The Nebraska women's basketball team will work to get back on the winning track when the Huskers play host to Penn State on Thursday night in Lincoln. Tip-off between the Huskers (15-9, 5-8 Big Ten) and the Lady Lions (7-17, 1-12 Big Ten) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Live radio coverage of Thursday's game can be heard on B107.3 FM and 1400 AM KLIN in Lincoln and ESPN 590 AM in Omaha beginning at 6:45 p.m. (CT). Stations across the state will also carry the broadcast on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network. Free live audio can be found at Huskers.com, the Huskers App and on TuneIn.
Live television coverage will be available statewide on NET with Brenda VanLengen and former Husker head coach Angela Beck on the call. The live video stream for BTN+ subscribers will include the NET production.
Nebraska will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak after a 57-53 loss to No. 18 Indiana on Sunday. The Huskers rallied from a 25-point first-half deficit to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter against the Hoosiers, before falling in the closing seconds. It marked the second time in Nebraska's last three home games that they rallied from 20-point deficits (also Purdue, Jan. 22) to tie the game or take the lead in the fourth quarter before falling.
Kate Cain continues to rewrite the Nebraska record book for blocked shots. The 6-5 center from Middletown, N.Y., has smashed the Husker career mark with 259 blocks in 86 games. The previous record, which stood for 38 years, was 238 blocks in 136 games by Janet Smith (1979-82).
Cain had five blocks in the second half against Indiana to push her Nebraska junior season record total to 80 - the second-best season total in school history, trailing only her 100 blocks as a freshman in 2017-18. Cain, who leads the Big Ten with 3.3 blocks per game, is averaging 4.7 blocks over the past seven games. Her 80 total blocks rank third nationally this season.
• Sophomore Leigha Brown continues to be a leading contender for Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year. Brown leads the Huskers with 13.5 points per game - the top scoring average of any non-starter in the Big Ten.
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Penn State Lady Lions
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, 7 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) - Lincoln, Nebraska
Tickets: Huskers.com
Live TV: NET (Brenda VanLengen, Angela Beck)
Live Video: BTN+
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (6:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln - B107.3 FM, 1400 AM KLIN; Omaha - ESPN 590 AM
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn
Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-9, 5-8 Big Ten)
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - So. - F - 7.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 9.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 9.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - So. - G - 10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - So. - F - 13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg
2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 1.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg
11 - Kristian Hudson - 5-5 - RSr. - G - 1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg
1 - Makenzie Helms - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.7 ppg, 0.4 rpg
Out for Season
33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 8.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Fourth Season at Nebraska (57-58); 13th Season Overall (250-167)
Penn State Lady Lions (7-17, 1-12 Big Ten)
11 - Anna Camden - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 4.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg
33 - Lauren Ebo - 6-4 - So. - F - 6.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg
4 - Siyeh Frazier - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg
5 - Kamaria McDaniel - 5-10 - Jr. - G - 19.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg
20 - Makenna Marisa - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Off the Bench
1 - Alisia Smith - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 6.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg
23 - Shay Hagans - 5-6 - Fr. - G - 5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg
2 - Jayla James - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 0.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg
10 - Mya Bembry - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 1.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
43 - Bexley Wallace - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
12 - Kayleigh Semion - 5-6 - Gr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Head Coach: Carolyn Kieger (Marquette, 2006)
First Season at Penn State (7-17); Sixth Season Overall (106-81)
Scouting the Penn State Lady Lions
• Penn State comes to Lincoln with a 7-17 overall record in Coach Carolyn Kieger's first season leading the Lady Lions after replacing 12-year PSU head coach Coquese Washington.
• Last season, Penn State finished 12-18 overall and 5-13 in the Big Ten. Kieger led Marquette to a 27-8 record and a trip to the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
• Penn State is trying to snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to an 86-73 win over Michigan State in State College on Jan. 9. Most recently, the Lady Lions suffered a 70-66 loss to Illinois at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday.
• While Penn State has found wins difficult to come by, the Lady Lions feature several explosive guards, led by Kamaria McDaniel. The 5-10 junior leads the Big Ten in scoring this season with 19.9 points per game. She also leads Penn State with 3.0 assists per contest, while adding 3.9 rebounds.
• Senior guard Siyeh Frazier has added 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a team-leading 2.3 steals per game, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Frazier is Penn State's top three-point shooter by percentage (.383), while McDaniel leads the Lady Lions with 36 threes on the season.
• Makenna Marisa, a 5-11 freshman, rounds out Penn State's starting backcourt. Marisa is averaging 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds while ranking second on the team with 2.5 assists per game. Marisa has hit 28 threes, and ranks second on the team with 35 steals on the year.
• Alisia Smith, a 6-3 junior forward from Lansing, Mich., has been Penn State's most productive player inside. Smith is averaging 6.7 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds. Smith has started 15 games on the year including six in the Big Ten, but has recently given way to freshman Anna Camden in the starting five. Camden, a 6-3 forward, is averaging 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.
• Lauren Ebo, a 6-4 sophomore forward, is contributing 6.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. Neither Smith nor Ebo have hit a three-point shot this season. Camden provides a much different look than Smith or Ebo because of her 36.4 percent success from long range. Camden is tied with Makenna Marisa for second on the team with 28 threes this season.
