Huskers Head West to Clash with Cal Saturday

Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1)
vs. #22 California Golden Bears (6-2)

Saturday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m. - Haas Pavilion (Berkeley, Calif.)
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area (Krista Blunk, Mary Murphy)

• Time Warner Cable Channel 381 (Lincoln/Fremont/Leavenworth)
• Time Warner Cable Channel 398 (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) 
• CenturyLink Channel 684 (Omaha)
• AT&T U-Verse Channel 760

Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Saturday's Stations

• B107.3 FM, Lincoln
• ESPN 590 AM, Omaha 
• KRVN 880 AM, Lexington
• KHAQ 98.5 FM, North Platte
• KHAS 1230 AM, Hastings
• KNEB 94.1 FM, Scottsbluff
• KHUB 1340 AM, Fremont
• KNCY 1600 AM/105.5 FM, Nebraska City

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com

Live Premium Video: Pac-12 Networks

Huskers Head West to Clash with Cal Saturday
The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns to non-conference road action Saturday when the Huskers take on No. 22 California. Tip-off for the first-ever game between the Big Red (7-1) and the Golden Bears (6-2) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif.

Live radio coverage on select stations will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, ESPN 590 AM in Omaha, and 880 AM KRVN in Lexington with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call.

Live television coverage will be provided by the Pac-12 Networks (Bay Area) with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy calling the action. The game will be available on the sports tier package of Time Warner Cable in Lincoln. Check local listings from cable and satellite providers for availability in your area.

The Huskers head to California after completing a perfect 3-0 home stand with an 85-40 pounding of Evansville on Tuesday in Lincoln. Freshman Jessica Shepard led four Huskers in double figures with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. A three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Shepard leads the Huskers with 19.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game through the first eight games of her career.

Saturday’s matchup will feature two of the nation’s top freshmen posts, as California’s 6-4 forward Kristine Anigwe is averaging 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Anigwe scored 70 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in 50 total minutes in two games last week, including 43 points and 12 boards in just 23 minutes in a 117-99 win over Sacramento State. Anigwe went 18-for-24 from the field.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 6.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 19.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 4.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 14.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Off the Bench
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 6.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 6.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 5.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 4.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.4 ppg, 0.2 rpg
52 - Alicia Ostrander - 6-3 - Sr. - F - DNP
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (269-154); 26th Season Overall (464-294)

#22 California Golden Bears (6-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
3 - Mikayla Cowling - 6-2 - So. - F/G - 12.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg
24 - Courtney Range - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 13.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg
31 - Kristine Anigwe - 6-4 - Fr. - F/C - 20.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg
1 - Asha Thomas - 5-4 - Fr. - G - 12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg
33 - Gabby Green - 6-2 - So. - G - 6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg 
Off the Bench
12 - Penina Davidson - 6-3 - So. - F - 4.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg
20 - Mo Mosley - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 3.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
44 - KC Waters - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 2.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg
5 - Chen Yue - 6-7 - Fr. - C - 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Head Coach: Lindsay Gottlieb (Brown, 1999)
Fifth Season at California (109-36); Eighth Season Overall (165-75)

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska is 20-0 against California teams in Coach Connie Yori’s 14 seasons in Lincoln. NU’s wins have come against 10 California schools, including USC (4), UCLA (3), Bakersfield (3), St. Mary’s (2), Long Beach State (2), Cal State Fullerton (2), Fresno State, Pepperdine, UC Irvine and San Diego. Overall, Nebraska owns 22 straight wins against California teams dating back to a 77-66 loss at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 3, 2000.

• Although the quantity is not quite as massive against Florida schools, the Huskers are 12-0 against teams from the Sunshine State under Coach Yori.

• Rachel Theriot needs just nine points to move into the top 20 in school history on the all-time scoring list. She enters Saturday’s game with 1,107 points.

• Theriot needs five assists to become the fifth player in Nebraska history to reach 500 in her career.

• Freshman Jessica Shepard has scored in double figures in eight straight games to open her career. She leads the Huskers with 19.3 points per game. The only freshmen in school history to lead the Big Red in scoring are Jordan Hooper (14.6 ppg, 2010-11) and Karen Jennings (13.4 ppg, 1989-90).

