Big Red Open Big Ten Tourney with Scarlet Knights

No. 7 Seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-11, 9-9)
vs. No. 10 Seed Rutgers Scarlet Knights (17-13, 8-10)

Thursday, March 3, 5:30 p.m. - Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Thursday's Stations

• B107.3 FM, Lincoln
• KXSP 590 AM, Omaha
• KRVN 880 AM, Lexington
• KRVN 106.9 FM, Kearney
• KNCY 1600 AM /105.5 FM, Nebraska City
• KRGI 1430 AM, Grand Island
• KHUB 1340 AM, Fremont
• KSWN 93.9 FM, McCook
• KHAS 1230 AM, Hastings
• KSID 1340 AM, Sidney
• KHAQ 98.5 FM, North Platte
• KNEB 960 AM, Scottsbluff
• KBRB 1400 AM, Ainsworth

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com 
Television: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Christy Winters-Scott, Shelley Till)
Live Video Stream: BTN2Go.com
Live Stats

Big Red Open Big Ten Tourney with Scarlet Knights
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens the 2016 Big Ten Tournament by taking on Rutgers on Thursday in Indianapolis. Tip-off between the seventh-seeded Huskers (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) and the 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights (17-13, 8-10) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse is set for 5:30 p.m. (CT).

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), KRVN 880 AM (Lexington) and for free on Huskers.com.

The Big Ten Network will televise every game of the tournament leading up to Sunday night’s championship game. Kevin Kugler and Christy Winters-Scott will be on the call for BTN Thursday with Shelley Till providing sideline reports. A live video stream will be available at BTN2Go.com.

The Huskers built some momentum heading to Indianapolis by working their way to a 76-67 victory over Northwestern in the regular-season finale at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Feb. 28.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jessica Shepard stepped outside the starting lineup for the first time this season to make way for senior forward Anya Kalenta to get her first start on Senior Day.

Shepard managed 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench to cap a first-team All-Big Ten campaign with a Nebraska freshman record 565 points. Shepard leads the Huskers with 19.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and is the first freshman in Husker history to earn first-team all-conference honors.

Second-team All-Big Ten guard Natalie Romeo enjoyed an historic performance by producing just the second triple-double in school history with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in her most extensive action this season at the point guard spot. Romeo, who has set a school record with 93 threes this season, enters the conference tournament averaging 15.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten)
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 19.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 15.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 4.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - So. - G - 4.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Off the Bench
33 - Rachel Theriot (OUT) - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
4 - Kyndal Clark (OUT) - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 4.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 4.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - RFr. - F - 2.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - So. - G - 1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 0.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
14th Season at Nebraska (280-164); 26th Season Overall (475-304)

No. 10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (17-13 Overall, 8-10 Big Ten)
2 - Kahleah Copper - 6-2 - Sr. - F/G - 17.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg
1 - Rachel Hollivay - 6-4 - Sr. - C - 7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg
43 - Ariel Butts - 6-3 - Sr. - C - 2.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg
3 - Tyler Scaife - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 17.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg
4 - Briona Canty - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Off the Bench
5 - Shrita Parker - 5-7 - So. - G - 4.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
13 - Cynthia Hernandez - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 3.3 ppg, 0.4 rpg
12 - Khadaizha Sanders - 5-7 - Fr. - G - 2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg
40 - Victoria Harris - 6-3 - Fr. - C/F - 1.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
11 - Aliyah Jeune - 6-1 - Fr. - G/F - 1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg
32 - Desiree Keeling - 6-2 - Fr. - C/F - 0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg
21 - Ashli Jeune - 5-10 - RFr. - G - 0.4 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Head Coach: C. Vivian Stringer (Slippery Rock, 1971)
21st Season at Rutgers (449-229); 45th Season Overall (969-364)

Husker Nuggets
• Thursday’s game between Nebraska and Rutgers will be the third match-up between the two teams this year. The Huskers battled to a 65-54 win in Lincoln on Jan. 16, before Rutgers evened the series with a 66-56 win in Piscataway on June 30. C. Vivian Stringer was not on hand for the first meeting at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and the Scarlet Knights got just four points off their bench in the loss. Nebraska got zero bench points in Piscataway, and starters Allie Havers and Kyndal Clark combined for just four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Shrita Parker lifted the Scarlet Knights with 14 points off the bench at the RAC.

