Huskers Face Experienced Warriors Sunday

Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0)
vs. Winona State Warriors (3-0)

Sunday, Nov. 8, 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: BTN Plus
Live Stats: Huskers.com

The Nebraska women’s basketball team wraps up its 2015-16 exhibition schedule by battling the Winona State Warriors at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Nov. 8, 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, including ESPN 590 AM in Omaha, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call.

Winona State comes to Lincoln with a 3-0 regular-season record already in 2015-16, after running to three wins at the CCA Division II Tip-Off Classic in Carson, Calif., last week. The Warriors return four starters from a team that finished 20-8 in 2014-15.

The new-look Huskers ran to an impressive 92-54 victory over NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Nov. 1. NU’s starting five featured four first-time starters in their first games in Husker uniforms, led by freshman Jessica Shepard. The two-time Nebraska High School Player of the Year (2013, 2014) and the top post player nationally in ESPN’s recruit rankings last year, Shepard poured in 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes.

Fellow freshman forward Rachel Blackburn added 11 points and four rebounds, while 2015 Nebraska High School Player of the Year Maddie Simon pitched in six points, three rebounds and two steals. Fifth-year senior Kyndal Clark, a graduate transfer from Drake, contributed six points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Nebraska’s lone returning starter against UNK was 2014 All-American Rachel Theriot, who pumped in 24 points and dished out seven assists in her first action since Feb. 1, 2015.

Sunday’s Lineups
Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-11, 10-8 Big Ten, 2014-15)
(2014-15 Statistics)
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
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Off the Bench
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
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 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

Winona State Warriors (3-0, 0-0 NSIC)
24 - Hannah McGlone - 6-0 - So. - F - 7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
32 - Kayla Timmerman - 6-3 - Jr. - C - 11.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
13 - Alexis Foley - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 17.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
14 - Tara Roelofs - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 14.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
23 - Connor Nagle - 5-6 - Sr. - G - 7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Off the Bench
21 - Jenny Weiland - 5-10 - Jr. - F - 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg
11 - Jenny Tuttle - 5-7 - Jr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
44 - Emily Wirth - 6-0 - Jr. - F - 2.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg
25 - Kayla Schaefer - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
10 - MaKena Panning - 5-6 - So. - G - 1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg
20 - Emily Passint - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 0.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg
12 - Allison Hocking - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
3 - Liz Evenocheck - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Head Coach: Scott Ballard (Missouri State, 1979)
12th Season at Winona State (183-138); 26th Season Overall (452-272)

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska has never lost an exhibition game under Coach Connie Yori. The Huskers are 27-0 in exhibition play since Yori’s first season in 2002-03. The closest final outcome was an 11-point (80-69) victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 5, 2008, at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island.
• A total of five of the 27 exhibition games have been decided by fewer than 15 points with the most recent coming in a 68-54 win over Pittsburg State on Nov. 3, 2009.
• Since the 2009 win over the Gorillas, NU’s average victory margin in 12 exhibition games has been 36.7 points, including a 51-point win over PSU on Oct. 27, 2013.
• Nebraska’s most points in an exhibition game under Coach Yori came in a 122-55 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 1, 2006.
• Nebraska has reached the century mark in only one other exhibition game under Coach Yori, a 102-30 win over Chadron State on Oct. 31, 2008. The 72-point margin of victory against Chadron State is the largest in an exhibition game for the Huskers.
• The 29 points and 12 rebounds in 17 minutes by Jessica Shepard against UNK on Nov. 1, marked the third-highest exhibition point total and tied for the fifth-highest exhibition rebound total by an individual in 27 games under Coach Yori.
• First-team All-American Kelsey Griffin produced the best exhibition performance under Yori with 35 points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes against UNK in 2006. First-team All-American Jordan Hooper added 32 points and nine rebounds against UNK in 2012.

A Look at the Warriors: Scouting Winona State
Coach Scott Ballard brings his Winona State squad to Lincoln for the first time in exhibition play for the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Winona State. Ballard owns a 183-138 record in his 12th season at Winona State and a 452-272 career record in 26 seasons as a collegiate coach.

