Jessica Gerhart

Gerhart's Honors 

• First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2005, 2006)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall, 2003, 2004, 2005; Spring 2005)
• Adidas Top-10 All-American Camp
• Street & Smith's Midwest Honorable-Mention All-American
• Three-Time All-State Selection (Iowa Girls Coaches Association, Des Moines Register)
• Academic All-State
• Sentral High School Career Scoring Leader
• Sentral High School Valedictorian
• Four-Time First-Team All-Conference

 

The Personal Side
Full name: Jessica Lynne Gerhart
Major: Nutrition & Dietetics 
GPA: 3.5
Family:
Parents, Wayne and Debra Gerhart
Sister, Kelsey, 11
Brothers, Travis, 24, Shane, 16
Hometown: Fenton, Iowa
High School: Sentral
Date of Birth: May 18, 1985
Place of Birth: Emmetsburg, Iowa

Junior (2005-06)
Jessica Gerhart (pronounced GAIR-hart) provided Nebraska with a solid No. 3 scoring option behind Kiera Hardy and Kelsey Griffin as a junior in 2005-06. Gerhart finished third on the team in scoring with 9.1 points per game, while adding 3.4 rebounds per contest.

A two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection, Gerhart is on track to graduate in May in just three years and is not expected to return for her senior season, as she plans to enter chiropractic school to pursue her chosen career path.

Gerhart produced 15 double-figure scoring efforts on the season. Seven of those came in Big 12 play, including a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field in NU's 70-54 victory over Colorado on Jan. 28.

She was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and scored 16 points in just 15 minutes of action in Nebraska's Senior Night victory over Oklahoma State at the Devaney Center on Feb. 21.

Gerhart closed the regular season with 15 points in a win at Missouri on March 1, after opening NU's three-game winning streak from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21 by going 6-of-9 from the field for 14 points at Kansas.

Gerhart scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Huskers' win over Creighton on Nov. 21, before adding 12 points and five boards in NU's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27.

She produced double figures in five consecutive games from Dec. 7 through Dec. 29 to help fuel the Huskers' eight-game winning streak. She scored 10 points in NU's win over Kansas on Jan. 7, before pitching in 12 points and five rebounds at Iowa State on Jan. 14.

Along with providing a solid scoring option for the Huskers while starting all 32 games on the season, Gerhart set a career-best with 14 assists on the year. She also nabbed a career-high 22 steals, far surpassing the 16 career steals she had in her two previous seasons at Nebraska.

Sophomore (2004-05)
Gerhart provided a potent offensive option inside for the Huskers through her first 18 games as a sophomore, before being sidelined with an appendectomy on Feb. 1.

The sophomore from Fenton, Iowa, started each of NU’s first 18 contests and was averaging 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, before missing games against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. She returned to the court in a limited role over Nebraska’s final 11 contests.

Her best late-season performance came with 10 points off the bench against Missouri on Feb. 26.

Gerhart’s averages dipped down the stretch and she finished the season averaging 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on the year.

Although she struggled through an up-and-down season, Gerhart remained strong in the classroom, capturing first-team academic All-Big 12 honors for the first time in her career.

After posting her first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Huskers’ 81-74 win at Missouri on Jan. 8, Gerhart was averaging 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

However, following the Huskers’ win at Mizzou, Gerhart slipped into a shooting slump and hit just 6-of-34 field goal attempts (17.6 percent) over her next five games before having her appendix removed.

Before the slump, Gerhart was one of NU’s top shooters, hitting 49.4 percent of her shots from the field. She finished the season at 41.4 percent. In Big 12 Conference action, she averaged just 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in just 14.5 minutes per game.

Despite her late-season setbacks, Gerhart’s 128 total rebounds more than doubled the 52 boards she grabbed as a freshman when she appeared in all 30 games for the Huskers. Her 235 points also more than doubled the 91 points she produced as a freshman.

She produced 11 double-figure scoring efforts as a sophomore, including a career-high 20 points in Nebraska’s win over Northern Colorado on Nov. 19. Gerhart followed that performance by scoring 19 points in a win over Washington State on Nov. 22.

