Honors & Awards
- Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA Midseason National Player of the Year Midseason Watch List (1 of 28, 2017)
- Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30 (1 of 30, 2016)
- Second-Team All-Big Ten (2017)
- Preseason All-Big Ten (2017)
- First-Team All-Big Ten (2016)
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2016)
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2016)
- USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Dec. 22, 2015; Jan. 26)
- NCAA.com Starting Five (Dec. 23, 2015; Jan. 27, 2016)
- espnW National Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
- College Sports Madness National Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
- Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 21, 2015; Jan. 25, 2016)
- 10-Time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (conference record)
- (Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Dec. 7, Dec. 21, Dec. 28, 2015; Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, Feb. 8, Feb. 15, 2016)
- Nebraska Athletics Female Newcomer of the Year (All Sports, 2015-16)
- First 30 Point, 20-Rebound Game in Nebraska History (at Michigan Jan. 24, 2016 - 35 points, 20 rebounds)
- Nebraska Freshman Record 35 Points (vs. Northern Arizona, Dec. 19, 2015)
- Nebraska Freshman Double-Doubles Record (10, 2016)
- Nebraska Freshman Points Record (574, 2016)
- No. 2 on Nebraska Freshman Rebounds List (266, 2016)
- Nebraska Offensive Player of the Year (2016)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2015, 2016)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017)
- No. 1 High School Post Player in Nation (ESPN, 2014-15)
- No. 3 High School Player in Nation (ESPN, 2014-15)
- USA Basketball U18 National Team (2014)
- Naismith Trophy National High School Player-of-the-Year Candidate (2015)
- Parade High School All-American (First Team, 2015)
- Naismith High School All-American (Honorable Mention, 2015)
- Two-Time Nebraska Gatorade High School Player of the Year (2013, 2014)
- Four-Time First-Team Super-State (Lincoln Journal Star, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Four-Time First-Team All-Nebraska (Omaha World-Herald, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Four-Time First-Team Class A (LJS, OWH, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Nebraska Class A Single-Season Scoring Record (780 Points, 2014)
Sophomore (2016-17)
Jessica Shepard earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Shepard, who was named Nebraska's Offensive MVP at the end of the season, ranked 10th in the Big Ten in scoring and fourth in the conference in rebounding. Her 7.4 defensive boards per game ranked second in the Big Ten, while her 15 double-doubles on the year ranked third in the conference.
She completed her two-year Nebraska career with 1,112 points and 550 rebounds. Her two-year scoring total was the highest by a Husker in history in her freshman and sophomore seasons combined. Shepard also finished her two seasons with 25 double-doubles, which tied for the fifth-highest career total in school history.
The 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the first Husker in history to earn first-team all-conference honors as a freshman, Shepard was a preseason first-team All-Big Ten choice in 2016-17. She had one of her best efforts of the year with a season-high 32 points to go along with 11 rebounds in Nebraska's regular-season home finale against Michigan State (Feb. 26). Shepard's effort helped the Huskers to a 76-74 win over the Spartans when she played a career-high 42 minutes. She also tied her own school record with 20 free throw attempts against MSU, making 10 of the attempts.
Shepard closed her Husker career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the year in an opening-round loss to Illinois at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (March 1). She added 12 points, 11 boards and a season-high five assists in a loss to No. 25 Michigan (Feb. 23), to help her close the season with three straight double-doubles.
She had 28 points and 10 rebounds against No. 12 Ohio State (Feb. 16) after going for 28 points and 13 rebounds at Ohio State (Jan. 29). Shepard had 20 points and 12 rebounds at Penn State (Jan. 19), after going for 22 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Rutgers (Jan. 10). She had 15 points and 12 rebounds at Michigan State (Jan. 7). She opened Big Ten play with 17 points and 15 rebounds against Northwestern (Dec. 28). She had 28 points at Iowa (Dec. 31) and added 25 points and nine boards at Illinois (Jan. 15). Overall, she had eight regular-season double-doubles against Big Ten opponents.
Shepard had 22 points and 11 rebounds at Creighton (Dec. 18). It followed 28 points and 14 rebounds in a win over San Jose State (Dec. 9), and a 23-point and season-high 16-rebound effort against Drake (Dec. 6). She had 25 points and 14 boards at Virginia Tech (Dec. 1), and 24 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Colorado State (Nov. 17). She had 17 points and 15 boards in a win over UTRGV (Nov. 12).
Shepard, who started all 29 games for the Huskers as a sophomore, finished with 58 starts in 60 career games. She hit just 40.8 percent (206-505) of her field goal attempts in 2016-17, but did knock down 28-of-89 three-pointers (.315) after going just 0-for-2 from beyond the arc as a freshman.
Freshman (2015-16)
Shepard earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She led the Huskers with freshman school-record averages of 18.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, despite her numbers suffering in the postseason while playing limited minutes with a stress reaction in her foot.
Shepard still shattered the Nebraska freshman scoring record with 574 points, and finished second in school history among freshman with 266 rebounds. She also set an NU freshman record with 10 double-doubles.
Shepard claimed a conference record 10 Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards. She was the conference player of the week on Dec. 21 and Jan. 25. She was the espnW and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week, Jan. 25, and one of five NCAA.com “Starting Five” honorees (Dec. 23, Jan. 27). She added USBWA National Freshman-of-the-Week honors on Dec. 22 and Jan. 26.
Shepard produced one of the best efforts in school history with a freshman-record-tying 35 points and a career-high 20 rebounds at Michigan Jan. 24. It was the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in Nebraska history. She scored 20 or more points 16 times.
