Huskers Close Non-Conference with Red Wolves

Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-2)
vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-2)

Monday, Dec. 21, 7 p.m. - Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Tickets: Huskers.com
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Monday's Stations

• B107.3 FM, Lincoln
• CD 105.3 FM, Omaha
• KHAQ 98.5 FM, North Platte
• KGFW 1340 AM, Kearney
• KNEB 94.1 FM, Scottsbluff
• KNCY 1600 AM/105.5 FM, Nebraska City
• KHAS 1230 AM, Hastings
• KHUB 1340 AM, Fremont

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com
Live Premium Video: BTN Plus

Huskers Close Non-Conference with Hungry Red Wolves
The Nebraska women’s basketball team closes non-conference play on Monday by taking on Arkansas State at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off between the Huskers (8-2) and Red Wolves (6-2) is set for 7 p.m., and tickets are available now at Huskers.com, Monday during regular business hours at the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office or the night of the game at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Box Office beginning at 5:30.

Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, with the call by Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch also featured on the BTN Plus live premium video stream. The game can be heard on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and CD 105.9 FM in Omaha, along with free audio on Huskers.com.

The Huskers carry an 8-0 home record this season and own a 19-game home non-conference winning streak heading into the Arkansas State game. The Big Red are coming off a 90-67 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday.

Nebraska’s Naismith Trophy candidates Jessica Shepard and Rachel Theriot erupted for big games. Shepard powered in 35 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field, including 14 points in the first quarter and 15 as Nebraska pulled away in the fourth. The 6-4 freshman from Fremont, Neb., also grabbed a career-high four steals.

Theriot, a 6-0 senior point guard, added 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. She hit both of her three-point attempts against Northern Arizona and is 8-for-12 from long range on the season.

The Huskers also got strong games from Natalie Romeo and Anya Kalenta, who both had seven points. Romeo added a career-high 10 assists, while Kalenta pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 6.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 19.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 4.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 14.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Off the Bench
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 7.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 6.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 5.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 3.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg
52 - Alicia Ostrander - 6-3 - Sr. - F - DNP
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (270-155); 26th Season Overall (465-295)

Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
3 - Khadija Brown-Haywood - 5-11 - Sr. - F - 13.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg
5 - Brittney Gill - 5-8 - RSr. - G - 7.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg
11 - Amanda Lawson - 5-10 - RSr. - G - 8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg
21 - Jessica Flanery - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 9.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
24 - Aundrea Gamble - 5-9 - RSr. - G - 18.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Off the Bench
13 - Brittany Fowler - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 3.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg
1 - Lauren Bradshaw - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
25 - Dominique Oliver - 5-6 - Jr. - G - 2.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg
14 - Christyal Holloway - 5-8 - So. - G - 3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
0 - Aaliyah Warren - 6-3 - RFr. - F - 2.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg
33 - Ogo Obinabo - 6-2 - So. - F - 1.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
20 - Kylie Ladd - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
10 - Akasha Westbrook - 5-10 - So. - G - 0.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg 
Head Coach: Brian Boyer (Missouri Western, 1993)
17th Season at ASU (278-225); 17th Season Overall (278-225)

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska is 1-2 all-time against Arkansas State but the two teams have not met since 1993. All three meetings came in a 22-month span, beginning with ASU’s 81-70 win at the National Women’s Invitational Tournament on March 28, 1992. The Huskers suffered a 63-59 setback at Jonesboro on Nov. 30, 1993, before avenging the loss two weeks later with an 86-64 win at the Devaney Center on Dec. 12, 1993.

• Jessica Shepard’s 35-point effort against Northern Arizona set the Nebraska freshman record, surpassing the 34-point performance by Debra Powell against Notre Dame on Feb. 25, 1982. Shepard also attempted a school-record 20 free throws.

• Shepard needs five points against Arkansas State to reach 200 in her career.

• Rachel Theriot’s 15 assists against California tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in school history and marked the second-best total of her career (18 vs. Minnesota, March 7, 2014). She owns four games with 12 or more assists (most in NU history), seven games with 11 or more assists (most in NU history) and nine games with double-digit assists (tied for most in NU history).

• Nebraska is 8-0 at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season to stretch its home non-conference winning streak to 19 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 24-1 all-time in home non-conference games at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Fast Five: Husker Quick Hitters
#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 7.3 apg)
• Rachel Theriot is a Naismith Trophy, 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. Her 15 assists at California on Dec. 12 marked the second-best performance of her career and tied for the fourth-best single-game total in school history. She owns 517 in her career, moving her within 182 assists of All-American Lindsey Moore’s school career record (699, 2010-13).
• Theriot averaged 16.5 ppg as a junior, and ranks No. 19 in career points at Nebraska with 1,147. She needs 36 points to catch Jan Crouch (No. 19, 1,183, 1976-79) on NU’s all-time scoring list.
• Theriot produced her seventh career double-double and second of the season with 17 points and 15 assists at Cal on Dec. 12. She also had 20 points and 11 assists in NU’s win over NC State on Dec. 3. She owns 13 career 20-point efforts and nine career double-digit assist games. Her four career games with 12 or more assists are the most by a Husker in history.

