Huskers Hope to Rebound at No. 14 Northwestern

Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3, 0-1)
at #14 Northwestern Wildcats (11-2, 0-1)

Sunday, Jan. 3, 1:30 p.m. - Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)
Television: BTN (Lisa Byington, Stephanie White) - BTN2Go (Live Video Stream)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Sunday's Stations

• B107.3 FM, Lincoln
• KXSP ESPN 590 AM, Omaha
• KRVN 880 AM, Lexington
• KWBE 1450 AM, Beatrice
• KRGI 1430 AM, Grand Island
• KHUB 1340 AM, Fremont
• KSWN 93.9 FM, McCook
• KSID 1340 AM, Sidney
• KNEB 94.1 FM, Scottsbluff
• KHAQ 98.5 FM, North Platte
• KGFW 1340 AM, Kearney
• KHAS 1230 AM, Hastings
• KBRB 1400 AM, Ainsworth

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com

Huskers Hope To Rebound at No. 14 Northwestern
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens Big Ten road play on Sunday, when the Huskers venture to Evanston, Ill., to take on No. 14 Northwestern. Tip-off between the Huskers (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) and Wildcats (11-2, 0-1 Big Ten) is set for 1:30 p.m. with live television coverage by BTN. Lisa Byington and Stephanie White will be on the call.

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

Nebraska will try to rebound from a 64-58 loss to USA Today Coaches No. 25 Iowa on Thursday. The Huskers dropped their Big Ten opener despite 28 points and eight rebounds from freshman forward Jessica Shepard. The Big Red was also plus-15 in the turnover department (24-9), but were outrebounded 51-29 by the Hawkeyes. Nebraska entered the game with a plus-9.0 rebounding margin on the year. Iowa was outrebounding its foes by an average of just 2.3 boards per game.

Northwestern suffered a similar disappointment at 5-6 Penn State to open conference play, falling 79-72 to the Lady Lions. The Wildcats were outrebounded 62-43 (-19) by PSU, which entered the game at minus-1.5 per game on the glass. Northwestern is being outrebounded by 3.5 boards per game on the year. An experienced Northwestern team returns four starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, and all four are averaging double figures, led by junior Nia Coffey’s 18.3 points and 11.2 rebounds.

Sunday’s Lineups
Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten)
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 6.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 20.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 5.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 15.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 12.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Off the Bench
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 7.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 5.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 5.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (271-156); 26th Season Overall (466-296)

#14 Northwestern Wildcats (11-2 Overall, 0-1 Big Ten)
10 - Nia Coffey - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 18.3 ppg, 11.2 rpg
32 - Christen Johnson - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 1.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg
3 - Ashley Deary - 5-4 - Jr. - G - 14.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
24 - Christen Inman - 5-10 - Jr. - G - 14.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg
25 - Maggie Lyon - 6-2 - Sr. - G - 15.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Off the Bench
5 - Jordan Hankins - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 4.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg
12 - Lydia Rohde - 5-10 - So. - G - 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg
35 - Maya Jonas - 6-2 - So. - G - 2.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg
30 - Allie Tuttle - 6-4 - Jr. - F/C - 2.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg
34 - Amber Jamison - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
14 - Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 1.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
2 - Tessa Haldes - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 0.4 rpg
11 - Lauren Douglas - 6-2 - Sr. - F - Out
13 - Nof Kedem - 5-6 - Sr. - G - Out
Head Coach: Joe McKeown (Kent State, 1979)
Eighth Season at Northwestern (111-111); 30th Season Overall (631-286)

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 7-4, but the Wildcats have won the last two meetings, including a 59-51 decision at Evanston on Jan. 18, 2015.

• Jessica Shepard earned her fifth Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award on Dec. 28. She swept the Big Ten Player and Freshman honors on Dec. 21, before being named the USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22) and one of the “Starting Five” by NCAA.com (Dec. 23).

• 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 scored 28 points against Iowa in her Big Ten Conference debut. She is averaging 20.2 points per game on the season. The Nebraska freshman scoring record is 15.4 points per game by Debra Powell (1981-82). Only six players (eight seasons) have averaged 20 points per game in a season for the Huskers.

• 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 closed non-conference play 9-0 at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, stretching its home non-conference winning streak to 20 games.

