Coatney's Call: Penn State Game Preview

#15 Nebraska (15-1, 4-0) vs. Penn State (12-4, 2-2)
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2:05 p.m.  (central)
Devaney Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Radio: 25-Station Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
B107.3 FM-KBBK (Lincoln); The Wolf 93.3 FM-KTWI (Omaha); 1400 AM-KCOW (Alliance); 1450 AM-KWBE (Beatrice); 99.5 FM-KUTT (Fairbury); 94.1 FM-KNEB (Scottsbluff)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com
Live Video Stream: BTN.com All-Access (subscription required) 

My broadcast partner, Jeff Griesch, and I have always looked at conference play in four stages.  A 16-game schedule can be hard to get your hands around, but breaking it down into four, four-game segments sometimes makes it easier to measure success during the 'meat-grinder' of league play. Think of it as a running track oval and you're going to make four 'turns'. 

The Big Ten Conference didn't exactly roll out the 'red carpet' for Nebraska in the first four games of their initial league schedule, with NU getting to open the season on the road at the preseason pick to win the conference and three out of the first four games away from the Devaney Center.  Going 2-2 in the first segment would have been a great record for a young ballclub with six freshmen, but this Husker team has shown amazing resiliency and has started Big Ten play 4-0 after Thursday night's 75-69 come-from-behind win at Wisconsin. 

Three-time Big Ten Player of the Week Jordan Hooper isn't exactly going to sneak up on any opponent the rest of the season, and the Badgers made it their focus to not let J-Hoop get any clean looks.  Memo to the rest of the league:  you can try and take away Hooper, but that means the most underrated point guard in America has a little more freedom to dice you up. 

Lindsey Moore had a game-high 28 points and freshman Rebecca Woodberry came off the bench to put in a career-high 14 points and four three-pointers to lead the Huskers to the win. Moore is putting up big-time numbers that merit attention on a national scale.  She is second on the team in scoring (16.6 points per game), and has teams bests of 6.1 assists and 2.6 steals in 30 minutes per game.  She ranks 11th nationally and second in the Big Ten in assists.  She has scored in double figures in 27 of the past 29 games and has posted five 20-point games this season. 

Moore and the Huskers return home Sunday for a rematch with No. 25 Penn State.  A "Red Out" has been called, with all fans asked to wear red and the first 1,000 fans will receive "Big Red in the Big Ten" Rally Towels.

When Nebraska traveled to Penn State two weeks ago, the Lady Lions were the odds-on favorites to win the Big Ten Conference.  They had the preseason Player of the Year in Alex Bentley, the 2011 Freshman of the Year in Maggie Lucas and four starters returning from a team that won 25 games and went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.  Four games later, PSU has seen their national ranking fall from 16 to 25 and they have started league play 2-2, with home losses to Nebraska and Michigan State wrapped around a road win at Wisconsin and Thursday night's 78-63 home victory against Michigan.

Bentley, a 5-7 junior point guard, is on the Wade, Wooden and Naismith Award watch lists.  She leads the team in assists and steals and is second on the team in scoring (14.2 ppg). Bentley had 22 points and a career-high eight steals in the earlier meeting against the Huskers. 

Lucas, a 5-10 sophomore guard, broke the Big Ten record for single-season three-pointers last year (112).  She had 28 of her career-high 33 points in the second half Thursday night against Michigan. Lucas has scored 55 points in the last two games.  She leads the team in scoring (20.1 ppg), three-pointers (43) and minutes per game.  Lucas had 18 points against the Huskers during the first meeting this season.

Zhaque (Jacque-QWAY) Gray, a 5-8 guard, is second on the PSU team with 23 three-pointers and is third on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg). Gray had her lowest offensive output of the season when she went 0-for-7 from the floor and had zero points against NU two weeks ago.  

Nikki Greene, a 6-4 junior center, is the fourth Lady Lion to start all 16 games this year.  She was named to the 2011 Big Ten All-Defensive team after posting a career-high 75 blocked shots last season. Greene averages 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She pulled in a season-best 15 rebounds to go along with nine points and a career-high four steals versus Nebraska in the game at State College. 

Junior forward Mia Nickson missed six straight contests with concussion-like symptoms, but returned to post four points and seven rebounds off the bench against the Huskers two weeks ago.  She has started the last four games and adds 5.4 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game. 

Fifth-year Penn State Head Coach Coquese Washington was the point guard on Notre Dame's first NCAA Tournament team. She had a six-year professional career and played on the 2000 WNBA Champion Houston Comets.  She spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater before taking the reins at Penn State. Last year, Washington led Penn State to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

Penn State will be making their first-ever trip to the state of Nebraska and the Lady Lions hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.  PSU rolled to a 102-66 win at State College in 1993 and defeated NU 83-64 at the Surf and Slam Tournament in San Diego in 2002, which was Connie Yori's first season as the Huskers' coach.

In the earlier meeting between the two teams in State College on Dec. 30, 2011, Penn State took two 11-point leads in the first half, but Nebraska rallied to tie the game at 38 at the half.  PSU then led by as many as nine points in the second half. Jordan Hooper scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds to lead a Nebraska rally that culminated with Hooper's three-pointer with 16.5 seconds left to give NU a six-point lead.  The Huskers won their first-ever Big Ten Conference game 71-63 at Penn State.

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 Lincoln affiliate KBBK 107.3 FM (B107.3), KTWI (The Wolf) 93.3 FM in Omaha, KWBE 1450 in Beatrice, KUTT 99.5 FM in Fairbury, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KNEB 94.1 FM in Scottsbluff 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