#4, Kyndal Clark, 5-7, Sr., G, Webb City, Mo. (4.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.8 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 and matched that mark the next time out at California on Dec. 12. 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. (14.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.6 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. The Bay Area native added 24 points and six threes at No. 22 California on Dec. 12, despite battling illness on game day.
• Through 10 games this season, Romeo has set new career highs for points (30, UAPB), assists (10, Northern Arizona), and steals (4, at UConn, vs. Southern). She also leads the Huskers with 29 threes on 40.8 percent shooting from long range. She owns 39 assists against 23 turnovers this season, after managing 34 assists against 40 turnovers as a freshman.
• 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 21st career start in her 35th career game on Monday against Arkansas State.
• Romeo finished with 51 threes in 2014-15 to produce the second-highest total by a freshman in NU 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 a foot injury, (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 threes in a 72-69 loss to Syracuse on March 20, 2015.

#32, Jessica Shepard, 6-4, Fr., F, Fremont, Neb. (19.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 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 is coming off a Nebraska freshman record 35-point effort against Northern Arizona on Saturday, when she also set a career high with four steals. Shepard owns five 20-point efforts, nine double-figure scoring performances and a trio of double-doubles.
• 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 needs five points against Arkansas State to reach 200 in the 11th game of her career. She leads NU with 19.5 points per game. The Husker freshman scoring record was set by Debra Powell with 15.4 points per game in 1981-82.
• 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. (6.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.9 apg)
• A fiery workhorse as a freshman, Rachel Blackburn leads the Big Red with 7.6 rebounds but missed the Northern Arizona game because of illness. She was 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 against Evansville on Dec. 8. 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 Arkansas State Red Wolves
The most experienced team the Huskers will face all season, Arkansas State features five senior starters including a trio of fifth-year seniors. The Red Wolves also have an experienced head coach with Brian Boyer in his 17th season. He owns 278 career wins.

The Red Wolves, who went 24-6 a year ago with a 16-4 record and a second-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference, are led by fifth-year senior guard Aundrea Gamble. A dynamic all-around player, the 5-9 Gamble is averaging 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and team bests with 4.4 assists and 2.6 steals. She is shooting a team-best 53 percent from the field, including 29 percent (9-31) from three-point range. Gamble has rarely come off the floor for the 6-2 Red Wolves, averaging 36.1 minutes per game.

Arkansas State’s unbelievably experienced backcourt also features fifth-year seniors Amanda Lawson (8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Brittney Gill (7.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg). At 5-10, Lawson leads an undersized ASU squad with seven blocked shots, while the 5-8 Gill is one of only two Red Wolves averaging better than five rebounds per game.

Jessica Flanery, a 5-10 senior guard, completes the four-out look of the ASU backcourt with 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Flanery also leads the Red Wolves with 17 three-pointers on 37.8 percent shooting on the season.

Inside, senior Khadija Brown-Haywood is the lone forward in the starting five and she stands just 5-11. However, she leads the Red Wolves with 8.8 rebounds to go along with her 13.6 points per game.

All five of ASU’s starters are averaging more than 25 minutes per game, but they have received regular contributions from 5-8 junior guard Brittany Fowler (3.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg), 5-6 junior guard Dominique Oliver (2.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and 6-2 junior forward Lauren Bradshaw (3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg).
Arkansas State gets additional size on its roster from 6-3 redshirt freshman Aaliyah Warren and 6-2 sophomore Ogo Obinabo, but those two forwards have combined to play just 35 minutes this season.

Arkansas State owns strong wins over Tennessee Tech and UT Martin, along with victories over Wichita State and Florida Gulf Coast. The Red Wolves are coming off back-to-back wins over Alcorn State and Austin Peay before coming to Lincoln.

ASU’s losses have been extremely close with a 55-54 setback at Chattanooga, and a 76-72 loss at Florida on Dec. 7. The Red Wolves are averaging 69.5 points per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from three-point range. ASU is hitting 5.6 threes per game. Arkansas State also has hit 68.1 percent of its free throws.

Although short in stature, the Red Wolves carry a plus-1.8 team rebounding margin and a whopping plus-6.1 turnover margin. They have held opponents to just 56.6 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting, including just 27 percent from long range.