• Nebraska is 7-0 at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season to stretch its home non-conference winning streak to 18 games. The Huskers have not lost a non-conference home game since a 76-72 loss to Washington State on Nov. 30, 2013. The Huskers are 23-1 all-time in home non-conference games at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

• Nebraska’s 21-point comeback against Creighton marked the largest rally in Coach Connie Yori’s 14-year career at NU. It is the third time in the last 13 months the Huskers have rallied from a 14-point or greater deficit to win. That had happened just four times in Coach Yori’s first 12 seasons in Lincoln.

Fast Five: Husker Quick Hitters
#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6.4 apg)
• Rachel Theriot is a national player-of-the-year, All-America, Lieberman Award, Senior CLASS Award, Academic All-America and WBCA Allstate Good Works Team candidate as a senior.
• A two-time preseason first-team All-Big Ten choice (2014, 2015), Theriot was an honorable-mention AP All-American as a sophomore in 2014, after leading the Big Red to their first Big Ten Tournament title as the MVP. She was a first-team All-Big Ten pick in 2014, and a Big Ten All-Freshman pick as a starter on Nebraska’s 2013 NCAA Sweet 16 team.
• Theriot set the Nebraska single-season record with 234 assists as a sophomore in 2013-14. She is five assists away from the 500th of her career, and she needs 204 assists to match All-American Lindsey Moore’s school career record (699, 2010-13).
• Theriot averaged 16.5 ppg as a junior, and is tied for No. 21 in career points at Nebraska with 1,107. She needs nine points to catch Meggan Yedsena (No. 20, 1,116, 1991-94) and 26 points to match Tear’a Laudermill (No. 19, 1,133, 2012-15) on NU’s all-time scoring list.
• Theriot produced her sixth career double-double with 20 points and 11 assists in NU’s win over NC State on Dec. 3. It was her 12th career 20-point effort and eighth career double-digit assist game. She was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll on Dec. 7, after adding 17 points and eight assists in Nebraska’s win over Creighton Dec. 6.

#4, Kyndal Clark, 5-7, Sr., G, Webb City, Mo. (4.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 spg)
• The 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a junior, Kyndal Clark was a two-time all-conference player at Drake (2013, 2014). She was also an MVC All-Defensive choice as a sophomore in 2013, after earning a spot on the Valley All-Freshman Team in 2012. She was a member of the 2015 WBCA Allstate Good Works Team
• Clark suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of her senior season at Drake (vs. South Dakota, Nov. 14, 2014). She graduated from Drake in May of 2015, after majoring in information systems.
• She produced a breakout performance with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range in the win over Evansville. Clark added a season-high four steals against the Purple Aces. She produced double figures for the first time as a Husker with 10 points against North Florida on Nov. 16.
• She owns 74 career double-figure scoring performances, including 24 20-point games and four career 30-point efforts with a career high of 41.
• She scored 1,418 points and hit 222 three-pointers in her three seasons plus one game at Drake. She averaged 19.3 points per game and set the Missouri Valley Conference single-season record with 116 threes in 2013-14.

#5, Natalie Romeo, 5-7, So., G, Martinez, Calif. (14.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.9 spg)
• Natalie Romeo produced the best season-opening performance in school history with 30 points while going 6-of-9 from three-point range in the win over Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. Romeo’s career high came despite missing multiple practices during the week due to illness, which also kept her out of the starting five in the opener.
• Through eight games this season, the Bay Area native has set new career highs for points (30, UAPB), assists (6, NCCU), and steals (4, at UConn, vs. Southern). She needs just five more assists (34) and two more steals (17) to match her season totals from a year ago. She also leads the Huskers with 22 threes on 40 percent shooting from long range.
• Romeo started Nebraska’s final 10 games of 2014-15 in place of the injured Rachel Theriot. Over the final eight games, she led the Big Red with 15.4 points per game. She is expected to make her 19th career start in her 33rd career game on Saturday at California.
• Romeo finished with 51 three-pointers in 2014-15 to produce the second-highest total by a freshman in Nebraska history, trailing only school-record holder Jordan Hooper (67, 2010-11). Romeo achieved her total despite going 3-for-9 in non-conference play while missing eight games with an injury (stress fracture, foot, Nov. 28-Dec. 29, 2014).
• Romeo led Nebraska by averaging 20.0 points in a pair of Big Ten Tournament games, including a season-high 26 points in a win over Illinois March 5. She tied a school record with seven threes against the Illini to set Nebraska’s all-time conference tournament record. She also tied the Nebraska NCAA Tournament record with five three-pointers in a 72-69 loss to Syracuse on March 20, 2015. She finished with 15 points against the Orange.

