Huskers Tip with Lopers Sunday in Lincoln

Nebraska Cornhuskers
vs. Nebraska-Kearney Lopers

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m. - Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)
ESPN 590 AM, Omaha; KHAS 1230 AM, Hastings
Free Live Audio: Huskers.com
TV: None
Live Video Stream: None

Huskers Tip with Lopers Sunday in Lincoln
The Nebraska women’s basketball team tips off its 2015-16 campaign by taking on Nebraska-Kearney in its exhibition opener at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m.

Season and single-game tickets are available now at Huskers.com or by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIG-RED. Live radio coverage on select stations will be provided by the Husker Sports Network with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call.

A new-look Nebraska team will hit the floor for the first time together, with senior All-America candidate Rachel Theriot leading the way for the Huskers. Theriot, who had her junior year cut short by an ankle injury, will compete for the first time since a Feb. 1 win over Michigan.

An honorable-mention Associated Press All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2013-14, Theriot earned first-team preseason All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches and media prior to the start of the 2015-16 campaign. She averaged 16.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists while leading Nebraska to a 17-4 record and a No. 15 AP national ranking before her injury as a junior.

Forward Jessica Shepard added preseason conference honors by being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by College Sports Madness on Oct. 15. A first-team Parade All-American in 2015 and the Gatorade Nebraska High School Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014, Shepard was a member of the USA Basketball Team that won gold at the FIBA Americas Tournament in 2014. Shepard was ranked as the No. 3 overall recruit in the nation by ESPN in 2014.

Sunday’s Lineups
Nebraska Cornhuskers
(21-11, 10-8 Big Ten, 2014-15)
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
4** - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 19.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Off the Bench
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.1 ppg, 0.5 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 0.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 3.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 1.3 ppg, 0.2 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
52 - Alicia Ostrander - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (262-153); 26th Season Overall (457-293)
**2013-14 statistics at Drake

Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
(12-17, 6-13 MIAA, 2014-15)
1 - Bri Starks - 5-11 - Sr. - G/F - 7.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
23 - Kelsey Fitzgerald - 6-0 - Jr. - F - 10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg
OR 25 - Imani Kyser - 6-0 - So. - F - 1.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg
10 - McKenzie Brown - 5-10 - So. - G - 12.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg
12 - Alexa Hogberg - 5-5 - Jr. - G - 9.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg
15 - Laramey Becker - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 14.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Off the Bench
3 - Jenna Gillespie - 5-6 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
5 - Michaela Barry - 5-7 - Jr. - G - 12.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg
11 - Harper Sheets - 5-10 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
13 - Kenzie Kulm - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
20** - Courtney Aitken - 5-9 - So. - G - 0.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg
21 - Allie Prososki - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
22## - Teri Oliver - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 16.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
30 - Kennedy Sander - 6-0 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
32 - Tori Payne - 5-9 - Jr. - G/F - 3.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg
33 - Laurel Tomlinson - 6-0 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
44 - Brianna Miller - 6-3 - Fr. - C - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Carrie Hofstetter (Hastings, 2004)
First Season at Nebraska-Kearney (0-0); Fourth Season Overall (68-31)
**2012-13 statistics at Nebraska
##2011-12 statistics at Southern Illinois

Huskers vs. Lopers Series
Nebraska will face Nebraska-Kearney for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons in exhibition action, when the Huskers go head-to-head with the Lopers on Sunday. Nebraska has won all 13 of the previous exhibition meetings, dating back to the first contest on Nov. 4, 2001. The Huskers are also 6-0 all-time against the Lopers in regular-season action. The two schools have not squared off in the regular season since Dec. 8, 1982.

In 2013-14, Nebraska rolled to a 75-34 win over UNK at Pinnacle Bank Arena. All-American Jordan Hooper led Nebraska with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Emily Cady added 11 points and 12 boards for the Big Red.

Notable Nuggets
• Nebraska newcomer Kyndal Clark and UNK newcomer Teri Oliver went head-to-head as All-Missouri Valley Conference players in 2011-12, when Clark was a freshman at Drake and Oliver was a junior at Southern Illinois.
• UNK guard Courtney Aitken was a freshman guard on Nebraska’s 2012-13 NCAA Sweet Sixteen team. Her twin brother, Cam, is a manager for the Huskers.