• Rutgers leads the all-time series with Nebraska 2-1. All three meetings have come as conference foes, but the teams have never met in the Big Ten Tournament.

• Jessica Shepard is the first freshman in Nebraska history to earn first-team all-conference honors. She is also the first player in Husker history to win a true conference Freshman-of-the-Year award. Meggan Yedsena was the 1990 Big Eight Newcomer of the Year after Karen Jennings won the 1989 Big Eight Newcomer-of-the-Year. Both of those Huskers were freshmen. Shepard won a Big Ten-record 10 conference freshman-of-the-week honors this season. She is one of two freshmen nationally on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30.

• Natalie Romeo earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and was Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. The 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., has set a school record with 93 threes this season. She has hit a Nebraska-record eight threes twice this season (at Penn State, Jan. 13; vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 27). Last year, she set NU’s conference tournament record with seven threes in a second-round win over Illinois.

Starting Five
• No Husker has started all 29 regular-season games for Nebraska in 2015-16, the first time that has happened since Coach Connie Yori’s first year in Lincoln in 2002-03.
• Nebraska has had 10 different starters this season, the most of any of Coach Yori’s 14 Nebraska teams. In 2002-03, nine players started games for the Big Red.
• Three times (2003-04, 2006-07, 2011-12) in 14 seasons, Nebraska’s starting five has hit the floor for every game together, and five more times the Huskers have only featured six different starters in a season (2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2012-13, 2013-14).
• Nebraska has sent eight different starting lineups onto the floor this season, including new lineups in each of the last four games.
• The longest stretch Nebraska was able to play this season with a consistent starting five was eight games (Game 2 vs. North Florida, Nov. 16 - Game 9 at California, Dec. 12).

Big Red in the Big Ten Tournament
• Over the last four seasons, Nebraska has won more games than any team in the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers are 8-3 in Big Ten Tournament play with losses to Purdue (2012, 2013) and Iowa (2015).
• Nebraska has won at least one game in each of its first four Big Ten Tournament appearances.
• The Huskers won the 2014 Big Ten Tournament title in Indianapolis by rolling to a 3-0 record with wins over Minnesota, No. 19 Michigan State and No. 23 Iowa. Nebraska was the No. 2 seed.
• Nebraska has advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game in both of its previous trips to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In its first Big Ten Tournament, Nebraska rolled to double-digit wins over Northwestern, Iowa and No. 14 Ohio State, before falling to Purdue in 2OT in the title game.
• Nebraska owns Big Ten Tournament wins over Iowa (2012, 2013, 2014), Northwestern (2012), Ohio State (2012), Minnesota (2014), Michigan State (2014) and Illinois (2015).

Huskers in the Postseason
• Nebraska has advanced to postseason tournament play in 11 of the last 12 years (not 2011).
• The Huskers have made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Nebraska has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances in the last nine years, including NCAA Sweet Sixteens in 2010 and 2013.
• The Huskers are expected to accept a WNIT bid if chosen to be in the 64-team tournament. The announcement of the WNIT field will follow the announcement of the 2016 NCAA Tournament field on Monday, March 14. Round 1 will be played at home sites, March 16-18. The WNIT Championship Game is set for Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. (CT).
• Nebraska made its last appearance in the Postseason WNIT in 2009, a year before advancing to its first-ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The Huskers are also expected to compete in the 2016 Preseason WNIT.

Nebraska Streaks
• Natalie Romeo has started 28 consecutive games for the Huskers, the longest active streak among Nebraska players.
• Jessica Shepard (First Team) and Natalie Romeo (Second Team) both earned All-Big Ten accolades when the conference honor teams were announced on Monday, Feb. 29. It marks the fifth consecutive season that Nebraska has had at least two players earn first- or second-team honors from the conference.
• Nebraska finished with a 9-9 Big Ten record to mark the fifth consecutive season the Huskers have posted a .500 or better Big Ten record. Nebraska is the only Big Ten team with a .500 or better record in each of the last five seasons. In fact, no other Big Ten team has had four straight .500 marks. The only other team with three straight .500 or better Big Ten seasons is Minnesota, which went 11-7 in both 2015 and 2016 after going 8-8 in 2014.
• Natalie Romeo has played the full 40 minutes in three consecutive games. Romeo played 40 or more minutes in 13 games this season, including a career-high 42 minutes at California on Dec. 12. She played the full 40 minutes in 10 of NU’s regular-season Big Ten games, including both meetings with Rutgers. Romeo has played a team-high 1,012 minutes this season, marking the seventh straight season at least one Husker has played 1,000 minutes.
• Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 128 consecutive games. The Huskers have hit at least one three in 249 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008.

