Coatney's Call: Pepperdine, Alcorn State Preview

#16 Nebraska vs. Pepperdine
Saturday, Nov. 15, 11 a.m. (central)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Premium Video: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM-KBBK, Lincoln; 93.3 FM-KFFF, Omaha)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com

#16 Nebraska vs. Alcorn State
Sunday, Nov. 16, 5 p.m. (central)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Premium Video: HuskersNside
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM-KBBK, Lincoln; 1110 AM-KFAB, Omaha)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com 

Huskers Open Regular Season with Waves, Lady Braves
Based on two exhibition games, Nebraska women’s basketball should be excited for another great season! The reigning Big Ten Champion Huskers are ranked 16th in both major polls and swept their two exhibition games, rolling to a 78-46 win over Concordia-St. Paul last Sunday.

Junior point guard Rachel Theriot, the MVP of last year’s Big Ten Tournament, had a game-high 19 points and handed out four assists in just 28 minutes. Senior forward Emily Cady posted double-doubles in both exhibitions, posting 10 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes against the Golden Bears.

Allie Havers, a 6-5 sophomore, added 11 points and eight rebounds as Nebraska now focuses on the start of the regular season. The Huskers have back-to-back games this weekend to open the year. NU hosts Pepperdine at 11 a.m. (central) Saturday, before facing Alcorn State on Sunday.

Pepperdine returns six players who started at least 10 games last season. The Waves were hampered bye injuries and struggled to a six-win season, finishing just 1-17 in West Coast Conference (WCC) play.

Bria Richardson, a 5-8 point guard, suffered a foot injury and missed all but the first 17 games last season. The senior was the team’s leading scorer (16.9 ppg) and went off for 44 points on Jan. 2 against Santa Clara. It was the second-highest single-game point total in school history.

Richardson, who happens to be the cousin of former Cincinnati Reds star Eric Davis, was replaced at the point by Ea (EE-uh) Shoushtari. The Waves' regular shooting guard, Shoushtari started 30 of 31 games and led the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg), steals and three-pointers (59).

Allie Green, a 5-10 sophomore, was named to the WCC All-Freshman team last season after starting 17 games and leading conference freshmen in scoring (11.4 ppg).

Keitra Wallace, a 5-11 junior, ranked second on last year’s team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and her 135 free throws made were good for third-best in Pepperdine history.

Krista Pettepier rounds out the Waves’ probable starting lineup. The 6-2 sophomore sat out last season after transferring from Pittsburgh, where she started the last eight games of 2012-13 as a freshman. Pettepier played her prep basketball at Ankeny (Iowa) High, the same school as Nebraska Coach Connie Yori.

Pepperdine was victorious in their only exhibition game, a 79-68 win over Cal State-Dominguez Hills last Saturday. Richardson led four players in double figures with a game-high 21 points. Pettepier had two points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Green posted a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Several players listed on Pepperdine’s roster did not see action, including 5-11 freshman Olivia Ogwumike. The Houston, Texas native is part of a well-known women’s basketball playing family. Her oldest sister Nneka starred at Stanford, is a two-time WNBA All-Star for the Los Angeles Sparks and was the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Her older sister Chiney also starred collegiately at Stanford and was the 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year as a teammate of former Husker great Kelsey Griffin with the Connecticut Sun.

Ryan Weisenberg begins his second season as head coach of Pepperdine. He spent one season as an assistant coach for the Waves before being promoted to head coach. He has spent time on the coaching staffs of both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks.

Nebraska holds a 2-1 series lead over Pepperdine, but the teams haven’t met in over 20 years. The Huskers knocked off the Waves 68-50 in the last meeting between the two teams in Lincoln in 1993.

On Sunday, the Huskers will take the floor in their first-ever meeting with Alcorn State. The Lady Braves will play Saturday at Nebraska-Omaha before heading to Lincoln for a 5 p.m. (central) Sunday matchup at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Lady Braves finished Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play with a respectable 7-11 mark last season, but won just one non-conference game to finish with an overall 8-22 record in 2013-14. They lost their leading scorer to graduation and do not return any players who averaged double figure scoring last year.

Ashtin McNichols is the leading returning scorer for the Lady Braves. The 5-6 senior guard only started two games but averaged 8.6 points per game last year, including a season-high 15 in a 52-49 win over Alabama State.

Angelica Wilson-Reid, a 6-0 sophomore, started 29 games and led the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and ranked third on the team with 6.7 points per game.

Jasmine Cunningham, a 5-8 sophomore, started 22 games for the Lady Braves in 2013-14 and averaged just 2.9 points per contest, while 6-2 sophomore Henrietta Wells started 21 games last season and averaged 2.8 points. Wells fouled out of 10 of the 30 Alcorn State games.

Tonya Edwards begins her seventh season as head coach of the Lady Braves. Like Husker Assistant Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller, Edwards is a native of Flint, Mich. As a member of the Tennessee Lady Vols, Edwards was a key member of Pat Summitt’s first NCAA championship team and was the MVP of the 1987 NCAA Tournament. Edwards also was a member of the 1989 NCAA champion Lady Vols. She was a WNBA All-Star in 1999 for the Minnesota Lynx.

I’m starting my 16th year on the Nebraska women’s basketball radio broadcast and Jeff Griesch and I will begin our 14th year as the Husker women’s basketball broadcast team, as we announce our 450th game together Saturday morning against Pepperdine.

Our radio broadcast Saturday begins with the pre-game show at 10:45 a.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled against Pepperdine for 11:05 a.m. on the Husker Sports Network including KBBK (B107.3) in Lincoln, KFFF 93.3 in Omaha, and many others.

Sunday’s broadcast for the Alcorn State game begins with the pre-game show at 4:45 p.m. with the tip-off scheduled at 5:05 p.m. Sunday's game will be on B107.3 in Lincoln and 1110 AM KFAB in Omaha.

All Husker women’s basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com. Sunday afternoon’s broadcast is also available for free on your phone or tablet via the TuneIn Radio app. 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