Roster Renovations: Nebraska & UNK
Nebraska will take on NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons when the Huskers battle the Lopers in exhibition action on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Plenty has changed for both teams since taking last season off from competition against other.

In 2013-14, the Lopers came to Lincoln for the second-ever basketball game inside the new Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska rolled to a 75-34 win thanks to double-doubles from All-American forward Jordan Hooper (20 points, 11 rebounds) and All-Big Ten forward Emily Cady (11 points, 12 rebounds).

Both teams return just one starter each from that Nov. 3, 2013 exhibition game, and Nebraska Coach Connie Yori is the only member of either coaching staff still in a coaching role.
Nebraska senior point guard Rachel Theriot started for the Huskers as a sophomore, scoring seven points, while notching four rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes of work for NU in the exhibition win. Current juniors Allie Havers (7 points, 4 rebounds) and Esther Ramacieri were the only other current Huskers to compete in the game.

Laramey Becker (formerly Lewis) is the only returning starter from the 2013 exhibition game for the Lopers. Becker, who got married during the summer of 2015, scored just three points while pulling down five rebounds as a sophomore starter for the Lopers in the game.

Current juniors Alexa Hogberg (4 points, 1 rebound), Kelsey Fitzgerald (2 points, 5 rebounds) and Tori Payne (6 points, 4 rebounds) were the only other Lopers to see action in 2013-14 against the Huskers.

Overall, the 2015-16 exhibition game between the Huskers and Lopers will feature 12 new Huskers (9 players, 3 coaches) and 16 new Lopers (13 players, 3 coaches) since the 2013-14 exhibition game.

A Look at the Lopers: Scouting UNK
Coach Carrie Hofstetter brings her 2015-16 Nebraska-Kearney squad to Lincoln for the first time. Hofstetter, who spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Hastings College, has what she hopes is a successful blend of five returning players, five college transfers and seven freshmen.
Hofstetter led Hastings College to the NAIA Division II semifinals after winning 28 games in 2014-15. The success of the Broncos followed a 25-win season that resulted in a trip to the NAIA Division II quarterfinals in 2013-14. Hastings won 15 games in her first season at the helm in 2012-13.

Prior to her successful run at Hastings, Hofstetter spent four seasons as an assistant at Fort Hays State (2008-09 - 2011-12) after serving four seasons as an assistant at Hastings (2004-05 - 2007-08). She helped guide the Broncos to the 2006 NAIA national title. As a player, Hofstetter earned first-team NAIA All-America honors as a point guard for Hastings in 2004, while helping the Broncos to the 2002 and 2003 NAIA national championships. She was a part of a 95-game winning streak as a player at Sandy Creek High School, where she won four straight Class C-1 state championships.

Hofstetter inherited a team that finished with a 12-17 overall record that included a 6-13 mark in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) in 2014-15. However, the Lopers return four starters from then-Coach Kevin Chaney’s fourth UNK squad.

Laramey Becker (formerly Lewis) averaged a team-best 14.8 points while adding 6.9 rebounds per game. Becker, a 5-8 senior guard from Trenton, Neb., added a team-best 52 steals last season and hit a team-high 60 three-pointers (.438).

McKenzie Brown, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Grand Island, added 12.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while knocking down 58 threes (.337). Junior Kelsey Fitzgerald, a 6-0 forward from Yankton, S.D., pitched in double figures with 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Junior Alexa Hogberg, a 5-5 point guard from Chandler, Ariz., added 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and a team-best 4.9 assists per contest. Hogberg hit 40.9 percent (36-88) of her threes.

Tori Payne, a 5-9 junior guard, rounds out UNK’s returning players. Payne averaged 3.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while making one start.

Newcomers Bri Starks and Imani Kyser could earn early season starts for the Lopers. Starks, a 5-11 guard/forward averaged 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in her only season at Illinois-Springfield last year. She averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 boards in two years at Hutchinson Community College, helping the Blue Dragons to a 2014 NJCAA Division runner-up finish.

Kyser totaled 20 points and 35 rebounds over 21 games at NCAA Division I Jacksonville last season. The 6-0 forward helped the Dolphins to a 12-17 overall record.

Two other Division I transfers into the UNK program include former Husker Courtney Aitken and seventh-year senior Teri Oliver from Southern Illinois.