The Warriors are off to a 3-0 regular-season start in 2015-16, after defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills (66-63), Academy of Art (77-55) and the New York Institute of Technology (73-49) at the CCA Division II Tip-Off Classic at the Torodome in Carson, Calif., last weekend.

Alexis Foley, a 5-9 senior guard from White Bear Lake, Minn., averaged team bests of 17.7 points and 3.7 assists to open the season. She knocked down 8-of-13 three-pointers and 15-of-17 free throws in the three-game tournament.

Junior Tara Roelofs, another 5-9 guard, pitched in 14.7 points per game, while hitting 6-of-15 threes. She was 12-for-12 at the line.

Connor Nagle, a 5-6 senior guard, rounds out an experienced Warrior starting backcourt. She averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 assists to open the year. Last season, Nagle (11.0 ppg), Roelofs (11.0 ppg) and Foley (11.1 ppg) combined to average 33.1 points per game as the top three scorers for the 20-8 Warriors. Winona State finished third in the South division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2014-15.

Inside the Warriors are led by 6-3 junior center Kayla Timmerman. The former Iowa Hawkeye is in her second season at Winona State. She averaged 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in WSU’s opening weekend, after managing 10.7 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game last year. Timmerman also led the Warriors with 60 blocked shots a year ago.

Hannah McGlone, a 6-0 sophomore forward, rounds out Winona State’s starting five. She averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds at the Tip-Off Classic, after producing 6.0 points and 5.4 rebounds as a freshman starter for the Warriors last season.

Jenny Weiland (5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Jenny Tuttle (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Emily Wirth (2.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg) and Emily Passint (0.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg) all added double-figure minutes per game off the bench for Winona State at the Tip-Off Classic.

Winona State proved itself as a solid group of shooters in California, averaging 72.0 points per game while hitting 40.4 percent (21-52) of its threes and 93.2 percent (55-59) of its free throws.

Huskers Make Impressive Debuts in Win Over UNK
Nebraska fans witnessed the dawn of a new era in women’s basketball in a 92-54 exhibition victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

In Nebraska’s first game without the four members (Emily Cady, Hailie Sample, Tear’a Laudermill, Brandi Jeffery) of the winningest four-year senior class in school history, four Huskers made impressive starting debuts in their first-ever appearances in Nebraska uniforms.

In the most-anticipated debut in school history, freshman Jessica Shepard poured in 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes against UNK. Shepard, who was cleared for full-court, 5-on-5 participation for the first time on Tuesday, Oct. 27, hit 11-of-19 shots from the floor and 7-of-11 free throws while knocking the rust off. The 6-4 forward from Fremont who was a two-time Nebraska High School Player of the Year (2013, 2014), played in her first game since tearing an ACL on Dec. 29, 2014.

Fellow freshman Rachel Blackburn added 11 points and four rebounds in another impressive debut. The 6-3 forward from Leavenworth, Kan., went 5-of-9 from the floor and hit 1-of-2 free throws while adding two assists and a blocked shot.

Nebraska’s third freshman, Maddie Simon, pitched in six points, three rebounds and two steals in a solid starting effort. The 6-2 guard out of Lincoln Pius X was the 2015 Nebraska High School Player of the Year.

In addition to the 46 points and 19 rebounds provided by Nebraska’s freshmen trio in their debuts, the Huskers also witnessed an outstanding debut from fifth-year senior Kyndal Clark. The 5-7 graduate transfer from Drake filled the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. The Webb City, Mo., native was playing in her first game since suffering a microfracture in her knee in the 2014-15 season opener at Drake on Nov. 14, 2014.

Nebraska’s lone returning starting from last year’s team, Rachel Theriot also made a triumphant return to the court, pumping in 24 points, while adding seven assists and five rebounds. Theriot, who was making her first appearance for the Huskers since Feb. 1, hit 9-of-13 shots from the field.
While none of Nebraska’s five starters against UNK were on the court for the Big Red at the end of last season, the group combined for 76 points, 28 rebounds, 15 assists and seven steals in 129 minutes against UNK.

Off the bench, the Huskers got solid efforts from 6-3 senior Anya Kalenta (8 points, 6 rebounds) and 6-5 junior center Allie Havers (4 points, 7 rebounds), along with four points and four rebounds from 6-2 redshirt freshman forward Darrien Washington.