She scored 16 points in the Huskers’ Big 12-opening victory over Colorado on Jan. 5.

Gerhart opened the season with a then-career high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds in NU’s first-round Preseason WNIT victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 12. She hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to seal the win over the Westerwinds.

In the second round of the Preseason WNIT, Gerhart knocked down the first three three-pointers of her career to finish with 13 points in a loss at No. 10 Notre Dame on Nov. 14.

Gerhart led the Huskers with 16 points in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20, while adding 13 points in the Huskers’ rout of Memphis to close non-conference play on Dec. 30.

A solid rebounder, Gerhart set her career high with 11 boards in a win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1, before matching that total against Missouri on Jan. 8.

2003-04 (Freshman)
Gerhart provided Nebraska with an offensive spark inside off the bench in her first season, playing in all 30 games. She averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, while ranking as NU's top shooter from the field by hitting 56.3 percent of her attempts.

In Nebraska's win over Iowa State on Jan. 14, Gerhart scored eight points in just nine minutes on 4-of-5 shooting from the field to help the Huskers gain control of the game in the second half.

Gerhart had a similar effort in the Huskers' come-from-behind victory at Rice. She tied her career high with 10 points, all in the first half, to help the Huskers trim a nine-point deficit to just one point at the half against the Owls. She scored eight straight points for NU to spark the offense, finishing the game by hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field.

She nearly notched a double-double in her debut by scoring nine points and pulling down eight rebounds in the Huskers' win over Wofford.

Gerhart got even closer to her first career double-double with a season-high 10 points and nine boards against Mississippi.

Gerhart provided one of the top shooting seasons by a freshman in school history, trailing only Charlie Rogers' 58.2 percent (78-134) in 1996-97 among freshmen at Nebraska.

High School
Gerhart earned first-team all-state honors as a senior at Sentral Community High School by averaging 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.2 blocked shots per game. She closed her career as Sentral's career scoring leader.

She helped Sentral and Coach Merle Tigges to the regional finals. A four-year starter, Gerhart helped Sentral to an 82-12 four-year record.

As a junior, Gerhart averaged 23 points and 11.2 rebounds, while hitting 64 percent of her field goals and 72 percent of her free throws. Sentral finished 25-1 and lost only to state champion Rock Valley.

A three-time all-state selection by both the Iowa Girls Coaches Association and the Des Moines Register, Gerhart holds several school records, including most points and most rebounds in a season. She also earned Street & Smith’s Midwest Honorable-Mention All-America honors. She added all-conference accolades on four occasions.

She also attended the adidas Top 10 Summer Camp, and played club basketball with the Iowa Knights and Iowa Elite teams that participated in three AAU national tournaments.

A talented all-around athlete, Gerhart also earned four letters in volleyball, three letters in softball, two letters in track and field and four letters in golf.

Gerhart was also an outstanding student, earning class valedictorian honors. She claimed a spot on the "A" Honor Roll, while helping with numerous community service projects and volunteer efforts. She was also an active member in 4-H.

Personal
The daughter of Wayne and Debra Gerhart, Jessica has one younger sister, Kelsey, 11, and two brothers, Travis, 24, and Shane, 16. Jessica was born on May 18, 1985, in Emmetsburg, Iowa. A nutrition and dietetics major, Gerhart carries a 3.432 grade-point average.

Gerhart is a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Gerhart chose Nebraska over Northern Iowa, Bradley and Minnesota State-Mankato.

Gerhart'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.

2003-04

30-0

40-71

.563

0-0

.000

11-16

.688

52-1.7

21-0

4

13

0

6

91-3.0

2004-05 30-18 98-237 .414 14-46 .304 25-32 .781 128-4.3 44-2 12 29 11 10 235-7.82005-06 32-32 134-290 .462 3-17 .176 21-25 .840 108-3.4 57-0 14 37 5 22 292-9.1

Career

92-50

272-598

.455

17-63

.270

57-73

.781

288-3.1

122-2

30

79

16

38

618-6.7