Team Stats That Stand Out
• Nebraska is shooting 37.0 percent from three-point range, which ranks as the third-best season percentage in school history, trailing only 41.3 percent (1987-88) and 39.6 percent (1988-89).
• Nebraska’s 161 made threes this season are tied for ninth in school history. Coach Connie Yori’s last 13 Husker teams own the top 13 three-point shooting totals in the NU record book.
• The Huskers lead the Big Ten in assist-to-basket ratio. Nebraska has posted assists on 65.3 percent of its made field goals this season (527 assists/807 field goals).
• NU’s 527 assists rank as the seventh-highest season total in school history. The Huskers need 11 assists to move to No. 6 and 28 assists to join the top five.
• Nebraska’s turnover total (5th, 444) and foul total (2nd, 426) rank among the five best season totals in school history.

Big Red Milestones
• In her 14 seasons at Nebraska, Coach Connie Yori has amassed 280 wins to average 20.0 wins per year as the winningest coach in Husker history. No other coach has won 200 games at Nebraska.
• Natalie Romeo owns a school-record 93 three-pointers this season. She needs seven threes to become the first Husker in history to knock down 100 threes in a season.
• Romeo hit a Nebraska record eight three-pointers in a game twice this season (at Penn State, Jan. 13; vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 27). She set the NU conference tournament record with seven threes against Illinois last season.
• Romeo, who hit 11 threes in two Big Ten Tournament games as a freshman a year ago, needs nine three-pointers to match All-American Jordan Hooper for the most three-pointers by a Husker in conference tournament play in a career. Hooper hit 20 threes in 10 conference (1, Big 12; 9 Big Ten) tournament games from 2011 to 2014.
• Romeo recorded just the second triple-double in school history with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Nebraska’s win over Northwestern on Feb. 28. All-American Lindsey Moore notched the first with 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Florida A&M on Jan. 2, 2011.
• Jessica Shepard needs 35 points to become just the 11th player in Nebraska history to score 600 points in a season. Shepard heads to the Big Ten Tournament with a Nebraska freshman record 565 points. The previous NU freshman mark was 461 by Debra Powell (1981-82).
• Shepard needs 23 rebounds to catch Kathy Hagerstrom (277, 1979-80) in the top spot on Nebraska’s freshman rebound list. Shepard has amassed 254 rebounds in 29 games. Hagerstrom pulled down her 277 in 40 games.
• Shepard produced one of the best individual performances in Nebraska history with a freshman-record 35 points to go along with 20 rebounds in a win at Michigan on Jan. 24. It is the only 30-point/20-rebound performance in Nebraska women’s basketball history.
• Shepard owns the Nebraska freshman record with 10 double-doubles. She had six double-doubles in Big Ten play. She is just the eighth Husker in history to produce 10 double-doubles in a season.

Fast Five: Husker Quick Hitters
#5, Natalie Romeo, 5-7, So., G, Martinez, Calif. (15.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.4 spg)
Second-Team All-Big Ten (Coaches), Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
• 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 owns seven 20-point games this season.
• 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 saw her most extensive action this season at point guard in the win over Northwestern on Feb. 28, when she recorded the second triple-double in Nebraska history with 12 points and career highs of 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
• Romeo owns a Nebraska school record with 93 three-pointers this season. Her 144 threes in her first two seasons are the No. 1 combined total in freshman/sophomore seasons in Nebraska history, well ahead of school career record holder Jordan Hooper’s 134.
• 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.

#24, Maddie Simon, 6-2, Fr., G, Lincoln, Neb. (4.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
• Maddie Simon started each of Nebraska’s last three regular-season games in place of senior Kyndal Clark, who announced the end of her career due to chronic and extreme knee pain on Feb. 20.
• Simon enters the Big Ten Tournament after erupting for career highs of 16 points and seven rebounds in Nebraska’s win over Northwestern on Feb. 28. She also hit a career-high three three-pointers against the Wildcats. Simon owns three double-figure scoring performances on the season.
• In four games as a starter this season, Simon is averaging 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. She also started the season opener in place of an ill Natalie Romeo on Nov. 14.
• Simon, who has played in 20 games as a freshman, missed six games in December and January with a broken arm, which she suffered in a fall outside of basketball activities on Dec. 7. She returned to the court at No. 8 Maryland on Jan. 7, scoring nine points off the bench.
• 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.