Aitken, a 5-9 guard from Dannebrog, Neb., played six games as a freshman on Nebraska’s 2012-13 NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad. She battled injuries throughout the season and elected to step away from basketball following the year to concentrate on academics at Nebraska. She spent the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons enrolled at Nebraska but not competing athletically, while her twin brother Cameron remained with the Husker women’s basketball team as a manager. Courtney, who will be listed as a fourth-year sophomore, transferred to UNK this summer.

Oliver has not played college basketball since 2011-12, but she was an All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Southern Illinois in 2010-11 and 2011-12 after earning MVC All-Freshman honors in 2009-10. The 5-9 guard totaled 1,199 points and 82 career starts, averaging 16.0 points per game while sinking a school-record 90 three-pointers as a junior in 2011-12. Oliver played head-to-head twice against Nebraska fifth-year senior transfer Kyndal Clark in 2011-12, when Clark was playing for current Husker assistant coach Amy Stephens at Drake. Oliver hit at least three three-pointers in all six games that she played against Stephens’ Bulldogs, including six threes and 25 points as a true freshman at Carbondale.

Season Tips with Nebraska Basketball Live
Husker fans had their first chance to meet the 2015-16 Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball teams Thursday, Oct. 29, at Nebraska Basketball Live. The free event at Pinnacle Bank Arena featured an open practice with Coach Tim Miles and the Husker men, while the Husker women signed autographs in the concourse above the court.

During the first hour of the event, nearly 100 Husker student-athletes across all sports handed out candy to trick or treaters at 10 stations around the concourse. Halloween costume contests and fun games for all ages were also part of the two-hour event.

The teams were introduced to Husker fans before skills and three-point contests that included Husker fans took the action to another level. The night culminated with one lucky Husker fan taking a halfcourt shot for $20,000. The men’s basketball team signed autographs to wrap up the evening.

Pump up The Program
• Nebraska earned its fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid and its seventh in the past nine seasons in 2015. NU is one of just 21 Division I teams to earn four consecutive NCAA Tournament bids.
• The Huskers also have owned a perfect 100 percent Graduation Success Rate every season they have been in the NCAA Tournament under Coach Connie Yori (2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
• Nebraska Coach Connie Yori owns more wins (262) than any other women’s basketball coach in school history. She has averaged 20 victories per season in her first 13 seasons at the helm of the Huskers.
• The Huskers have produced seven 20-win seasons in the last nine years. Prior to Coach Connie Yori’s arrival in Lincoln in 2002-03, Nebraska had nine 20-win seasons in the first 28 years of the program.
• Nebraska is the only team in the Big Ten to record 10 or more league wins in each of the last four years. The Huskers are the only team to post four straight winning Big Ten regular seasons (2012-15).
• The Huskers, who joined the Big Ten in 2011-12 for the start of the careers of its 2015 seniors, are a Big Ten-best 44-22 in Big Ten regular-season play the last four years (tied with Iowa). The Big Red have added a conference-best eight Big Ten Tournament wins for 52 total victories over Big Ten foes.
• Nebraska has ranked No. 11 nationally in average home attendance in each of the Huskers’ first two seasons at Pinnacle Bank Arena. NU has averaged more than 6,000 fans per game at the arena.
• Every Husker on the roster has earned a spot on Nebraska’s Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in each of the first two years of NU’s all-sports, community service recognition program.

Whole New Ballgame: 2015-16 Rule Changes
NCAA Division I women’s college basketball will have a whole new look in 2015-16, with sweeping rule changes that will create distinct differences from the men’s game, while more closely falling in line with both WNBA and international rules.

New in 2015-16, NCAA Division I women’s basketball games:
• Games will feature four, 10-minute quarters, rather than two, 20-minute halves.
• A team will reach the bonus after five team fouls in each quarter. The fouls will reset each quarter.
• Once the team reaches the bonus (5 fouls, quarter), a common foul will result in two free throws
(no more 1-and-1 in women’s basketball).
• Only one standard media timeout exists in each quarter, and will occur at the 5:00 mark or under in each quarter, or whenever the first coach-called timeout of the quarter occurs. In the second half, the first called timeout will become an extra media timeout.
• When a timeout is charged to the offensive team in the final 59.9 seconds of the fourth quarter (and any overtimes), the team has the option to advance the throw-in spot (as long as no attempt to advance has occurred) to the 28-foot line in the front court on the scorer’s table side.
• The 10-second count in the backcourt shall reset on all stoppages of the game clock except when the defense causes the ball to be out of bounds, the offense retains possession after a held ball, or there is a technical foul assessed to the offensive team.

