Coatney's Call: Vermont Game Preview

Nebraska (9-1) vs. Vermont (6-3)
Sunday, Dec. 18, 2:05 p.m. (central)
Bob Devaney Sports Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Radio: 25-Station Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
B107.3 FM-KBBK (Lincoln); Twister 93.3 FM-KTWI (Omaha); 1400 AM-KCOW (Alliance); 1230 AM-KHAS (Hastings); 1450 AM-KWBE (Beatrice); 1310 AM-KGMT (Fairbury)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com
Internet Video: BTN.com All-Access (subscription required)

Lindsey Moore has accomplished a lot of 'firsts' in her Husker career.  She became the first freshman point guard to lead her team to an undefeated regular season in NCAA Division I history.  She became the first NU player, male or female, to post a triple-double in a single game when she turned the trick vs. Florida A&M last year.  Last Saturday in Flagstaff, Ariz., 'Zeroes' added to her trophy case of 'firsts' when she and sophomore forward Jordan Hooper became the first Nebraska teammates in program history to both post at least 30 points in the same game. 

Hooper scored a career and Big Ten Conference season-high 32 points, and Moore had 31 in leading Nebraska to a 97-88 double overtime win at Northern Arizona.  Hooper was named Big Ten Player of the Week as the 9-1 Huskers are off to their second best start in school history.  Nebraska returned to the Associated Press Top 25 rankings this week at No. 25.  After focusing on academics during Finals Week, NU returns home to host Vermont this Sunday at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. 

Nebraska and Vermont have played each of the past two seasons with the Huskers winning handily on both occasions.  The Catamounts will be playing their seventh of eight straight road games when they come to Lincoln Sunday.  Two seasons ago, Vermont had one of the best teams in school history and went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  Last season they suffered the loss of two Canadian Olympic team members to graduation, had a new coach and went 0-15 in non-conference games en route a 5-25 overall record.   

The Catamounts have turned their fortunes around and have already won six of their nine non-conference games this season and have received tremendous contributions from their young players. Through nine games, Vermont's six newcomers (five freshmen and one transfer) have accounted for 48 percent of the scoring and 55 percent of the team's rebounding.

Junior forward Lauren Buschmann is one of the top post players in the America East Conference.  She has scored double digits in seven of nine games this season and has recorded three double-doubles.  Buschmann had a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds against Dartmouth and leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg).  She had three points and seven rebounds against the Huskers last season.

Sophomore guard Sam Simononis started the first eight games of the season but did not play during last Wednesday's loss at Brown due to an injury.  She started the season 13-for-13 from the foul line and is shooting a team-best 88.5 percent (23-for-26) from the stripe this season. Simononis is third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and is tied for the team lead in steals. Freshman guard Niki Taylor was conference Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21 after posting her first career double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds in a win at Houston Baptist.  She was a two-time Maine Gatorade Player of the Year and just the fourth player to win the honor twice.  Taylor has started all nine games this season and averages 7.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg. 

Junior point guard Kristine Lalonde missed three straight games with a shoulder injury.  She returned on Dec. 7 against Brown, came off the bench and had no points, three assists and three turnovers in 17 minutes in the Cats' 61-57 loss.  Prior to the injury, Lalonde averaged 33.8 minutes per game and had 21 assists to only 13 turnovers.  She averages 5.5 points per game on the season.  

Junior Shanai Heber, a transfer from Seton Hall, has been Vermont's primary point guard in Lalonde's absence.  She has started all nine games and leads the team in minutes per game (32.7), assists, steals and is second in the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg).

Freshman forward Kayla Burchill has not started any games this season, but is deadly coming off the bench from long range.  She is second on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) and leads the team in three-pointers (21-50).  Burchill was named Miss Maine Basketball in 2011 and is a two-time Maine All-Star 3-Point Shooting Contest Champion. Freshman forward Tierra Shumpert also sees significant playing time for the Cats'.  She has started four games and averages 4.0 points per game.  Her father, Terry Shumpert, played 14 season in the Major Leagues, including five years with the Kansas City Royals and five years with the Colorado Rockies.

Second-year Vermont head coach Lori Gear McBride came to Burlington last year after assistant positions at Seton Hall and Charlotte and a five-year run as head coach at Division III Colby College in Maine. She was a transfer on North Carolina's 1994 NCAA Championship squad.

Vermont has out-rebounded its opponent seven out of nine times this season and has an overall plus-5.7 margin on the glass.  Despite shooting just .327 as a team from beyond the arc, the Catamounts have made 20 more three-pointers than their opponents this season.

Two years ago, Vermont had their best season in school history.  The Catamounts finished 27-7, won their second straight America East Conference Championship and posted the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a win over Wisconsin.  In the first meeting ever between the two schools, Nebraska rolled to a 94-50 win on Jan. 4, 2010 on a day in which 36 inches of snow fell in Burlington. UVM lost all five starters from that team and last season in Lincoln, Lindsey Moore set a career high with five three-pointers to spark a school-record 17 threes by Nebraska in a 95-38 season-opening win over Vermont.  

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska women's basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Sunday afternoon beings with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 1:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 2:05 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network, including our new Lincoln affiliate KBBK 107.3 FM (B107.3), KTWI 93.3 FM (Twister 93.3) in Omaha, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KHAS 1230 in Hastings, KWBE 1450 in Beatrice, KGMT 1310 in Fairbury and and available to our entire 25 network stations.  All Husker Women's Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us. 
There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker women's basketball via social media.  You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women's Basketball Facebook  page or follow the team on their official Twitter  page @huskerswbb.  I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.

Go Big Red! 

Matt