Huskers Head to Ohio to Battle No. 5 Buckeyes

Nebraska Cornhuskers (17-8, 8-6)
at #5 Ohio State Buckeyes (21-4, 13-1)

Thursday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m. - Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Thursday's Stations

• KBBK 107.3 FM, Lincoln
• KXSP 590 AM, Omaha
• KAMI 1580 AM, Cozad
• KRGI 1430 AM, Grand Island
• KNCY 1600 AM, 105.5 FM, Nebraska City
• KHUB 1340 AM, Fremont
• KSID 1340 AM, Sidney
• KHAQ 98.5 FM, North Platte
• KNEB 94.1 FM, Scottsbluff
• KBRB 1400 AM, Ainsworth

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com
Television/Video Stream: BTN/BTN2Go.com (Lisa Byington, Stephanie White)

Huskers Head to Ohio to Battle No. 5 Buckeyes
The Nebraska women’s basketball team wraps up its Big Ten regular-season road schedule Thursday when the Huskers take on No. 5 Ohio State.

Tip-off between the Huskers (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) and the Buckeyes (21-4, 13-1) is set for 5 p.m. (central) at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The live Husker Sports Network radio call of Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch can be heard on B107.3 FM (Lincoln), ESPN 590 AM (Omaha) and for free on Huskers.com.

The Big Ten Network will televise the game with Lisa Byington and Stephanie White, head coach of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, calling the action. A live video stream will be available at BTN2Go.com.

Nebraska is coming off its first win over a top 25 team this season after beating No. 17 Michigan State at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Sunday. The Huskers got 26 points and six rebounds from Jessica Shepard, who claimed her conference-record 10th Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award on Monday. One of only two freshmen nationally among the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30, Shepard averaged 24.0 points and 7.0 rebounds last week to improve her team-leading season averages to 20.6 points and 8.9 boards per game.

Sophomore Natalie Romeo added a huge game with 25 points while hitting 5-of-7 threes to become Nebraska’s single-season three-point record holder with 86.

Senior point Rachel Theriot, who is averaging 11.8 assists over the last four games, returns to her home state to play for the final time. Theriot is averaging 10.7 points and a Big Ten-best 7.5 assists.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten)
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 20.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 7.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 16.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 10.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Off the Bench
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 4.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 4.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 3.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 3.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 2.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (279-161); 26th Season Overall (474-301)

#5 Ohio State Buckeyes (21-4 Overall, 13-1 Big Ten)
22 - Alexa Hart - 6-3 - So. - F - 13.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg
3 - Kelsey Mitchell - 5-8 - So. - G - 24.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg
13 - Cait Craft - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 14.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg
14 - Ameryst Alston - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 18.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg
20 - Asia Doss - 5-7 - So. - G - 6.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Shayla Cooper - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 13.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg
24 - Makayla Waterman - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 2.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg
21 - Lisa Blair - 6-6 - Jr. - C - 2.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
5 - Chelsea Mitchell - 5-11 - RFr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Head Coach: Kevin McGuff (St. Joseph’s, Ind., 1992)
Third Season at Ohio State (62-33); 14th Season Overall (317-132)

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska leads the all-time series with Ohio State 7-5, but the Buckeyes won last season’s meeting at Nebraska, 78-60, on March 1, 2015. Prior to that victory for OSU, the Huskers had won five straight against the Buckeyes, including a 67-59 win in NU’s last trip to Value City Arena in Columbus on Feb. 20, 2014. The Huskers are 3-3 all-time against Ohio State in Columbus, including 2-1 as Big Ten foes.

• Jessica Shepard earned her conference-record 10th Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award on Feb. 15. She swept the Big Ten Player and Freshman honors for the second time on Jan. 25, while adding espnW and College Sports Madness National Player-of-the-Week honors. Shepard has added two appearances on the NCAA.com “Starting Five” (Dec. 23, Jan. 27) and is a two-time USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22, Jan. 26). She is one of two freshmen nationally on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30.

• Shepard owns 15 20-point games on the season, including two Nebraska freshman record 35-point performances (at Michigan, Jan. 24; vs. Northern Arizona, Dec. 19). She has 10 20-point games against Big Ten opponents.

• Shepard is the first Husker freshman in history to reach 500 points. She enters the Ohio State game with 514 and needs 98 points to produce one of the top 10 scoring seasons overall in school history.