Theriot Earns Preseason All-Big Ten Honor
Nebraska’s Rachel Theriot earned preseason All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year when the conference announced its preseason awards on Oct. 14.

Theriot, a senior point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, was one of nine players to earn recognition from both the coaches and media on their 10-player teams. Theriot, who was a first-team preseason All-Big Ten choice in 2014-15, averaged 16.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists while starting Nebraska’s first 21 games a year ago. Theriot led the Huskers to a top-15 national ranking and a 17-4 record heading into February, before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in practice on Feb. 3.

She was a second-team All-Big Ten choice a year ago despite missing the second half of the conference season.

Theriot, a preseason candidate for the Wade, Naismith and Wooden national player-of-the-year awards in 2014-15, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore for the Huskers in 2013-14. She led Nebraska to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after earning Big Ten Tournament MVP honors in 2014. She averaged 18.0 points and a Big Ten-record 10.0 assists while leading the Huskers to their first-ever conference tournament title in 2014. She was also an honorable-mention Associated Press All-American after setting the Nebraska single-season record with 234 assists in 2013-14.

Theriot is expected to be a national player-of-the-year candidate again in 2015-16, while also being a candidate for CoSIDA Academic All-America and Senior CLASS Award accolades.

Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Kelsey Mitchell from Ohio State led the voting, while her backcourt mate Ameryst Alston also earned a spot. Defending Big Ten champion and preseason favorite Maryland added a pair of honorees with Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. Michigan State’s Aerial Powers, Northwestern’s Nia Coffey, Kahleah Copper from Rutgers and Minnesota’s Rachel Banham were all chosen to both teams. Banham was the 2014-15 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, before suffering a season-ending knee injury early in her senior season with the Gophers.

Iowa’s Ally Disterhoft added recognition from the conference coaches, while Tori Jankoska earned a spot on the media’s preseason team.

Shepard Claims Preseason Big Ten Freshman Honor
Nebraska’s Jessica Shepard was named the Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year for women’s basketball in 2015-16 by College Sports Madness.

Shepard, a 6-4 forward from Fremont, Neb., is the highest ranked recruit in Nebraska history and arguably the best high school player the state has ever produced, Shepard competed on the gold-medal winning USA Basketball team at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championships. She was the No. 3 overall recruit in the freshman class of 2015-16, according to ESPN.

A two-time Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year (2013, 2014) and four-time first-team Super-State (Lincoln Journal Star) and All-Nebraska (Omaha World-Herald) selection, Shepard missed most of her senior season after suffering an ACL tear on Dec. 29, 2014.

A Naismith Trophy Preseason National High School Player-of-the-Year candidate, Shepard earned first-team Parade All-America honors in 2015. In nine games as a senior, Shepard averaged 33.0 points and 14.3 rebounds. She scored 132 points in four games at the Nike Tournament of Champions, including 36 against national power Long Beach Poly.

As a high school senior, she shot 71 percent from the field, including 41 percent from three-point range. Despite missing most of her senior season, Shepard finished fourth in Nebraska high school history with 2,227 career points, which was the Class A (largest) all-time record. She also finished No. 15 in state history with 1,031 rebounds, just 16 shy of the Nebraska Class A career record.
As a junior in 2013-14, Shepard averaged a Class A state record 30.4 points per game to go along with 15.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in leading Fremont to a 22-4 record and a state tournament berth for Coach Tony Weinandt. Her performances included four 40-point games, including a career-high 46.

Romeo Returns: Soph Shoots for Super Season
Over Nebraska’s final eight games of 2014-15, Natalie Romeo led the Huskers in scoring with 15.4 points per game. The 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., added 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game in a team-best 35.8 minutes per contest down the stretch in her freshman campaign. She also hit 39.7 percent (31-78) of her threes while averaging 3.9 threes per game.

During the summer of 2015, Romeo averaged a team-best 19.8 points per game, while adding 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists during Nebraska’s four-game tour of Australia (Aug. 1-12).