Sophomore guard Emily Wood played the most minutes of any Husker, matching Theriot’s 29 minutes. Wood did not score, but matched Clark with a game-high four steals, while adding two rebounds and two assists.

Nebraska hit 51.5 percent (35-68) of its shots from the field and 22-of-32 free throws on its way to 92 points. The Huskers went 0-for-4 from three-point range with Clark and Wood each missing two attempts. NU outrebounded UNK, 52-35, and committed just 12 turnovers and 12 fouls.

Shepard Produces Historic Exhibition Effort
Jessica Shepard produced the best exhibition performance by a freshman in Nebraska women’s basketball history with 29 points and 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action against Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, Nov. 1. Shepard’s effort was made even more remarkable by the fact that she had only four days of full-court five-on-five practice before playing in her first competitive game in 10 months.

In Coach Connie Yori’s 14-years and 27 exhibition games at Nebraska, only first-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2010) and Jordan Hooper (2014) produced higher single-game point totals in their careers. Griffin put up 35 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the field while adding 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of action in a win over UNK in 2006.

Hooper erupted for 32 points and nine rebounds in an exhibition win over UNK in 2012, but Hooper’s production came in 32 minutes of work. Hooper scored at least 20 points in seven of her eight career exhibition games. Griffin’s 35-point effort against UNK marked the only time in her career that she scored 20 points in an exhibition game for the Huskers.

Since 2004-05, the only Huskers to score 24 or more points in an exhibition game were first-team all-conference players (Kiera Hardy, 26 vs. UNK, 2004; 27 vs. UNO, 2005; Yvonne Turner, 28 vs. UNK, 2008; Rachel Theriot, 24 vs. UNK, 2015).

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 Earns Exhibition Start
The least heralded of Nebraska’s three freshmen in 2015-16, Kansas prep star Rachel Blackburn earned 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 performed well against UNK, producing 11 points and four rebounds in 28 minutes. She 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 Reach All-Time High
With more than one week left before the start of the regular season, Nebraska women’s basketball season ticket sales had reached 3,925, an increase of 23 tickets over NU’s previous all-time record high of 3,902 set last season.

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.

Nebraska Posts 11th Straight Perfect GSR
Nebraska Coach Connie Yori would be the first to say that nobody’s perfect. However, in the eyes of the NCAA’s Division I Graduation Success Rate (GSR), that’s exactly what her Husker program has been for 11 consecutive years. Nebraska is the only program among the 14 Big Ten Conference schools to accomplish the perfect score for 11 straight years.

The NCAA announced the release of its annual Graduation Success Rate report on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2015, and Nebraska was a national leader in women’s basketball for the 11th straight season, dating back to 2004-05.

Yori, who is in her 14th season at Nebraska in 2015-16, joined Coach Robin Krapfl’s women’s golf program, Coach Scott Jacobson’s women’s tennis program and Coach John Cook’s volleyball program as Nebraska teams who have produced perfect 100 percent rates each of the last 11 years.

Nebraska was one of six Big Ten women’s basketball programs to post 100 percent rates in 2014-15, joining Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin. All 14 Big Ten women’s programs posted GSR rates above 80 percent last season. The Big Ten’s six teams with 100 percent GSR scores led the Big Five conferences, ahead of five each for the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC, while the SEC managed four.