#34, Jasmine Cincore, 5-10, So., G, Arlington, Tenn. (4.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.2 apg)
• Jasmine Cincore has emerged as a reliable and consistent conbtributor at both ends of the court throughout her sophomore season. Cincore is one of five Huskers to play in all 29 games this season, and she has made four starts in place of injured All-American Rachel Theriot late in the season.
• Cincore made three straight starts in place of Theriot to end the season, including a career-high 16-point performance against Indiana on Feb. 24. Cincore has played 111 of 120 minutes over the last three games. As a freshman, she played just 97 minutes in 20 games while battling ankle and foot injuries.
• A two-time Tennessee Class 2-AA Player of the Year (2013, 2014), Cincore made her first career start in her 39th career game in Nebraska’s 93-81 win at Michigan Jan. 24. She had eight points, three assists, a block and a steal in 32 minutes against the Wolverines.
• Cincore has spent most of her time on the court this season as a wing but has seen time at both point and shooting guard the last three contests. She is averaging 5.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 24.8 minutes per game over the last 11 contests dating back to her start at Michigan on Jan. 24.
• Cincore had nine points and a pair of threes at No. 5 Ohio State on Feb. 21, and nine points at No. 8 Maryland on Jan. 7. She scored eight points at Michigan and against Southern (Nov. 23), where her father, Wesley, played college basketball. 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.

#32, Jessica Shepard, 6-4, Fr., F, Fremont, Neb. (19.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
First-Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Big Ten All-Freshman
• Nebraska’s first Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Jessica Shepard is also the first Husker in history to earn first-team all-conference honors as a freshman. During the season, she set a conference record by winning 10 Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards. She was also a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 21, Jan. 25).
• One of only two freshmen on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30, Shepard was the USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22, Jan. 26). Shepard was the espnW and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week (Jan. 25).
• Shepard produced one of the best individual efforts by a Husker in history with a school freshman record 35 points to go along with a career-high 20 rebounds at Michigan Jan. 24. It was the first 30-point/20-rebound game by a Husker in history. She also scored 35 points against Northern Arizona Dec. 19. She owns 16 games with 20 points, including 11 in Big Ten play, 25 double-figure scoring performances and a Nebraska freshman-record 10 double-doubles.
• Shepard, who owns the Nebraska freshman record with 565 points, leads Nebraska in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). She was the top recruit in Nebraska history, as the No. 1 post and No. 3 overall recruit in the nation by ESPN. A first-team Parade All-American as a high school 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.

#22, Allie Havers, 6-5, Jr., C, Mattawan, Mich. (8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 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. She owns three straight double-figure scoring efforts and nine on the season, including seven in Big Ten play. Havers has 16 career double-figure scoring games, including 17 points in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over No. 19 Michigan State on March 8, 2014.
• Havers owns three double-doubles this season, including 13 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Northwestern Feb. 28. She added 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over Wisconsin Jan. 27, and her first double-double with 14 points and 12 boards against Evansville Dec. 8.
• Over the last four games, Havers is averaging 11.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while hitting 20-of-28 field goals (.714) and 7-of-8 free throws (.875)
• Havers, who ranks among the top 15 players in the Big Ten in both rebounding (T15th) and blocked shots (T13th) is expected to make her 20th career start on Thursday against Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament. She has started 19 of the last 20 games (not Indiana, Feb. 24), after Rachel Blackburn was forced out of the starting lineup with injury and illness beginning the 10th game of the season.
• Havers had a career-high 18 points at No. 22 Cal on Dec. 12. She had 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists in her only return to her home state this season at Michigan on Jan. 24. She played a career-high 39 minutes at Rutgers (Jan. 30).

Scouting The Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers enters its second Big Ten Tournament with a 17-13 overall record that included an 8-10 Big Ten mark. The 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights closed the regular season with a 72-50 win over

Michigan, which set up the second-round Big Ten game against the seventh-seeded Huskers. The Rutgers win over the Wolverines, paired with Nebraska’s win over Northwestern, dropped Michigan into the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game with Iowa and pushed the Huskers up to the No. 7 seed.