She scored a Nebraska freshman record 35 points and set a school record with 20 free throw attempts against Northern Arizona Dec. 19. She had 29 points and 19 rebounds against Illinois Jan. 10, and 29 points and 10 boards at Penn State Jan. 13. She had 28 points and eight rebounds in her Big Ten debut against Iowa Dec. 31. She had 26 points to help the Huskers knock off No. 17 Michigan State Feb. 14.
She opened her Husker career with 24 points and 13 rebounds against UAPB to become the first Husker to produce 20 points and 10 rebounds in an opener.
Overall, Shepard produced a pair of 30-point games, 16 20-point efforts and 25 double-figure scoring games in 31 contests with 29 starts as a freshman. She added 10 double-digit rebound games.
Shepard reached 100 points faster than any player in Husker history, achieving the mark with 10 points in her fifth game at No. 1 and eventual national champion UConn on Nov. 28, 2015.
She eclipsed the 200-point mark faster than any other Husker as well, reaching the mark in her 11th game when she scored 19 points in a win over Arkansas State on Dec. 21. Her effort against the
Red Wolves followed her 35-point performance against Northern Arizona.
Shepard reached the 300-point mark in her 16th career game after putting up 29 points in back-to-back wins over Illinois and at Penn State.
During a five-game Big Ten stretch, starting with the Illinois game on Jan. 10 and ending with her record-setting 35-point, 20-rebound performance at Michigan on Jan. 24, Shepard averaged 27.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game to help the Huskers reel off five consecutive wins.
After an eight-point, seven-rebound game in a win over Wisconsin on Jan. 27 to extend NU's winning streak to six games, Shepard produced a seven-game stretch averaging 21.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. That included 26 points and six boards in a win over No. 17 Michigan State on Feb. 14, and 20 points, eight rebounds in just 25 minutes in a setback at No. 5 Ohio State.
Through her first 13 games of Big Ten Conference play, Shepard averaged 24.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, before finishing league action at 19.5 points and 9.3 boards per contest.
Off the court, Shepard earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2015 and was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.
Before Nebraska
A Naismith Trophy High School National Player-of-the-Year candidate, Shepard played just nine games as a senior at Fremont High School before suffering a torn ACL at Lincoln North Star on Dec. 29, 2014. She was still chosen as a first-team Parade High School All-American.
Despite her short season, Shepard showed her prowess by averaging 33.0 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, including 132 points in four games at the Nike Tournament of Champions in December. She erupted for 36 points against national power Long Beach Poly.
For the season, she shot 71 percent from the field, including 41 percent from long range.
Despite missing most of her senior season, Shepard finished fourth in Nebraska high school history with 2,227 career points, which was the Class A (largest) all-time record. She also finished No. 15 in state history with 1,031 rebounds, just 16 shy of the Nebraska Class A career record.
A four-time first-team All-Nebraska and Super-State selection and a two-time Nebraska Gatorade High School Player of the Year (2013, 2014), Shepard's 780 points in 2014 and 664 points in 2013 are the two highest single-season totals by a Class A player in state history.
As a junior in 2013-14, Shepard averaged a Class A state record 30.4 points per game to go along with 15.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in leading Fremont to a 22-4 record and a state tournament berth for Coach Tony Weinandt. Her performances included four 40-point games, including a career-high 46.
Shepard averaged 24.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.8 steals per game as a sophomore to power Lincoln Southeast to the 2013 Class A state title.
As a freshman, Shepard earned her first-team Super-State and Class A honors by averaging 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds in leading Southeast to a state runner-up finish.
As a member of the USA Basketball U18 Team at the FIBA Americas Championship, Shepard averaged 12.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while helping the team to a 5-0 record and a gold medal in the summer of 2014. She hit 66.7 percent of her shots from the field in the tournament.
Shepard played her club basketball for the All Iowa Attack under Coach Dickson Jensen in 2013-14. She played her first season of high school volleyball for Fremont as a senior in 2014. Shepard carried nearly a 3.90 grade-point average and earned academic all-state and all-conference honors, as well as a spot in the National Honor Society.
Personal
The daughter of Mark and Kim Shepard, Jessica was born Sept. 11, 1996, in Fremont, Neb. She has one older brother, Clayton, and four sisters, Taylor, Samantha, Emma and Sarah. Jessica comes from a basketball family. Her older sister, Taylor, and older brother, Clayton, have been college basketball players at Midland University in Fremont.
Jessica was a marketing major at Nebraska. She earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2015 and 2016. She was also a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2016 and 2017.
Shepard's Career Statistics
|
Year |
G-GS |
FG-FGA |
Pct. |
3P-3PA |
Pct. |
FT-FTA |
Pct. |
TRB-Avg. |
PF-D |
A |
TO |
Blk |
ST |
Pts-Avg. |
|
2015-16 |
31-29 |
228-447 |
.510 |
0-2 |
.000 |
118-203 |
.581 |
266-8.6 |
65-1 |
59 |
111 |
20 |
19 |
574-18.5 |
|
2016-17 |
29-29 |
206-505 |
.408 |
28-89 |
.315 |
98-176 |
.557 |
284-9.8 |
75-3 |
54 |
102 |
7 |
15 |
538-18.6 |
|
Career |
60-58 |
434-952 |
.456 |
28-91 |
.308 |
216-379 |
.570 |
550-9.2 |
140-4 |
113 |
213 |
27 |
34 |
1112-18.6 |