Fast Five: Husker Quick Hitters
#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (12.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 7.2 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 530 in her career, moving her within 169 assists of All-American Lindsey Moore’s school career record (699, 2010-13).
• Theriot is averaging 12.7 ppg as a senior, and ranks No. 19 in career points at Nebraska with 1,175. She needs eight points to catch Jan Crouch (No. 18, 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. (5.9 ppg, 3.5 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 put up three double-figure efforts in non-conference play, including a season-high 22 points in NU’s win over Arkansas State on Dec. 21.
• She owns 75 career double-figure scoring performances, including 25 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. (15.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.7 spg)
• A high-energy guard who brings intensity and toughness to both ends of the court, Natalie Romeo is growing into one of the Big Ten’s most explosive players. Romeo opened the season with 30 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. She has added three other 20-point games this season, including 24 points and six more threes in her return home to the Bay Area in an overtime loss at No. 22 Cal on Dec. 12. She closed non-conference play with 20 points and eight assists in a win over Arkansas State.
• Through 12 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 35 threes on 41.7 percent shooting from long range. She owns 51 assists against 28 turnovers this season, after managing 34 assists against 40 turnovers as a freshman. She has been Nebraska’s Big Ten Player-of-the-Week nominee three times in the first seven weeks of the season.
• 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 23rd career start in her 37th career game on Sunday at Northwestern.
• 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). She has hit six or more threes five times in 36 career games, including twice in 12 games this season.
• 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. (20.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg)
• A five-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 won her first Big Ten Player-of-the-Week award on Dec. 21. She added National Freshman-of-the-Week honors from the USBWA on Dec. 22, while her a spot on the NCAA.com Starting Five. She won those honors after scoring a Nebraska freshman record 35 points against Northern Arizona on Dec. 19, when she also set a career high with four steals. Shepard owns six 20-point efforts, 11 double-figure scoring performances and four double-doubles.
• Shepard reached the 100-point (5 games) and 200-point (11 games) scoring marks faster than any Husker freshman in history. Shepard, who made her Big Ten debut with 28 points against Iowa (Dec. 31), owns 242 points. Only six freshmen in school history have reached the 400-point mark. She leads NU in scoring (20.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 ppg), and both season numbers would be Nebraska freshman records (Debra Powell, 15.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 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 has been a leader for the Big Red on the glass and on the defensive end but missed Nebraska’s games with Northern Arizona, Arkansas State and Iowa while battling 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. Blackburn also owns three double-figure rebound efforts.
• 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.
• 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 Northwestern Wildcats
Coach Joe McKeown brings his No. 14 Wildcats into Sunday’s game following a 79-72 setback at Penn State on Thursday. Junior forward Nia Coffey led Northwestern with 20 points and 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season and 30th of her career. She added three assists and a block in 38 minutes before fouling out.

Coffey, who is averaging team bests with 18.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, led five Wildcats in double figures at Penn State, including 14 points and eight boards from Maggie Lyon. The 6-2 senior guard ranks second on the squad in scoring and rebounding with 15.3 points and 5.6 boards per game.

Junior Christen Inman added 13 points and five boards. The 5-10 guard is averaging 14.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Junior Ashley Deary pitched in her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists to go along with six rebounds and four steals in 39 minutes. The 5-4 point guard is averaging 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and team highs with 6.7 assists and 4.6 steals per game.
Sophomore guard Lydia Rohde came off the bench to pitch in a career-high 11 points on her birthday. She has managed 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with one start.

Northwestern’s regular fifth starter is 6-3 senior forward Christen Johnson, who has managed 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. The Wildcats also get regular contributions from 5-8 freshman guard Jordan Hankins, who has managed 4.7 points per game, and 6-0 freshman guard Amber Jamison, who has managed 2.0 points and 1.3 boards per contest.

A 2015 NCAA Tournament team after finishing 23-9 overall and 12-6 to tie for fourth in the Big Ten standings, Northwestern returns four starters from last year’s squad. However, they lost starting senior center Alex Cohen and steady guard Karly Roser to graduation. They also have played this season without senior Lauren Douglas, who has averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds over 90 career games with 34 starts for the Wildcats. Douglas played at the same high school (Briarcrest Christian) as Nebraska sophomore Jasmine Cincore.

The losses of the 6-5 Cohen and the 6-2 Douglas have hurt the Wildcats on the glass, where they have been outrebounded, 44.1-40.6 (-3.5) on the year. However, Northwestern has made up for it with a massive plus-9.8 turnover margin.

Led by Deary at the point, who owns an 87-30 assist-to-turnover ratio while adding 60 steals, the Wildcats own a strong 1.7 team assist-to-turnover ratio while holding opponents to just 0.6. The Wildcats have averaged 78.2 points, while holding their foes to 59.5 points per contest.

Northwestern is shooting 43.2 percent from the field, including 33 percent from three-point range, while knocking down 6.9 threes per game. The Wildcats have struggled to hit just 64.6 percent of their free throws.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 7-4, but Northwestern has won the last two games (both in Evanston). The Huskers dropped a 59-51 decision at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 18, 2015, and suffered a 63-59 setback in Evanston on Jan. 26, 2014. The Huskers had won three straight in the series prior to those losses, and Nebraska is 3-3 overall againt the Wildcats as Big Ten foes.

Nebraska returns just 17 of its 51 points from last season’s loss, with 13 of those coming from Natalie Romeo and four from Allie Havers. Coffey had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats last season, while Deary managed 10 points and five assists, and Lyon contributed seven points.

In that game, Nebraska went 3-for-28 from the field in the first half to trail 29-12 at the break and 43-19 with 14 minutes left, before rallying to cut the lead to six points with just over two minutes left.

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 concussion. 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. She missed the Big Ten opener against Iowa with an Achilles strain.
• 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. (1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
• Emily Wood is making solid, consistent and reliable contributions as a sophomore, producing 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 72 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. (7.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
• One of the tallest Nebraska women’s basketball players in history, Allie Havers is turning up her production with 7.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.1 blocks through 12 games as a junior. Havers made the first three starts of her career in place of Rachel Blackburn (illness) in Nebraska’s wins over Northern Arizona (Dec. 19), Arkansas State (Dec. 21) and Iowa (Dec. 31). 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 in a win over 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. Her recovery is going well and she is hopeful to return to action very early in the Big Ten Conference season. 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 (5.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
• Anya Kalenta produced a strong seven-point, 14-rebound effort in a win over Northern Arizona Dec. 19. She also had career bests with three blocks 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 (66/38), rebounds (59/17), assists (7/1), blocks (7/3) and steals (3/0) than she 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. (3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 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, 24 rebounds and 12 assists in 154 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.