#32, Jessica Shepard, 6-4, Fr., F, Fremont, Neb. (19.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.1 spg)
• A three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and the first freshman in school history to be named to a national player-of-the-year watch list (Naismith), Jessica Shepard produced the best career-opening performance in school history, powering her way to 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 23 minutes against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. Nebraska’s previous season-opening bests by a freshman were 19 points (Debra Powell, 1981) and eight rebounds (Angie Miller, 1983; Terri Parriott, 1981). Shepard’s double-double was the first in history by a Husker freshman in an opener. She had a career-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds against North Florida Nov. 16, and 20 points and 10 boards against North Carolina Central Nov. 21. She added 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals against Southern to become the first Husker freshman with four straight 20-point games.
• Shepard scored the 100th point of her career faster than any other Husker (Game 5), reaching the mark with 10 points at No. 1 UConn Nov. 28. She owns double figures in each of her first eight games with 154 points and 62 rebounds in 184 minutes in her young career (33.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per 40 minutes). She is the only freshman on the 2016 Naismith Trophy Watch List.
• The top recruit in Nebraska history, Shepard was the No. 1 post and No. 3 overall recruit in the nation by ESPN last season. A first-team Parade All-American as a senior despite missing nearly all of her final year (ACL tear, Dec. 29, 2014), Shepard was the 2013 and 2014 Nebraska High School Player of the Year.
• Shepard averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while helping the USA Basketball U18 Team to a 5-0 record and a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas Championship.
• Shepard produced the best exhibition game by a Husker in history with 42 points and 12 rebounds in 25 minutes against NCAA Division II No. 16 Winona State on Nov. 8. Her production came against former Iowa post Kayla Timmerman, a 6-3 center. Shepard hit 16-of-19 shots and all 10 of her free throws.

#43, Rachel Blackburn, 6-3, Fr., F, Leavenworth, Kan. (6.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 apg)
• A fiery workhorse as a freshman, Rachel Blackburn leads the Big Red with 8.1 rebounds through the first eight games. She also became the first Husker to take four charges in a game (vs. NC State, Dec. 3) since All-American Kelsey Griffin did it at Baylor on Jan. 17, 2010.
• The No. 63 player in the nation by Blue Star and No. 69 by Prospects Nation, Blackburn was ranked as the No. 17 post in the country by ESPN coming out of high school last year. She owns three double-figure rebound performances this season.
• Blackburn erupted for a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in Tuesday’s win over Evansville. She added six rebounds and three assists in just 23 minutes against the Purple Aces. Blackburn just missed double-doubles in wins over North Florida (8 points, 10 rebounds) and North Carolina Central (9 points, 9 rebounds). She was directly responsible for 10 first-half defensive stops to fuel a 20-0 second-quarter run in NU’s win over NC State Dec. 3.
• Blackburn averaged 5.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while starting both of NU’s exhibition wins. She averaged 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game in Nebraska’s four-game tour of Australia in August of 2015. She led the Huskers by shooting 65 percent from the field.
• Blackburn led Leavenworth High School to back-to-back Kansas Class 5A state titles in 2014 and 2015. She set the Leavenworth High School record with a career 67.5 field goal percentage.

Scouting The California Golden Bears
California enters Saturday’s game with Nebraska ranked No. 22 nationally by the Associated Press and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25. The Golden Bears carry a 6-2 record with their only setbacks coming to No. 10 Texas A&M (75-58, Nov. 27) and last Saturday at home to Saint Mary’s (64-63) in the Four Points Sheraton Cal Classic at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears bounced back with a staggering 117-99 win over 1-5 Sacramento State that included 20-of-80 three-point shooting by the Hornets. Cal’s Kristine Anigwe, a 6-4 freshman from Phoenix, Ariz., exploded for 43 points and 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes in the win. She hit 18-of-24 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 free throws.