The Rutgers win also snapped a three-game losing streak that included a three-point loss to nationally ranked Michigan State, a loss to top-10 Maryland and an overtime loss at Purdue. That losing streak followed a stretch of four wins in five games that began with a 66-56 win over Nebraska at the RAC in Piscataway on Jan. 30. The win over the Huskers snapped a four-game losing streak that started with a 65-54 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln on Jan. 16.

While Rutgers has suffered through an up-and-down conference campaign, the Scarlet Knights (RPI 54) are 36 spots higher than RPI No. 90 Nebraska.

The Scarlet Knights are led by an experienced tandem of second-team all-conference players in Tyler Scaife (17.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Kahleah Copper (17.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg).

Scaife, who led Rutgers with 20 points in the win over NU on Jan. 30, is the lone junior in a Rutgers starting five that is expected to include four seniors, led by Copper and 6-4 senior center Rachel Hollivay (7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Fellow senior center Ariel Butts (2.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg) had 10 points and 14 rebounds in RU’s loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, but was held scoreless in the Scarlet Knights’ win in New Jersey.

Senior point guard Briona Canty (5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg) gives Rutgers arguably the most experienced starting five in the Big Ten. Her 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists played a major role in the Rutgers win over the Huskers on Jan. 30.

Sophomore guard Shrita Parker also played a huge role in the Rutgers win, erupting for 14 points including 3-for-6 three-point shooting. Parker was scoreless in the first meeting with Nebraska and Rutgers went just 1-for-11 from three-point range.

Parker’s bench scoring was the difference in the rematch, as Nebraska did not get any points off the bench, losing 16-0 in bench production. In the first meeting, Nebraska’s bench outscored Rutgers 22-4, with Rachel Theriot coming off the bench for 17 points and eight assists.

Khadaizha Sanders (2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg), Victoria Harris (1.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and Desiree Keeling (0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg) also have been regular contributors for Rutgers off the bench this season.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer leads her 21st Rutgers team into the Big Ten Tournament in her 45th overall season as a head coach. She takes aim at her 450th win at Rutgers and her 970th career win overall. Stringer was not present for Nebraska’s win in Lincoln, as she tended to her ailing mother.

Rutgers leads the Big Ten in scoring defense at 59.1 points per game, but ranks last in scoring offense at 62.7 points per contest. The Scarlet Knights are plus-0.2 in rebounding margin and plus-0.1 in turnover margin, while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from three-point range. RU also is shooting just 67.8 percent from the free throw line.

Rutgers leads the all-time series with Nebraska 2-1. All three meetings have come as conference foes, but the teams have never met in the Big Ten Tournament.

Shepard’s Season for the Books
Nebraska freshman Jessica Shepard is tied for seventh in the Big Ten in scoring (19.5 ppg) and ranks fifth in rebounding (8.8 rpg) as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Nebraska’s first-ever first-team all-conference award winner as a freshman.

Shepard is one of only three freshmen, joining Penn State’s Teniya Page (20th, 15.1 ppg) and Michigan’s Hallie Thome (23rd, 14.5 ppg) to rank among the conference’s top-30 scorers.

Shepard is also one of only four freshmen, joining Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Northwestern, 11th, 7.5 rpg), Alex Wittinger (Illinois, 12th, 6.9 rpg) and Megan Gustafson (Iowa, T13th, 6.6 rpg) to rank among the Big Ten’s top-20 rebounders. Shepard is tied for third in the conference with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, and ranks 11th in the league in field goal percentage (.526).

Shepard is also one of the best post passers in the Big Ten. Among forwards and centers, Shepard’s 56 assists rank third in the conference, trailing Indiana sophomore Amanda Cahill’s 73 and Northwestern junior Nia Coffey’s 60 assists.

Nebraska Freshman Game Records
Points, Game: 35, Jessica Shepard vs. Northern Arizona, Dec. 19, 2015 (90-67)
at Michigan, Jan. 24, 2015 (93-81)
Rebounds, Game: 22, Angie Miller, UMKC, Dec. 7, 1983 (Shepard, 20 at Michigan, Jan. 24)
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: 565, Jessica Shepard (2015-16)
Points Per Game: 15.4, Debra Powell (1981-82) / Shepard (19.5)
Total Rebounds: 277, Kathy Hagerstrom (1979-80) / Shepard (254)
Rebounds Per Game: 7.6, Debra Powell (1981-82) / Shepard (8.8)
Double-Doubles: 10, Jessica Shepard (2015-16)
Field Goals Made: 226, Jessica Shepard (2015-16)
Field Goal Percentage: .582 (78-134), Charlie Rogers (1996-97)
Free Throws Made: 121, Kelsey Griffin (2005-06) / Shepard (113)
Free Throws Attempted: 195, Jessica Shepard (2015-16)

Shepard Named to Naismith Midseason Top 30
Nebraska’s Jessica Shepard was one of only two freshmen among the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30 announced on Feb. 11. She joins Cal’s Kristine Anigwe as the nation’s top freshmen this season.