In her first season as a Husker, Romeo averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 rebounds over 24 games. She missed eight games in mid-season with a stress reaction in her foot (Nov. 28-Dec. 29).

Romeo started Nebraska’s final 10 games in place of the injured Rachel Theriot. In 12 games as a starter in 2014-15, Romeo averaged 13.7 points per game, while adding 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She produced double figures in seven of her starts, including each of Nebraska’s final three games.

She erupted for a career-high 26 points with a school-record-tying seven three-pointers in a Big Ten Tournament win over Illinois March 5. She added 21-point efforts in wins over Wisconsin (Feb. 15) and Minnesota (Feb. 24). She hit six threes against Penn State (Jan. 15) and Minnesota (Feb. 24).

Romeo tied a school record and smashed the Nebraska conference tournament record with seven threes against the Fighting Illini. She hit seven of her first nine attempts in the first 24 minutes of the game against the Illini. The previous NU conference tournament record was four, which had been accomplished four times (Jordan Hooper, Lindsey Moore, Amanda Went, Amy Stephens).

Romeo added four threes against Iowa at the Big Ten Tournament on March 6. Her 11 threes match Nebraska’s career Big Ten Tournament record. She is 11-for-22 in two career games.
Romeo tied Nebraska’s single-game NCAA Tournament record with five threes against Syracuse on March 20.

2015 Seniors Leave Big Shoes to Fill
Nebraska’s seven returning letterwinners and six newcomers will look to overcome significant losses in all areas of production in 2015-16 following the departures of the Huskers’ four senior starters.

The four seniors (Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear’a Laudermill, Hailie Sample) accounted for 61.9 percent of Nebraska’s points (1,330 of 2,148) in 2014-15. They also pulled down 66.2 percent (869 of 1,313) of NU’s rebounds on the year, while accumulating 61.7 percent of the Big Red’s assists. The 2015 seniors amassed 72.2 percent (138 of 191) of Nebraska’s 2014-15 steals and 63.3 percent (57 of 90) of NU’s blocks, while playing 63.3 percent (4,068 of 6,425) of the Huskers’ minutes in 2014-15.

Big Red Benefit from Summer Down Under
Nebraska completed a 12-day Australian Tour (Aug. 1-12) that allowed the young Huskers to come together as a team, experience a new culture and practice throughout the summer.

The Big Red, who went 1-3 on the tour against a collection of Australian professional and semi-professional teams, played without 2014 All-American Rachel Theriot, 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Kyndal Clark, and the No. 1 recruit in Nebraska history, Jessica Shepard, during the journey down under. All three made the trip but did not play while recovering from major injuries in 2014-15.

Despite missing three of its top offensive weapons, the Huskers still performed well overseas. Nebraska was led on the tour by sophomore Natalie Romeo. The 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., averaged 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Fellow sophomore guard Jasmine Cincore added a solid tour, averaging 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, including a breakout 15-point, nine-rebound, four-assist effort in the win over Sydney on Aug. 10.

Freshman Rachel Blackburn provided big contributions for the Big Red as the team’s third-leading scorer and rebounder. The 6-3 forward from Leavenworth, Kan., averaged 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game.

Allie Havers, a 6-5 junior center from Mattawan, Mich., added 7.0 points and a team-best 10.0 rebounds per game, while 6-2 redshirt freshman forward Darrien Washington from Oakland, Calif., added 5.5 points and a whopping 7.3 boards in just 17.3 minutes per contest.

Maddie Simon, the 2015 Nebraska High School Player of the Year out of Lincoln Pius X, contributed 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist while playing nearly 30 minutes per game as the Huskers’ fifth-leading scorer and rebounder on the trip.

Sophomore Emily Wood, a 5-5 former walk-on guard from Salina, Kan., added 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists while filling Theriot’s role in Nebraska’s starting backcourt. Senior Anya Kalenta, a 6-3 forward from Minsk, Belarus, rounded out the Big Red contributors on the tour with 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per contest off the bench.

Husker Health Improving as Season Nears
The health of the Husker roster has been on the upswing throughout the offseason, as long rehabilitations to Rachel Theriot (ankle surgery, Feb. 19), Kyndal Clark (knee surgery at Drake) and Jessica Shepard (ACL tear, Dec. 29) allowed them to get back on the court.