Anigwe, who had 27 points and 12 boards in the loss to Saint Mary’s, averaged 35 points and 12 boards in 25 minutes per game last weekend for the Bears. She leads Cal with 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds on the young season. She is shooting 57.1 percent from the field, but has just four assists against 29 turnovers.

Another freshman, 5-4 guard Asha Thomas has added 12.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while connecting on 44.4 percent (16-36) of her threes.

Junior Courtney Range, a 6-3 guard, is the elder stateswoman on the Cal roster. The Naismith Trophy candidate is averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds while knocking down 40 percent (10-25) of her threes. Range averaged 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds last season for a Cal team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Cal finished with a 24-10 record that included a 13-5 Pac-12 mark. The Golden Bears tied for third in the regular-season standings before advancing to the Pac-12 Tournament title game.

Sophomores Mikayla Cowling (12.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.0 apg) and Gabby Green (6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.8 apg, 3.1 spg) round out Cal’s starting five. Cowling and Green joined freshman MaAne’ “Mo” Mosley (3.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg) as teammates at Saint Mary’s College High School in the Bay Area.

Junior KC Waters, a 6-2 forward from San Ramon, Calif., has added 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. She and Asha Thomas both attended Bishop O’Dowd High School, as those two Bay Area schools give the Golden Bears 50 percent of their 10-player roster.

Penina Davidson, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Auckland, New Zealand, and Chen Yue, a 6-7 freshman center from Beijing, China, add some international flavor to Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s Cal roster.

As a team, Cal is scoring 75.4 points, but surrendering 69.2 points per game. The Bears are shooting 47.1 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from three-point range. However, they have hit just 65.2 percent of their free throws. They carry a plus-6.7 team rebounding margin, but a minus-3.8 team turnover margin.

Saturday’s meeting will be the first-ever between Nebraska and California in women’s basketball. The Huskers are a perfect 20-0 against teams from the state of California in 14 seasons under Coach Connie Yori. Overall, the Big Red have won 22 consecutive games against California teams dating back to a 77-66 loss at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 3, 2000.

Setting the Stage for Shepard
Nebraska’s record book could be under assault this season from freshman Jessica Shepard. Here’s a few of the most vulnerable records:

Freshman Game Records
Points, Game: 34, Debra Powell at Notre Dame, Feb. 25, 1982 (98-88, 2OT)
Points, Game (Regulation): 31, Jordan Hooper, at Missouri, Feb. 2, 2011
Kelsey Griffin, vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Nov. 27, 2005 (Miami)
Rebounds, Game: 22, Angie Miller, UMKC, Dec. 7, 1983
Points, Season Opener: 24, Jessica Shepard, vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff, Nov. 14, 2015
Rebounds, Season Opener: 13, Jessica Shepard, vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff, Nov. 14, 2015
Double-Double, Season Opener: 24 points, 13 rebounds vs. UAPB, Nov. 14, 2015 (first in NU history)

Freshman Season Records
Total Points: 461, Debra Powell (1981-82)
Points Per Game: 15.4, Debra Powell (1981-82)
Total Rebounds: 277, Kathy Hagerstrom (1979-80)
Rebounds Per Game: 7.6, Debra Powell (1981-82)
Double-Doubles: 9, Debra Powell (1981-82)
Fastest to 100 Points: 5 games; Jessica Shepard (2015-16)
Field Goals Made: 201, Darcy Williamson (1975-76)
Field Goal Percentage: .582 (78-134), Charlie Rogers (1996-97)
Free Throws Made: 121, Kelsey Griffin (2005-06)

Huskers Putting Up Points at Pinnacle
Nebraska is averaging 86.0 points per game at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, including five consecutive games with 88 or more points to open the season at home.

It marked the first time in school history that Nebraska scored 88 or more points in five straight home games. It was also the first time since 2009-10 that the Big Red have scored 88 or more in five home contests in a season.

Nebraska had its home streak snapped when Creighton held the Huskers to 65 points on Dec. 3. Overall, the Big Red is averaging 81.0 points through eight games this season, being held to 65 or fewer points only at No. 1 UConn (46).