Shepard is averaging team bests with 19.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection, Shepard is a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 21, Jan. 25) and a record-setting 10-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week. She was the espnW National Player of the Week (Jan. 25) and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week (Jan. 25). She is also a two-time USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22, Jan. 26).

Shepard became the first Husker in history to produce a 30-point, 20-rebound game with a school freshman-record-tying 35 points and a career-high 20 rebounds at Michigan on Jan. 24. Her 565 points through 29 games have smashed the Nebraska freshman season record (previously 461).
Shepard was named the Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year by College Sports Madness. She was the Big Ten Player of the Week four times by College Sports Madness.

Romeo Shoots Way to All-Big Ten Honors
Nebraska sophomore Natalie Romeo shot her was to second-team All-Big Ten honors by setting a school-record with 93 three-pointers in 2015-16. Her three-point total trailed on Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Banham (107) and 2015 Big Ten Player of the Year Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell (105).

Romeo ranks second among the Huskers with 15.6 points per game, while also ranking second on the team with 2.9 assists per game. With injuries to starting senior guards Rachel Theriot and Kyndal Clark, Romeo’s role has expanded during the last two weeks.

In NU’s regular-season finale against Northwestern Feb. 28, Romeo notched the second triple-double in school history with 12 points and career highs of 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Huskers.

Romeo leads Nebraska with 1,012 minutes played (34.9 mpg), while her 41 steals also lead the Big Red.

Here’s a quick look at Romeo’s sensational sophomore season:
• All-Big Ten (Second Team, Coaches; Honorable-Mention, Media 2016)
• Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2016)
• Three-Time Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll (Nov. 16, Jan. 18, Feb. 29)
• Nebraska single-season record 93 3FG
• Nebraska single-game record eight 3FG (at Penn State, Jan. 13; vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 27)
• Three 30-point games (vs. UAPB, Nov. 14; at Penn State, Jan. 13; vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 27)
• Nebraska season-opening record 30 points vs. UAPB, Nov. 14
• 93 3FG (3rd, Big Ten; 7th, NCAA)
• 3.21 3FG per game (3rd, Big Ten; 8th, NCAA)
• .410 3FG Pct. (6th, Big Ten; 30th, NCAA)
• 15.6 ppg (T16th, Big Ten; 133rd, NCAA)
• Seven career games with six or more threes (Nebraska record - 4 in 2015-16)
• 144 3FG Freshman/Sophomore season combined (Nebraska record)
• No. 8 in Nebraska history with 144 3FG (needs one to tie for No. 7)

Triple Threats: Three Things to Talk About
#4, Kyndal Clark, 5-7, Sr., G, Webb City, Mo. (4.7 ppg, 2.7 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 started Nebraska’s first 26 games before ending her season with extreme knee pain on Feb. 20. She has missed Nebraska’s last two games.
• Clark scored a season-high 22 points in a win over Arkansas State Dec. 21. She had 17 points on 5-of-11 three-point shooting in a win over Evansville and added a Big Ten-best 15 points on five first-half threes at Michigan on Jan. 24.
• Clark owns 76 career double-figure scoring performances, including four as a Huskers. She has 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. Clark averaged 19.3 points per game and set the Missouri Valley Conference single-season record with 116 threes in 2013-14.

#11, Esther Ramacieri, 5-8, Jr., G, Repentigny, Quebec, Canada (0.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
• Esther Ramacieri has overcome multiple injuries to contribute for the Huskers in Big Ten play. She is coming off the best performance of her career with five points and six rebounds in Nebraska’s win over Northwestern on Feb. 28.
• The fourth Canadian to play for Nebraska under Coach Connie Yori, Ramacieri owns three career starts, including two this season, with the last coming in a home win over Rutgers on Jan. 16. She also started in place of Rachel Theriot at Penn State on Jan. 13. She had three assists and four rebounds in a career-high 23 minutes in the win over the Lady Lions.
• 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 NU’s games with NC State, Creighton, Evansville and No. 22 Cal after suffering a concussion outside of competition/practice. She missed the Big Ten opener against Iowa (Dec. 31) with an Achilles strain. She missed five games from Jan. 20 to Feb. 7 with illness, before returning to action at Minnesota (Feb. 11).