Theriot has made steady progress and is nearing 100 percent for the start of exhibition play.

Clark’s recovery has been a pleasant surprise to Nebraska coaches. The 5-7 fifth-year senior out of Webb City, Mo., has shown impressive quickness and fitness, despite being kept from running for six months. Clark is at full speed for the start of exhibition play and expected to start alongside Theriot against UNK.

Shepard’s recovery went a bit slower than hoped but the high school All-American from Fremont was cleared for 100 percent participation on Monday, Oct. 26.

Sophomore Jasmine Cincore, who was one of Nebraska’s top players this summer in Australia, after battling foot injuries for much of her freshman season, was sidelined for several weeks in September and October by a stress reaction in her foot. Cincore returned to the court the week of Oct. 26.

Junior Esther Ramacieri also was sidelined for all of August and September with a knee injury before returning to action in late-October. Ramacieri is hoping to contribute in non-conference play.

Clark Fires Way into Starting Five
Kyndal Clark has exceeded Nebraska’s expectations since arriving on campus in June. The transfer from Drake who earned her bachelor’s degree from the Des Moines, Iowa, school before joining the Huskers for a fifth season of eligibility, came to Nebraska in the middle of a long rehab from surgery after suffering a microfracture of her kneecap in the first game of her senior season at Drake on Nov. 14, 2014.

Unable to run when she first arrived at the Hendricks Training Complex, Clark has excelled in August, September and October, earning a spot in Nebraska’s starting five for the exhibition opener.

One of the best shooters in Nebraska history the day she set foot on campus, Clark knocked down 222 threes in 98 career starts at Drake, finishing with 1,418 points. She was the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, a two-time All-MVC selection, a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team (2013), and she was honored on the 2012 MVC All-Freshman Team in her only season playing for current Nebraska assistant coach Amy Stephens at Drake.

Since practice officially started in October, Clark has shown quick feet, excellent hands, and a high basketball IQ. Coupled with her experience, her outstanding long-range shooting, and her team-first approach at both ends of the court, Clark could join Rachel Theriot, Natalie Romeo, Maddie Simon, Jasmine Cincore, Esther Ramacieri and Emily Wood in giving Nebraska a talented, versatile and deep backcourt.

Big Red Add Cornhusker State Flavor
Nebraska welcomed the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history to Lincoln this summer, as Coach Connie Yori’s three-player class was ranked No. 8 nationally by ESPN. The class featured the highest profile recruit in Husker basketball history - two-time state Gatorade High School Player of the Year Jessica Shepard - and 2015 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year Maddie Simon.

Shepard, who averaged 12.6 points and 3.8 rebounds to help the USA Basketball U18 National Team to a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas Championships, was ranked as the No. 3 overall player and the No. 1 post in the country by ESPN. The 2013 and 2014 Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year, Shepard was a three-time first-team All-Nebraska and Super-State selection.

In nine games as a senior, Shepard averaged 33.0 points and 14.3 rebounds. She scored 132 points in four games at the Nike Tournament of Champions in December, including 36 against national power Long Beach Poly. The 6-4 forward hit 71 percent of her field goals and 41 percent of her threes in an injury-shortened season. Shepard tore her ACL on Dec. 29, 2014, while her Fremont team played at Lincoln North Star High School.

Shepard, who committed to Nebraska in 2011, averaged a Class A record 30.4 points per game as a junior in 2013-14, while adding 15.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for Fremont. She averaged 24.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.8 steals while leading Lincoln Southeast to the 2013 Class A state title, before moving with her family to Fremont in the summer of 2013. She averaged 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Class A runner-up Knights in 2012.
Lincoln native Maddie Simon captured Nebraska Gatorade High School Player of the Year honors in 2015. Simon led Lincoln Pius X to the 2015 Class B state title by averaging 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a senior. A two-time first-team Super-State selection, Simon finished as Pius X’s all-time leading scorer with 1,373 points.

A 6-2 guard, Simon was ranked as the No. 22 player in the nation at her position by ESPN, while being ranked No. 149 overall by Blue Star Basketball. As a junior at Lincoln Pius X in 2013-14, Simon averaged 19.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists to lead Pius X to a Class B runner-up finish.