The Huskers rank in the top 25 nationally in scoring (23rd, 81 ppg), scoring margin (11th, 26.6 ppg), field goal percentage (10th, .486), rebounding (24th, 45.1), assists per game (4th, 22.1 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 1.73) and personal fouls per game (7th, 13.0).

Best of the Fresh: Big Red Freshman Classes
Nebraska’s four-player freshman class of Jessica Shepard, Rachel Blackburn, Maddie Simon and Darrien Washington could be poised to be the most productive in school history. The quartet combined for 38 points and 26 rebounds in NU’s season-opening win, producing the third-most productive performance by a freshman class in an opener in school history. The only two other classes (1981-82, 1999-2000) with more points, each had seven players in the class.

The freshman combined for more against North Florida, joining forces for 46 points and 28 rebounds in just 66 minutes against the Ospreys.

Through eight games, the 2015-16 freshmen have combined for 252 points, 145 rebounds, 47 assists, 12 blocks and 16 steals, despite Washington sitting out the last six games and Simon suffering a broken arm before NU’s win over Evansville on Dec. 8. The group is averaging 31.5 points and 18.1 boards per game.

Consider Nebraska’s 2011-12 freshman class of Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear’a Laudermill and Hailie Sample led the Big Ten by a significant margin with 26.5 points and 17.7 rebounds per game in their first season, before becoming the most successful class in NU history with four NCAA Tournament bids.

That group, which also included redshirt freshman Katie Simon, is the only freshman class at Nebraska under Coach Connie Yori to average 20 points and 15 rebounds per game. In fact, the only other freshman class to combine to average a double-double was the 2005-06 group featuring first-team All-American Kelsey Griffin, which managed 18.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. The 2003-04 class averaged 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, while featuring three-time first-team All-Big 12 shooting guard Kiera Hardy and future Canadian Olympian Chelsea Aubry.

Romeo Returns: Soph Shoots for Super Season
Sophomore Natalie Romeo produced the best scoring effort by a Husker in a season opener in school history with 30 points in 26 minutes off the bench in Nebraska’s win over Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. She hit 11-of-18 shots from the floor, including 6-of-9 threes, to produce her first career 30-point game and the first 30-point performance in an opener in 42 seasons.

Through eight games, she ranks second among the Huskers in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg) while leading the team in steals (15) and three-pointers (22).

Big production is nothing new to Romeo. Over Nebraska’s final eight games of 2014-15, 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 season-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.

Huskers More than Fair in Foul Department
Through eight games in 2015-16, the Huskers have committed 13.0 fouls per game to rank No. 7 nationally in fewest fouls per game. NU was whistled for just six fouls against Creighton Dec. 6, and just 10 fouls against Evansville on Tuesday night in Lincoln. In both of those games, the two teams combined for just 18 fouls - tied for the third-lowest combined total in school history.

The Huskers ended last season ranked No. 5 in the final NCAA Division I statistics for fewest personal fouls per game. Nebraska committed just 13.2 fouls per game, including a school-record four fouls in the win over Bakersfield Dec. 13. Nebraska’s 422 total fouls on the season were the fewest in school history.

In 2013-14, NU led the Big Ten and ranked second nationally by committing just 13.1 fouls per game. Nebraska continued a non-fouling trend from 2012-13. The Huskers were whistled for a school-record 12.8 fouls per game in 2012-13, including 11 fouls per game in Big Ten regular-season games.

Season Ticket Sales Reach All-Time High
Nebraska women’s basketball season ticket sales reached an all-time high with 4,011 sold (Nov. 17), an increase of 109 tickets over last year’s previous record high of 3,902.

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’s History of Home Success
Nebraska went 13-3 at home in 2014-15, including 12-3 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers are 35-5 all-time at Pinnacle Bank Arena since the building opened for the 2013-14 campaign, including 7-0 in 2015-16. The Big Red went 16-2 at home in 2013-14, suffering its only Big Ten loss to Purdue, 77-75, on Jan. 19, 2014. Nebraska’s 16 home wins in 2013-14 tied the school record for single-season home victories.