Husker Hot Shot - Senior Rachel Theriot
#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
• Senior Rachel Theriot is a nominee for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award and the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team for women’s basketball. Theriot was an honorable-mention Associated Press All-American as a sophomore in 2014. She was also a first-team All-Big Ten pick and the 2014 Big Ten Tournament MVP.
• Theriot is expected to be on the preseason lists for the Wade, Naismith and Wooden National Player-of-the-Year awards again in 2016, while also being a contender for the Lieberman Award.
• Theriot became the 30th 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska women’s basketball history when she scored her first field goal of the night against Illinois Jan. 29. She has 1,023 career points and is tied for fifth in Husker history with 444 career assists. She led the Huskers with 16.5 points and 5.2 assists per game in 2014-15.
• Rachel Theriot was a preseason candidate for the Wade, Naismith and Wooden National Player-of-the-Year awards in 2014-15, after earning honorable-mention All-America honors from the Associated Press in 2014. Theriot, who also was a candidate for the 2015 Lieberman Award, was a first-team All-Big Ten choice and the Big Ten Tournament MVP as a sophomore in 2014. She earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior despite missing Nebraska’s final 11 games with an ankle injury.
• Theriot missed the first game of her career at Rutgers Feb. 5, after suffering an ankle injury in practice on Tuesday, Feb. 3. She underwent season-ending surgery on Feb. 19.
• Nebraska’s Offensive MVP for the second straight season, Theriot led the Huskers to a 17-4 record as a starter in 2014-15. Over the last two seasons, Nebraska is 43-11 with Theriot in the starting lineup. The Huskers went 4-7 without Theriot in the starting five to close 2014-15.
• Theriot’s 444 career assists are tied for fifth in Husker history. She needs one more to pass former Husker and current Nebraska assistant coach Amy Stephens (444, 1986-89) into sole possession of No. 5 on the NU career chart.
• She hit 92.6 percent (63-68) of her free throws on the year, which ranked as the second-best single-season average in Nebraska history. Theriot has hit 87.1 percent (142-163) of her career free throws, which ranks second in NU history, trailing only Cathy Owen’s 87.9 percent (204-232, 1982-85).
• Theriot owns five career points-assists double-doubles, including 18 points and 10 assists at Minnesota in the Big Ten opener on Dec. 29, 2014. In 2013-14, she had four double-doubles including 10 points and 12 assists in the Big Red’s first-round NCAA Tournament win over Fresno State. Her 12 assists were the most by a Husker in history in an NCAA Tournament game. It was the fifth time in 2013-14 she dished out 11 or more assists in a game. No other Husker has done it more than four times in a career.
• She owns seven career double-digit assist games.
• Theriot closed 2014-15 non-conference play with a season-high 31 points in a win over High Point Dec. 20. It was her second career 30-point performance, joining a 33-point effort in an 88-85 OT win over Minnesota on Jan. 16, 2014.
• Her 27-point effort at Illinois Jan. 11 marked her fifth 20-point performance of the year. In addition to her 31 against High Point, she had 25 points, six rebounds and four assists against Northern Colorado. Theriot had 24 points, a career-high eight rebounds and seven assists in a win at UCLA Nov. 28. She had 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in a win over Utah Nov. 23.
• Theriot owns 11 career 20-point efforts and 51 career double-figure scoring performances, including 25 in 2013-14 and 19 in 21 games in 2014-15.
• In 2013-14, Theriot led the Big Ten with 39.5 minutes per game and her 1,204 minutes were the most played by a Husker in a season in school history, surpassing Lindsey Moore’s 1,170 in 34 games in 2012-13.
• Theriot earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2014, after ranking second among the Huskers with 15.6 points per game in conference play. She averaged 7.3 assists in Big Ten action, which ranked second in the league. Overall, Theriot finished her sophomore season with 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
• Theriot finished with a Nebraska single-season record 234 assists in 2013-14.
• She led Nebraska to its first conference tournament title as the Big Ten Tournament MVP. She averaged 18.7 points and a tournament-record 10.0 assists per game, with 30 total assists and just seven turnovers. Theriot hit 56.4 percent of her shots, including 5-of-10 threes, and went 7-for-8 at the line.
• Theriot’s 30 assists in the 2014 Big Ten Tournament were a Nebraska single-season conference tournament record. She produced arguably the best passing game in Big Ten history in Nebraska’s Big Ten quarterfinal win over Minnesota March 7, dishing out a tournament-record-shattering 18 assists against just one turnover. The previous tournament record was 12 set by Helen Darling of Penn State against Illinois in 2000. The most assists by a Big Ten player against a Big Ten foe came with Maggie Acuna’s 16 for Illinois against Wisconsin in 2006.
• Theriot’s 18 assists were the second-most in a game in Nebraska history, trailing only 19 assists by Kathy Hawkins on Feb. 17, 1976 against Kearney State (now Nebraska-Kearney). Theriot’s assists are the most ever by a Husker against an NCAA Division I opponent, and the most in the last 38 seasons, covering 1,250 games. Theriot’s 18 assists were the most in an NCAA Division I game in 2013-14.