• Natalie Romeo tied her own school record with eight threes against Wisconsin (Jan. 27). It marked the school-record seventh time in 49 career games that Romeo has hit six or more threes, including the fourth time this season. Romeo owns three 30-point performances this year, including two in Big Ten play.

• Romeo owns the Nebraska single-season record with 86 threes this season and her 137 threes are the most ever by a Husker through her freshman and sophomore seasons combined.

Nebraska Streaks and Milestones
• Natalie Romeo needs four three-pointers to become the first player in Nebraska history to hit 90 threes in a season. In Sunday’s win over No. 17 Michigan State, Romeo hit 5-of-7 threes to become the Nebraska single-season record holder with 86. Romeo has hit five or more threes eight times this season, including a school-record eight threes at Penn State (8-16) on Jan. 13 and against Wisconsin (8-14) on Jan. 27. Romeo is averaging 3.44 threes per game to match Minnesota’s Rachel Banham for the Big Ten lead in that category. Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell sits three three-pointers behind Romeo and Banham and all three rank among the nation’s top seven.

• Romeo also has matched Banham for a Big Ten-best 3.86 threes in Big Ten games. Their 54 threes each in 14 conference games rank ahead of Mitchell’s 47 threes in 14 games for Ohio State. Romeo’s three-point shooting percentage (.446) in league play ranks ahead of both Banham (.422) and Mitchell (.379).

• Romeo owns a pair of 30-point efforts in Big Ten play this season (32 at Penn State, Jan. 13; 30 vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 27), becoming just the eighth Husker in history with multiple 30-point games in conference play. The only two players in Nebraska history who have posted more than two 30-point games in league play in a season are Karen Jennings (5, 1992, Big Eight) and Maurtice Ivy (4, 1987, Big Eight). Jennings and Ivy own two of Nebraska’s three all-time retired jerseys.

• Jessica Shepard became the first freshman in Nebraska history to reach 500 points in a season when her 26-point performance against No. 17 Michigan State pushed her to 514. The 6-4 forward from Fremont, Neb., has surpassed the previous Nebraska freshman record by 53 points (Debra Powell, 461, 1981-82). Shepard needs 98 points to post one of the top 10 overall seasons in point production in Nebraska history. Only 10 players (13 times) in Nebraska women’s basketball history have ever scored 600 points in a season.

• Shepard needs seven rebounds to catch Debra Powell (229, 1981-82) in second on the Nebraska freshman rebound list. Shepard needs 55 rebounds to reach Kathy Hagerstrom (1979-80) at the top of the Nebraska freshman rebounding list with 277. Hagerstrom got her 277 rebounds in 40 games (6.9 rpg). Only seven players (11 times) in Nebraska history have ever grabbed 300 rebounds in a season.

• Shepard needs one double-double to set the Nebraska freshman record. She notched her school freshman-record ninth double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds at Indiana (Feb. 7). Four of her five Big Ten double-doubles have come on the road this season. Shepard’s next double-double would also tie her for ninth overall on Nebraska’s single-season list and make her just the eighth Husker in history to produce 10 or more double-doubles in a season. First-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2006-07 & 2009-10), Jordan Hooper (2011-12 & 2013-14) and Karen Jennings (1990-91 & 1992-93) all did it twice, as did Emily Cady (2013-14 & 2014-15). The only other Huskers to accomplish the feat are Nafeesah Brown (1993-94), Maurtice Ivy (1985-86) and Carol Garey (1978-79).

• Rachel Theriot is just the third Husker in history to distribute 600 career assists. Her 12 assists against No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday pushed her career total to 623. She trails only Lindsey Moore (699, 2010-13) and Meggan Yedsena (696, 1991-94) on the NU career list. Theriot owns a school-record 12 double-digit assist games, including three in the last four games.
• Theriot’s 179 assists this season rank as the eighth-highest total in Nebraska history. Lindsey Moore (7th, 183, 2010-11), Nicole Kubik (6th, 186, 1998-99) and Jina Johansen (T4th, 191, 2004-05) and Kathy Hawkins (T4th, 191, 1975-76) all own season totals within striking distance of Theriot heading to Ohio State. Theriot owns the Nebraska single-season record with 234 in 2013-14. No other Husker has ever produced 200 assists in a season.

• Allie Havers needs seven blocked shots to crack the top five on Nebraska’s junior single-season list. The 6-5 center from Mattawan, Mich., owns 27 blocks on the year. Maurtice Ivy ranks fifth among Husker juniors with 34 blocks in 1986-87. Havers tied her career high with three blocks at Indiana (Feb. 7).