The Huskers played the first regular-season basketball game in the history of the arena against USA Today No. 25 UCLA (Nov. 8) and rolled to a 77-49 win over the Bruins. NU’s first win over an AP Top 25 team came with a 76-56 win over No. 24 Michigan State on Feb. 8. The Huskers added their first-ever win over an AP Top 10 team at the arena with a 94-74 victory over No. 8 Penn State on Feb. 24.

NU won its first-ever Big Ten home game with a 66-65 thriller over Northwestern Jan. 2, before an 88-85 win over Minnesota on Jan. 16, 2014, marked the first overtime game in Pinnacle Bank Arena history.

NU suffered its first loss at the arena to Washington State (76-72) on Nov. 30, 2013.

The Huskers are 423-135 (.758) all-time at home. The Huskers have gone 160-39 (.804) over the last 12-plus seasons, posting double-figure home victory totals in each of the last 11 years, including 13-3 in 2014-15 and 16-2 in 2013-14. NU went a perfect 16-0 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2009-10.

Nebraska played in the Devaney Center from 1976-77 through 2012-13, and added one appearance at Devaney against Utah on Nov. 23, 2014. The Huskers own a 389-130 record at the Devaney Center, including 146-88 (.624) mark in conference play.

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.

Triple Threats: Three Things to Talk About

#11, Esther Ramacieri, 5-8, Jr., G, Repentigny, Quebec, Canada (0.4 ppg, 0.2 rpg)
• Esther Ramacieri hit her first field goal (37th career game) in the closing minute of Nebraska’s win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 21. She tied her career high with one assist in Nebraska’s season-opening win over Arkansas Pine Bluff. Ramacieri appeared in 17 games in each of her first two seasons, with one career start (vs. Penn State, Jan. 15, 2015). She owns seven points, 18 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 140 minutes in her career.
• Ramacieri missed much of the summer and preseason with a knee injury, but was cleared to play for the start of the 2015-16 regular season. She missed Nebraska’s wins over NC State, Creighton and Evansville with a concussion suffered outside of competition/practice.
• Ramacieri is the fourth Canadian to play for the Huskers under Coach Yori, including Chelsea Aubry (2004-07), Kaitlyn Burke (2008-12) and Harleen Sidhu (2009-12).

#12, Emily Wood, 5-5, So., G, Salina, Kan. (2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
• Emily Wood is making solid, consistent and reliable contributions as a sophomore, producing 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 65 minutes off the bench. She enjoyed a career night with six points on the first two three-pointers of her career while adding two rebounds, an assist and a steal in Nebraska’s win over North Florida on Nov. 16. She added a three while notching career highs of five assists, three rebounds and 23 minutes played against Evansville on Tuesday.
• Wood played in 10 games as a freshman after walking on to the Nebraska program. She claimed Nebraska’s Teammate Award for her commitment to the Husker program in 2014-15. Wood had two points and five rebounds in 29 minutes as a freshman. In the summer of 2015, Wood started for NU on its four-game Australian Tour, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26 minutes per game.
• Wood was a first-team Kansas Class 5A all-state selection as a senior at Salina Central High School in 2014. Wood averaged 16.0 points per game as a senior, while hitting a school-record 91 threes. She hit 42.1 percent of her threes and 86.2 percent of her free throws as a senior.

#22, Allie Havers, 6-5, Jr., C, Mattawan, Mich. (6.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
• One of the tallest Nebraska women’s basketball players in history, Allie Havers is turning up her production with 6.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.4 blocks through eight games as a junior. She had a season-high 14 points while adding career bests with 12 rebounds and three blocks for her first career double-double against Evansville (Dec. 8). She added eight points against Creighton (Dec. 6), NC State (Dec. 3) and North Carolina Central (Nov. 21), when she pitched in 10 rebounds and a career-high three assists.
• Havers, who averaged 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game as NU’s top post off the bench in 2014-15, owns eight double-figure scoring games in her career, including five as a sophomore last season. Two of her double-figure efforts have come in the Big Ten Tournament, including a career-high 17 points in a semifinal win over No. 19 Michigan State on March 8, 2014.
• Havers was NU’s top post off the bench as a true freshman in 2013-14, averaging 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds while playing in all 33 games. She averaged just over 10 minutes per contest.