Arkansas State leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 2-1, but the two teams have not met since 1993. All three meetings came in a 22-month span with the first one resulting in an 81-70 NU loss at the National Women’s Invitational Tournament on March 28, 1992.

The Huskers traveled to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State on Nov. 30, 1993, and suffered a 63-59 setback, before avenging the loss two weeks later with an 86-64 win at the Devaney Center on Dec. 12, 1993.

Huskers Putting Up Points at Pinnacle
Nebraska is averaging 86.5 points per game at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, including three games with 90 or more points.

The Huskers own six games with 88 or more points at home this season, the most since the Huskers did it six times in 2009-10. The first, last and only time Nebraska scored 88 or more at home seven times in a season came in 1982-83.

Nebraska is shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range at home and carry a plus-14 rebounding margin (47.5-33.5) and a plus-6.4 turnover margin.

Overall, the Big Red is averaging 81.8 points through 10 games this season, and have reached 80 points eight times. Last season, the Huskers scored 80 points just six times. Nebraska has not scored 80 points more than eight times in the regular season since 2009-10 (13).

Huskers Shooting for Success
Nebraska has hit 50 percent or more of its shots from the field in five of 10 games this season. Last season, the Huskers hit 50 percent of their shots just four times in 32 games.

Through 10 games, the Huskers are hitting 48.9 percent of their shots from the field, which would rank as the fourth-best percentage in school history. In 2009-10, Coach Connie Yori’s Huskers shot 46.1 percent from the field, the best shooting percentage by a Yori-coached team at Nebraska.

The Big Red are also hitting 36.9 percent of their three-point attempts, which would rank third in school history and the highest percentage since 1988-89 (.396).

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 36-5 all-time at Pinnacle Bank Arena since the building opened for the 2013-14 campaign, including 8-0 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 424-135 (.758) all-time at home. The Huskers have gone 161-39 (.805) 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.

Huskers More than Fair in Foul Department
Through 10 games in 2015-16, the Huskers are committing 14.2 fouls per game. NU was whistled for just six fouls against Creighton Dec. 6.

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.

In Nebraska’s loss at No. 22 California on Dec. 12, the Huskers were whistled for 23 fouls, which marked the highest foul total by an NU team since registering 26 fouls in the season opener against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 12, 2011. That was the only other time in the last 196 games that the Huskers had been called for 23 or more fouls.

Nebraska’s 11-foul differential at Cal was even more rare. In fact, it tied for the second-worst foul differential in Coach Connie Yori’s 14-year coaching career at Nebraska, a span of 425 games. The only game that was worse came with minus-12 (21-9) at Iowa State on Jan. 14, 2006 - 318 games earlier. Only four times in 425 games under Coach Yori has Nebraska experienced a negative double-digit foul differential. The Huskers have produced positive double-digit foul differentials in 11 of the past 75 games and 27 times in Yori’s 425 games at Nebraska, including plus-12 (27-15) against Northern Arizona Dec. 19.

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: 35, Jessica Shepard vs. Northern Arizona, Dec. 19, 2015 (90-67)
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)
Free Throw Attempts: 20, Jessica Shepard, Northern Arizona, Dec. 19, 2015 (overall school record)
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)

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.

 

Triple Threats: Three Things to Talk About
#11, Esther Ramacieri, 5-8, Jr., G, Repentigny, Quebec, Canada (0.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg)
• Esther Ramacieri had two points and two rebounds in two minutes against Northern Arizona on Dec. 19, in her return after missing four games with a concusion. She 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 nine points, 20 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 142 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. She did not play at No. 22 California but was available.
• 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. (2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
• Emily Wood is making solid, consistent and reliable contributions as a sophomore, producing 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 68 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 Dec. 8.
• 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. (7.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
• One of the tallest Nebraska women’s basketball players in history, Allie Havers is turning up her production with 7.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and a team-leading 1.2 blocks through 10 games as a junior. Havers made her first career start in place of Rachel Blackburn (illness) in the win over Northern Arizona on Dec. 19. Havers had a career-high 18 points at No. 22 Cal on Dec. 12, when she played a career-high 37 minutes off the bench. That followed on the heels of her first career double-double 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 nine 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 (6.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
• Anya Kalenta is coming off a seven-point effort in the win over Northern Arizona that included career highs with 14 rebounds, three blocked shots and 26 minutes. She 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 (63/38), rebounds (53/17), assists (7/1) and blocks (6/3) 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. (3.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
• 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 39 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists in 143 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. (3.0 ppg, 3.3 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 in seven consecutive games (coach’s decision) before returning to action for one first-half minute against Northern Arizona on Dec. 19.
• 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.