Fast Five: Husker Quick Hitters
#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (10.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 7.5 apg)
• Rachel Theriot leads the Big Ten and ranks third in NCAA Division I with 7.5 assists per game. She was a preseason Naismith Trophy, and Senior CLASS Award candidate and was a candidate for CoSIDA Academic All-America and the Allstate Good Works Team.
• 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 623 in her career to rank third all-time at NU and 10th in Big Ten history. She had a career-high and Big Ten Tournament-record 18 assists against Minnesota on March 7, 2014. She is averaging 11.8 assists the last four games with an assist-to-turnover of 5.9-to-1.
• Theriot is averaging 10.7 ppg as a senior, and ranks No. 17 in career points at Nebraska with 1,280. She needs four points to catch Janet Smith (No. 16, 1,284, 1979-82) 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 12 career double-digit assist games. She eight career games with 12 or more assists, including three in the last four games.

#4, Kyndal Clark, 5-7, Sr., G, Webb City, Mo. (4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 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 owns four double-figure scoring efforts this season, including a season-high 22 points in NU’s win over Arkansas State on Dec. 21. She scored a personal Big Ten-best 15 points, while knocking down five first-half three-pointers at Michigan.
• She owns 76 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 Drake career. 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. (16.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg)
• A high-energy guard who brings intensity and toughness to both ends of the court, Natalie Romeo is one of the Big Ten’s most explosive players. She produced a career-high 32 points at Penn State (Jan. 13) when she hit a school-record eight threes. She tied her own three-point record two weeks later in a win over Wisconsin (Jan. 27), capping her third 30-point performance of the season. She added a career-high six rebounds to her 30 points. Romeo opened the year with 30 points by hitting 6-of-9 threes against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. She has added four 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.
• Romeo is one of only seven players in Nebraska history to score 30 or more points twice in the same conference season, joining Karen Jennings (5, 1992, Big Eight; 2, 1991, Big Eight), Maurtice Ivy (4, 1987, Big Eight), Amy Stephens (2, 1989, Big Eight), Nicole Kubik (2, 1999, Big 12), Kelsey Griffin (2, 2010, Big 12) and Jordan Hooper (2, 2014, Big Ten).
• Romeo is tied with Minnesota’s Rachel Banham for the Big Ten lead with 86 threes and 3.44 threes per game to rank among the top five players in the nation. Romeo set the Nebraska single-season record with 86 threes by going 5-for-7 in Sunday’s win over No. 17 Michigan State. Romeo’s 137 threes in her first two seasons also rank as the No. 1 total by a Husker in her freshman and sophomore seasons combined, three more than career record holder Jordan Hooper’s 134.
• Romeo ranks eighth in Nebraska history with 137 career three-pointers and needs eight triples to climb to No. 7 on the NU all-time list.
• Romeo led Nebraska by averaging 20.0 points in a pair of 2015 Big Ten Tournament games, including a season-high 26 points in a win over Illinois March 5. She tied a then-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. (20.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
• A 10-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and two-time Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 21, Jan. 25), Jessica Shepard was the espnW and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week (Jan. 25). Her most recent national honors came after becoming the first player in Husker history to produce a 30-point, 20-rebound performance at Michigan Jan. 24. She tied her own NU freshman record with 35 points against the Wolverines, while adding a career-high 20 rebounds. She had 23 points and 15 boards in the second half against the Wolverines. Shepard was the USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22, Jan. 26) after her NU freshman-record 35-point performances (Northern Arizona, Dec. 19; at Michigan, Jan. 24). Shepard owns 15 games with 20 points, including 10 in Big Ten play, 22 double-figure scoring performances and nine double-doubles.
• Shepard is averaging 21.4 points and 9.6 rebounds in Big Ten play, including 35 points and 20 rebounds at Michigan (Jan. 24) and 29 points and 19 rebounds in a win over Illinois (Jan. 10). She also had 29 points and 10 boards at Penn State Jan. 13. She had 28 points and eight rebounds against Iowa (Dec. 31) and 26 points, six rebounds in a win over No. 17 Michigan State (Feb. 14).
• Shepard, who owns the Nebraska freshman record with 514 points, reached the 100-point (5 games), 200-point (11 games), 300-point (16 games), 400-point (20 games) and 500-point (25 games) scoring marks faster than any Husker freshman in history. Shepard leads NU in scoring (20.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 ppg), and both season numbers would be Husker 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. She is one of only two freshmen nationally this season to earn a spot on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30. Shepard joins California freshman Kristine Anigwe on the Naismith Trophy list.
• 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.