#24, Maddie Simon, 6-2, Fr., G, Lincoln, Neb. (5.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.7 apg)
• Maddie Simon was growing her game quickly as a key contributor in the Husker lineup before suffering a broken arm in a fall outside of basketball activities on Dec. 7. She is expected to miss several weeks. Simon produced two double-figure efforts before the injury, including 11 points and three assists in a win over Southern (Nov. 23) and 10 points and three assists against NC State (Dec. 3).
• Simon averaged 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist during Nebraska’s four-game summer tour of Australia in August of 2015. The 2015 Nebraska High School Player of the Year, Maddie Simon was a two-time first-team Super-State selection while leading Lincoln Pius X to the 2015 Class B state championship. She was the No. 149 player in the nation according to Blue Star and the No. 22 guard by ESPN in 2015.
• A tremendous all-around athlete, Simon won the Class A 100- and 300-meter hurdles championships at the 2015 Nebraska State Track & Field Championships. Her mother, Nicole Ali Simon, was the first female CoSIDA Academic All-American in the history of Nebraska athletics, competing for Coach Gary Pepin’s national champion Huskers in 1983 and 1984.

#31, Anya Kalenta, 6-3, Sr., F, Minsk, Belarus (6.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
• Anya Kalenta produced the fourth double-figure scoring effort of her Nebraska career and second of the season with 11 points and six rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes off the bench in NU’s win over NC State (Dec. 3). She had 10 points and eight rebounds in just 13 minutes in a win over North Florida (Nov. 16). She had eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and her first career steal against Evansville (Dec. 8). She notched career highs with four assists and three blocks against North Carolina Central (Nov. 23) when she also had seven points and six boards.
• Kalenta owns more points (54/38), rebounds (37/17) and assists (7/1) than she did all of last season.She appeared in 12 games at Nebraska in 2014-15, competing in five of NU’s first six games before missing NU’s next nine games with a stress fracture in her foot. She also suffered a broken nose in preseason practice (Oct. 29, 2014), and battled anemia throughout the year. She established career highs with 14 points and eight rebounds in a season-opening win over Pepperdine Nov. 15, 2014.
• Kalenta earned third-team NJCAA All-America honors in 2013-14 at Vincennes University in Indiana. She transferred to Vincennes after spending her freshman season at Broward College in Florida in 2012-13. She ranked in the NJCAA’s top 25 in scoring (20.8 ppg, 13th), rebounding (10.7 rpg, 22nd) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg, 20th) in her only season with the Trailblazers at Vincennes in 2013-14.

#34, Jasmine Cincore, 5-10, So., G, Arlington, Tenn. (4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg)
• A two-time Tennessee Class 2-AA Player of the Year (2013, 2014), Jasmine Cincore battled ankle and foot injuries to play in 20 games for the Huskers as a true freshman. She totaled 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in 97 minutes on the season.
• Cincore has opened her sophomore season strong, producing 33 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals in 121 minutes. She has set or tied career bests in every category, including a career-high eight points against Southern Nov. 23. She had a career-high four steals while matching a career-best with three assists against North Florida on Nov. 16. She tipped off the year with six points and three assists while adding career bests in rebounds (4) and blocks (1) against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14.
• During Nebraska’s 2015 summer tour of Australia, Cincore was NU’s second-leading scorer with 10.0 points per game, while adding 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in four games against Australian pro teams.

#50, Darrien Washington, 6-2, RFr., F, Oakland, Calif. (4.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
• Darrien Washington produced six points, five rebounds and an assist in eight minutes off the bench in her career debut against Arkansas Pine Bluff after enjoying a strong redshirt season in 2014-15. She added three points, five rebounds and her first career steal in six productive minutes against North Florida on Nov. 16. She did not play against North Carolina Central, Southern, at UConn, against NC State, Creighton or Evansville (coach’s decision).
• Washington played on the Cal Stars Elite with current Husker sophomore guard Natalie Romeo.
• A first-team All-Oakland performer at Skyline High School, Washington averaged 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game as a senior. She scored 1,181 career points and came up just short of 1,000 career rebounds in high school.