• Shay Hagans, a 5-6 freshman guard, has been a major contributor off the bench with 5.0 points and 2.7 assists while playing in all 24 games with nine starts.
• Freshman guard Mya Bembry has also played in all 24 games with two starts, averaging 1.8 points and 2.7 rebounds on the year. Hagans (9-40) and Bembry (1-15) are a combined 10-for-55 from three-point range.
• Bexley Wallace, a 6-3 sophomore forward, provides added depth inside for the Lady Lions. She has managed 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds. She has not played since making her only start of the year in a loss to Northwestern (Feb. 2).
• As a team, Penn State is shooting just 39.6 percent from the field for the season, including 31 percent from three-point range while averaging 5.0 made threes per game. PSU is a solid 73.1 percent at the free throw line, including 74.9 percent in Big Ten play. The Lady Lions own a plus-0.4 rebound margin on the year, but a minus-3.5 deficit on the glass in Big Ten play. Penn State also carries a negative-3.0 turnover margin on the year, including minus-3.9 in Big Ten action.
Nebraska vs. Penn State Series History
• Nebraska leads the all-time series with Penn State, 7-6, including six wins in the last seven meetings with the Lady Lions.
• Nebraska owns a 4-2 edge against Penn State in Lincoln, including four consecutive wins at Pinnacle Bank Arena by the Huskers. NU won the last meeting with the Lady Lions in Lincoln, 59-51, on Feb. 22, 2018.
• Nebraska is 3-3 all-time at Penn State with its last victory at the Bryce Jordan Center coming in a 79-74 win on March 2, 2019.
• The Huskers' first-ever Big Ten win came at Penn State on Dec. 30, 2011 (71-63).
• Penn State defeated Nebraska 82-67 in the Huskers' final regular-season conference home game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on March 3, 2013. In that game, Big Ten Player-of-the-Year Maggie Lucas hit a Devaney Center-record eight three-pointers against the Huskers. Penn State clinched the Big Ten regular-season title with the win. That Nebraska team advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
• Penn State won the first meeting between the two teams 102-66 in State College on Jan. 2, 1993.
• Penn State is 1-0 against Nebraska on neutral courts, including an 83-64 win over the Huskers in the Surf-N-Slam championship game in San Diego on Dec. 30, 2002.
Nebraska Streaks
• Kate Cain owns Nebraska's longest streak of consecutive starts (85).
• Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska's second-longest streak of starts (80).
• Nicea Eliely and Leigha Brown are the only Huskers to score points in each of Nebraska's first 24 games this season.
• Kate Cain and Isabelle Bourne are the only Huskers to record at least one rebound for Nebraska in all 24 games this season.
• Eliely was the only Husker to score in all 30 games last season, and the only Husker to score in all of Nebraska's games against Big Ten Conference foes. She has scored in 58 consecutive games overall. She did not score in a win over Penn State on Feb. 22, 2018, the only time in the past three seasons (including 2019-20, 78 games) that Eliely was shut out.
• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 366 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 245 consecutive games.
Numbers to Watch
(1) Kristian Hudson needs one assist to reach 400 in her career (383 at FIU).
(8) Hannah Whitish is eight points away from 1,200 in her career.
(9) Kate Cain needs nine blocks to match the career total of her mother, Alison (Martinsky) Cain, during her career at Fairfield. Alison finished with 1,071 points, 768 rebounds and 268 blocks (No. 2 in Fairfield history).
(15) Kate Cain needs 15 blocks to crack the top 10 list in Big Ten Conference history.
(20) Kate Cain is 20 blocks away from her own Nebraska single-season block record (100) set as a freshman in 2017-18. Cain owns the top three season block totals in school history.
Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska is No. 44 in the Massey Ratings (Feb. 11), with 11 Big Ten teams in the top 70: Maryland (4), Northwestern (10), Indiana (14), Iowa (16), Michigan (27), Ohio State (34), Rutgers (35), Purdue (37), Nebraska (44), Minnesota (46) and Michigan State (68).
• In the official NCAA RPI (Feb. 11), 11 Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 100: Maryland (3), Iowa (7), Indiana (15), Northwestern (16), Ohio State (27), Michigan (32), Purdue (40), Rutgers (47), Minnesota (57), Nebraska (74), Michigan State (96).
• Through 24 games, Nebraska is allowing an average of 65.1 points per game, after allowing 70.1 points per game last season. NU's 2018 NCAA Tournament team allowed 63.6.
• Opponents are shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 31 percent from three-point range against NU. Last year, Husker foes hit 41.1 percent, including 33.4 percent from three. In 2017-18, Nebraska led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.371) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.299).
• Nebraska has held eight opponents to 55 points or less this season. Last year, NU held only two foes (Radford-39, Kansas-52) to 55 or less. NU held 11 opponents to 55 or less in 2017-18.
• NU's bench has outscored opponent reserves in 20 of 24 games in 2019-20. The Husker bench has outscored opposing benches in 48 of the last 54 games, including double-digit edges 35 times.
• This season, NU's bench has outscored opposing benches 612-370 (25.6-15.4 ppg).
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 19 times in the last three seasons (86 games), including four times in the last 15 contests. Through the first 20 seasons with the three-point shot in women's basketball (1988-2007), Nebraska hit 10 threes in a game just six times (311 games).