#12, Emily Wood, 5-5, So., G, Salina, Kan. (1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg)
• Emily Wood is making solid, consistent and reliable contributions as a sophomore, producing 27 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and two blocks in 116 minutes off the bench in 20 games. She played a career-high 25 minutes in Nebraska’s loss to Indiana Wednesday when she had three points, two rebounds, three assists and the first two blocked shots of her career. Wood 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 a career-high five assists 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.

#31, Anya Kalenta, 6-3, Sr., F, Minsk, Belarus (4.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
• Anya Kalenta had the best game of her career, tying her career high with 14 points while adding 11 rebounds for her first double-double in Nebraska’s win over Penn State (Feb. 2). She produced her fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season with 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench against Purdue (Feb. 21). Kalenta had several strong games in non-conference play this season, including seven points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over Northern Arizona (Dec. 19). She also had three blocks and 26 minutes. She had 11 points and six rebounds in 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).
• Kalenta made her first career start on Senior Day in a win over Northwestern on Feb. 28. She scored five points in six minutes. Over the last eight games, she is averaging 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
• One of just five Huskers to play in all 29 games this season, Kalenta appeared in just 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. 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.

#33, Rachel Theriot, 6-0, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, Ohio (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 7.3 apg)
• Rachel Theriot led the Big Ten and ranks third in NCAA Division I with 7.3 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. She underwent season-ending surgery on a recurring ankle injury on Feb. 29, 2016.
• 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 626 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 averaged 10.0 assists her last five games this season with an assist-to-turnover of 4.5-to-1. She owns 13 career 20-point efforts and 12 career double-digit assist games. She had eight career games with 12 or more assists, including three in her final five games.

#43, Rachel Blackburn, 6-3, Fr., F, Leavenworth, Kan. (4.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)
• A fiery workhorse as a freshman, Rachel Blackburn was a leader for the Big Red on the glass and on the defensive end in the first nine games this season as a starter before missing three straight games with illness. Blackburn was sidelined by illness against Northern Arizona (Dec. 19) and Arkansas State (Dec. 21), before missing the Big Ten opener against Iowa (Dec. 31) with both illness and a strained knee. She returned to the court in a reserve role at No. 14 Northwestern (Jan. 3), scoring four points and grabbing a pair of rebounds in 15 minutes. She played a major role in Nebraska’s win at Purdue (Jan. 20), producing five points, a career-high three blocks and a game-high eight rebounds in just 15 minutes. She added six points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in NU’s win at Michigan Jan. 24. She played limited minutes before aggravating an existing foot injury against Wisconsin (Jan. 27), and she did not play at Rutgers (Jan. 30), against Penn State (Feb. 2) or at Indiana (Feb. 7), before returning to the court in a reserve role at Minnesota (Feb. 11). She had four points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 10 minutes against the Gophers, before adding three points, two rebounds and two steals, including two of the game’s biggest plays in the final minute of an upset of No. 17 Michigan State (Feb. 14). She started in the loss to Indiana (Feb. 24), but played just 10 minutes before fouling out. She had her most productive performance in Big Ten play with eight points, five rebounds and a steal in a Big Ten-high 22 minutes off the bench in Nebraska’s win over Northwestern (Feb. 28).
• 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 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. 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 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 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. She 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.

#50, Darrien Washington, 6-2, RFr., F, Oakland, Calif. (2.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
• Darrien Washington has been limited by a nagging injury but has appeared in 10 games this season. She has been remarkably productive with 20 points and 19 rebounds in 39 total minutes this year.
• Washington had the best Big Ten effort of her career with five points, one rebound and her first career block in six minutes off the bench in Nebraska’s win over Penn State (Feb. 2). She 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 had three points and two rebounds in five minutes in her Big Ten debut at No. 8 Maryland on Jan. 7, and two points and two rebounds in two minutes at No. 5 Ohio State on Feb. 18.
• 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. She played on the Cal Stars Elite with current Husker sophomore guard Natalie Romeo.