#22, Allie Havers, 6-5, Jr., C, Mattawan, Mich. (7.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 bpg)
• One of the tallest Nebraska women’s basketball players in history, Allie Havers is playing the best basketball of her career for the Huskers. Havers had 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over Wisconsin (Jan. 27) for her second double-double of the season. She also had 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists at Michigan (Jan. 24) in her only return to her home state this season.
• Havers has started the last 16 games inside for the Huskers, replacing a then-ill/injured Rachel Blackburn in game 10 this season. Havers had 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists at Penn State (Jan. 13). She had 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying three blocks at Indiana Sunday. Her 29 assists this season have surpassed her previous career total (21) entering 2015-16.
• Havers had a career-high 18 points at No. 22 Cal on Dec. 12. She played a career-high 39 minutes at Rutgers (Jan. 30). She produced her first career double-double with 14 points and a then-career-best 12 rebounds in a win over Evansville (Dec. 8).
• Havers owns single-season career-best totals of 167 rebounds, 29 assists and 27 blocks. She is tied for 13th in the Big Ten with 6.7 boards per game, and tied for 11th with 1.1 blocks per contest.
• 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 12 double-figure scoring games in her career, including five this season and 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.

Scouting The Ohio State Buckeyes
One of the nation’s top teams, No. 5 Ohio State carries a nine-game winning streak into Thursday’s game with Nebraska at Value City Arena. The Buckeyes sit alone atop the Big Ten standings at 13-1 after sweeping a pair of games from defending Big Ten champion Maryland. The Buckeyes are the only team to hand the Terrapins a loss in Maryland’s first two seasons in the Big Ten.

Ohio State’s lone loss came at Northwestern (86-82) on Jan. 14, one week after the Huskers fell to the Wildcats in Evanston. That is OSU’s only loss to a non-top-five team this season, with the Buckeyes’ other setbacks coming to No. 1 UConn (100-56, Nov. 16), at No. 2 South Carolina (88-80, Nov. 13) and at No. 3 Notre Dame (75-72, Dec. 2).

OSU’s only one-possession win in conference play came at home to Northwestern with a 76-73 victory on Jan. 28. Seven of OSU’s Big Ten wins have been by double digits.

All-American Kelsey Mitchell leads the Buckeyes with 24.6 points per game as the Big Ten’s No. 2 scorer, trailing only Minnesota’s Rachel Banham. The 5-8 sophomore is a speedy and dynamic guard and has hit 83 threes to rank seventh nationally in that category, while also getting to the line 149 times. She is also averaging 3.3 assists per game and leads Ohio State with 1.8 steals per contest.

The Buckeyes feature another potent scoring threat in reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Ameryst Alston. The 5-9 senior guard is averaging 18.8 points while leading OSU with 3.8 assists per contest. Alston ranks second among the Buckeyes with 55 threes and recently crossed the 2,000-point scoring mark in her outstanding four-year career at OSU.

Alexa Hart, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Columbus, Ohio, has joined Mitchell and Alston in starting all 25 games this season. Hart averages 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while ranking second in the Big Ten with 2.6 blocks per game. She also ranks third in the conference with her 64.6 field goal percentage.

Senior Cait Craft, a 5-8 guard from Findlay, Ohio, gives the Buckeyes four starters from the state of Ohio. Craft averages 4.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals while doing a little bit of everything at both ends of the court.

Asia Doss, a 5-7 sophomore from Detroit has recently stepped into Ohio State’s starting five, as the Buckeyes have gone more of a four-out, one-in starting rotation. Doss is averaging 6.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. While Doss has started in recent games, 6-2 junior forward Shayla Cooper has continued to see big minutes while serving as a part-time starter. Cooper ranks third among the Buckeyes with 13.1 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game. She is also shooting a team-best 46.9 percent (15-32) from three-point range.

