huskers’ non-conference schedule on Thursday, July 9, which features eight regular-season home games, including a Sunday, Dec. 20, showdown with perennial national power LSU. The Tigers, who have advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four in five of the past six seasons, return all five starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA second round a year ago.

 

“The last two years our schedule has been among the top 25 in the nation, and the Big 12 Conference has been the nation’s No. 1 RPI league,” Yori said. “We believe our non-conference schedule is going to challenge us this year, while also giving us an opportunity to build confidence and momentum heading into the Big 12 regular season. LSU will certainly present us with a great challenge late in December, but when you look at our schedule and see postseason teams like Creighton and Vermont and teams from major conferences on the rise like Miami, Washington State and UNLV, you realize we are going to be tested each time we step on the court.”

 

The battle with perennial Southeastern Conference power LSU will come a day after fall semester graduation in Lincoln, and could feature three new Husker graduates, as seniors Cory Montgomery, Nicole Neals and Nikki Bober are on track to graduate mid-season in just 3 1/2 years at Nebraska.

 

Montgomery returns to the NU lineup after claiming honorable-mention All-Big 12 accolades as a junior, when she averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Neals made major contributions to the NU backcourt last season, while Bober had her junior year cut short by a knee injury just days before the Huskers battled LSU in Baton Rouge, La., last season. The Tigers won that game 64-50 on New Year’s Day 2009.

 

Fellow senior Kelsey Griffin also missed last season’s game with LSU as she redshirted with a foot injury, but the two-time first-team All-Big 12 forward is expected to return to the court this year after a pair of foot surgeries.

 

Griffin, Montgomery, Bober, Neals, two-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team member Yvonne Turner and two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection Kala Kuhlmann will give the Huskers a talented and experienced senior class to face a rigorous 2009-10 schedule. In addition to the six seniors, NU’s roster also features four juniors in Dominique Kelley, Catheryn Redmon, Kaitlyn Burke and Jessica Periago, along with sophomores Layne Reeves and Harleen Sidhu, and true freshmen Lindsey Moore, Katya Leick and Meghin Williams.

 

Despite season-ending injuries to Griffin, Bober and Reeves a year ago, Nebraska earned its school-record sixth consecutive postseason tournament appearance with a trip to the second round of the 2009 Postseason WNIT.

 

Nebraska’s 16-game home non-conference schedule in 2009-10 will also feature an in-state clash with Creighton on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The Jays are expected to be one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference this season after advancing to the 2009 Postseason WNIT.

 

After facing Pittsburg State and Nebraska-Kearney in exhibition play, the Huskers will tip-off the regular season against Davidson on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Devaney Center. NU will then travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Sunday, Nov. 15, before returning home to challenge Idaho State (Nov. 19) and Washington State (Nov. 22).

 

Nebraska will spend its Thanksgiving holiday in the San Francisco Bay area at the Saint Mary’s College Tournament in Moraga, Calif., where the Huskers will take on William & Mary (Nov. 27), before facing the hosts from Saint Mary’s (Nov. 29).

 

The Huskers return home to collide with the Coyotes from South Dakota on Thursday, Dec. 3, before making a quick trip to Florida to face Miami on Saturday, Dec. 5. NU’s battle with the Creighton Bluejays (Dec. 9) begins a four-game home stand to end the 2009 calendar year, including games with Northern Illinois (Dec. 13), LSU (Dec. 20) and Albany (Dec. 30). Nebraska closes non-conference play at Burlington, Vt., where the Huskers tangle with the 2009 America East champion Vermont Catamounts on Monday, Jan. 4.

 

Vermont earned a trip to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual national champion Connecticut in the first round.

 

Nebraska’s non-conference regular-season finale at Vermont will mark one of 10 games the Huskers will play against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams this season. Along with the home non-conference clash against LSU, the Huskers will play home Big 12 Conference games against 2009 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Iowa State and NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier Texas A&M. Nebraska will also welcome Kansas State, which advanced to the NCAA second round, and Texas, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament, to the Devaney Center.

 

NU will face Big 12 road challenges at 2009 NCAA Women’s Final Four participant Oklahoma, and NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier Baylor. The Sooners and Lady Bears both won Big 12 titles last year and were both knocked out of the tournament by eventual runner-up Louisville. The Huskers will also face Iowa State and Kansas State on the road.

 

The Huskers will play four games against 2009 Postseason WNIT teams, including home-and-home clashes with WNIT runner-up Kansas, and a home game against Oklahoma State. Six of Nebraska’s eight home conference games will come against 2009 postseason tournament qualifiers, while five of its eight Big 12 road games will be against postseason clubs.

 

The 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship (March 11-14) will be held in Kansas City, Mo. First- and second-round NCAA Tournament games will be held at 16 predetermined sites around the country March 20-23, before NCAA Regionals are contested March 27-30, in Memphis, Tenn., Sacramento, Calif., Dayton, Ohio and Kansas City, Mo. The 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, April 4-6.

 

Big 12 action is set to begin on Saturday, Jan. 9, but a schedule has not yet been released by the conference office. No television coverage has been determined for any Nebraska women’s basketball games at this time. For updated schedule information throughout the season, visit Huskers.com.

 

For season ticket information, contact the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8BIGRED or visit Huskers.com.