A tremendous all-around athlete, Simon added gold medals in the Class A 100- and 300-meter hurdles at the 2015 Nebraska State Track and Field Championships in Omaha.

Blackburn to Earn Exhibition Start
The least heralded of Nebraska’s three freshmen in 2015-16, Kansas prep star Rachel Blackburn is expected to get a start in the Huskers’ exhibition opener against UNK. The 6-3 forward out of Leavenworth High School was ranked as the No. 63 player in the nation by Blue Star and No. 69 by ProspectsNation. ESPN ranked her as the No. 17 post in the country.

Blackburn made the most of her opportunity inside this summer, averaging 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in just 23.5 minutes per game while shooting a team-best 65 percent from the field over four games in Australia. She has continued to grow in practice the last three months, and provides Nebraska with a smart, tough, aggressive and team-first attitude on the court.

Blackburn averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds as a junior for the 2014 Class 5A state champions, while also leading the Sunflower League in the number of charges drawn.

Blackburn, who was a third-team Class 5A all-state selection as a senior, was an honorable-mention Class 5A all-state pick by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association in both 2014 and 2015, helping Leavenworth to another state title in 2015. She also was one of five finalists for the 2015 DiRenna Award, which honors the top player in the greater Kansas City area.

A talented all-around athlete, Blackburn set the Leavenworth school record with a javelin throw of 125-7 as a sophomore in 2013. She won the Sunflower League title and qualified for the state meet in the event.

Husker Sports Network Covers World
The Husker Sports Network is its 22nd season of producing and marketing the live broadcasts of Nebraska women’s basketball in 2015-16. Women’s basketball play-by-play announcer Matt Coatney and color commentator Jeff Griesch team up for their 15th season together as the Huskers’ broadcast team.

The Husker Sports Network and Nebraska women’s basketball have teamed up for well over a decade to take every game, home and away, around the world for free on Huskers.com.

In addition to carrying every women’s basketball game free on Huskers.com, the Husker Sports Network flagship stations B107.3 FM-KBBK (Lincoln) and ESPN 590 AM-KXSP (Omaha) provide strong signals for Husker women’s basketball. When a network conflict occurs in Omaha, the Huskers also could be heard on CD105.9 FM-KKCD. 880-AM-KRVN (Lexington) also provides a huge AM signal statewide in central Nebraska, while more than 20 stations carry the Husker Sports Network’s women’s basketball coverage across the state and the Midwest.

Inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, fans can access the direct radio call of the game at 87.7 FM.

Season Ticket Sales Approach All-Time High
With one week left before the start of the exhibition season, Nebraska women’s basketball season ticket sales had reached 3,891, just 11 tickets shy of the all-time record of 3,902.

Season tickets are still being actively sold on Huskers.com in advance of Nebraska’s 2015-16 regular-season tip-off against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Nov. 14.

In Nebraska’s first season at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14, the Huskers shattered their previous season ticket sales record with more than 3,700. The previous record came in 2010-11, when NU sold approximately 2,700 season tickets.

Nebraska Ranks Near Top in Attendance
Nebraska closed the 2014-15 season ranked No. 11 nationally in average home attendance with 5,857 fans per game. The Huskers averaged 6,483 fans per Big Ten Conference game.

The Huskers played 15 home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2014-15, averaging 6,026 fans per game in the new arena. In 33 all-time home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers own an impressive 28-5 record (.848 winning percentage) while averaging 6,100 fans per game (201,278 total fans/33 games).

The Huskers also played one home game at Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2014-15, drawing 3,321 fans for a game against Utah on Nov. 23. The Utah game was not included in Nebraska’s 2014-15 season ticket package for logistical reasons.

In 18 home games in 2013-14, the Huskers attracted 110,892 fans including 10 of the top-16 largest home non-conference crowds in school history. Nebraska’s total home attendance of 110,892 ranked No. 8 nationally, while NU’s average home attendance of 6,161 ranked 11th in 2013-14.

Nebraska attracted a non-conference school-record crowd of 9,750 to open its stay in the building with a win over UCLA on Nov. 8, 2013. The Huskers have averaged more than 5,000 fans per non-conference game each of the first two seasons at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Before moving to the new arena, NU had never averaged more than 4,049 fans per game in non-conference home play.