Lisa Blair, a 6-6 junior center, gives OSU more size inside and also has been a part-time starter. She averages 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game but has played just 20 total minutes over the last 10 games. Makayla Waterman (2.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Chelsea Mitchell (1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg) round out the regular contributors for a Buckeye bunch that is averaging a Big Ten-best 85.8 points per game. OSU ranks 12th in the conference, surrendering 73.0 points per game.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Ohio State 7-5, but the Buckeyes won last season’s meeting at Nebraska, 78-60, on March 1, 2015. Prior to that victory for OSU, the Huskers had won five straight games against the Buckeyes, including a 67-59 win in NU’s last trip to Value City Arena in Columbus on Feb. 20, 2014. The Huskers are 3-3 all-time at Ohio State, including 2-1 as Big Ten foes.

Shepard Playing Big in Big Ten
Nebraska freshman Jessica Shepard ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (20.6 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.9 rpg) as the leading contender for Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year honors and a threat for first-team All-Big Ten accolades as well.

Shepard is one of only three freshmen, joining Penn State’s Teniya Page (18th, 15.6 ppg) and Michigan’s Hallie Thome (24th, 14.4 ppg) to rank among the conference’s top-30 scorers.

Shepard is also one of only four freshmen, joining Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Northwestern, 11th, 7.2 rpg), Alex Wittinger (Illinois, T13th, 6.7 rpg) and Megan Gustafson (Iowa, T16th, 6.3 rpg) to rank among the Big Ten’s top-20 rebounders. Shepard is third in the conference with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, and ranks eighth in the league in field goal percentage (.536).
Shepard is also one of the best post passers in the Big Ten. Among forwards and centers, Shepard’s 47 assists are tied for third in the conference, trailing Indiana sophomore Amanda Cahill’s 63. Northwestern junior Nia Coffey, who has spent considerable time in her career on the wing, ranks ahead of Shepard with 54 assists. Purdue’s Bridget Perry (47) is the only other Big Ten post with more than 40.

Romeo Rockin’ from Long Range
Nebraska sophomore Natalie Romeo has developed into one of the nation’s premier three-point shooters in her second season. Through games Feb. 15, the 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., is tied for third nationally with 3.44 made threes per game, while tying for fourth with 86 total threes.

Romeo is tied in both categories with Minnesota’s Rachel Banham. Their total threes trail Syracuse’s Brianna Butler, who has 90 threes in 26 games on the year, Ohio’s Kiyanna Black (87, 23 games) and Tennessee-Martin’s Jessy Ward (87, 26 games). Jessica Kovatch from Saint Francis (Pa.) also has 86 threes in 25 games this season.

Romeo ranks third in the Big Ten with her 43.0 percentage, which ranks 15th nationally. Her explosive shooting has included a school-record eight threes at Penn State (Jan. 13) and against Wisconsin (Jan. 27). Both of those games featured her hitting six first-half threes. In 49 career games, she owns seven shooting nights with six or more threes - more than any other Husker in history.

Romeo is on pace to become the first Husker to hit 100 threes in a season. With five threes against No. 17 Michigan State (Feb. 14), Romeo set the Nebraska season record with 86 to move ahead of Kiera Hardy (85, 2004-05) and Amy Stephens (85, 1988-89). Romeo also passed career record holder Jordan Hooper for the most threes by a Husker in a freshman and sophomore season combined (134). Romeo has hit 137-of-344 threes in her career, while Hooper hit 134-of-394 attempts in her first two seasons.

Romeo’s consistent shooting has pushed her to 16th in the conference in scoring at 16.0 points per game. Through 14 Big Ten games, Romeo is tied with Banham for the league lead with 3.86 threes per game while connecting on 44 .6 percent (5th in Big Ten) of her three-point attempts to average 16.5 points per game (17th in Big Ten).

Theriot Leads Big Ten in Assists
Nebraska point guard Rachel Theriot leads the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game. Theriot owns 179 assists in 24 games as a senior, 80 more than she produced in 21 games during an injury-shortened junior season. Her assist total this season has come in 13 fewer minutes on the court than a year ago.

In Big Ten play only, Theriot is averaging 7.8 assists per game despite battling injury, including 11.8 assists over the last four games. Her 623 career assists rank 10th in Big Ten history, as she recently moved past both Stephanie White (578, Purdue, 1996-99) and Lindsay Whalen (578, Minnesota, 2001-04).

Theriot needs five assists to catch MaChelle Joseph (628, 1989-92) in ninth on the Big Ten’s all-time assist list.

Theriot’s 179 assists this season rank as the eighth-best total in school history, and she is just 16 assists away from tying for the second-best season at Nebraska. Theriot owns the school season record with 234 in 2013-14.