Kiera Hardy

Hardy's Honors 

• Third-Round Pick of Connecticut Sun in 2007 WNBA Draft (No. 39 Overall Pick)
• Naismith Trophy Candidate (1 of 50, 2007)
• Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate (1 of 30, 2007)
• Kodak/WBCA Region 5 All-American (2007)
• Preseason Honorable-Mention All-American (Street & Smith's, 2006)
• Three-Time First-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, 2005, 2006, 2007)
• Nebraska Career Three-Point Leader (267 3FG)
• No. 6 on Nebraska Career Scoring List (1,930 Points)
• USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials Participant (2005)
• State Farm Classic Tournament MVP (2006)
• Tied Nebraska Single-Season (85) and Single-Game (7) Three-Point Records (2005)
• Sophomore Single-Season Record 609 Points (2005)
• Junior Single-Season Three-Point Record (81, 2006)
• Big 12 Conference Scoring Leader (20.9 points per game, conference only, 2005)
• Big 12 Player of the Week (Nov. 27, 2006; Feb. 20, 2006; Nov. 28, 2005; Jan. 17, 2005)
• Miami Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team (2005)
• Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team (2004)
• "Most Likely Player in Big 12 to Go Off for 40 Points" (Dallas Morning News, 2005)
• Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Jan. 26, 2004)
• Ranked Second on Nebraska's Freshman Single-Season Three-Point List (30 Made, 2003-04)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall, 2003)
• Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches All-Star Game Participant (2003)

Senior (2006-07)
One of the most prolific scorers and the best three-point shooter in Nebraska history, Kiera Hardy (pronounced kee-AIR-uh) closed her storied Husker career by leading the Huskers to the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2000. Along the way, she and fellow four-year senior Chelsea Aubry became the first Huskers in history to make four straight postseason tournament appearances.

A three-time first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection and a 2007 Kodak/WBCA All-Region 5 pick, Hardy rewrote the Nebraska three-point record book with 267 threes to rank sixth in Big 12 history at the end of her career. She also climbed to No. 6 on Nebraska's career scoring list with 1,930 points.

Hardy ranked second in the Big 12 Conference in three-pointers made per game as a senior, connecting on 2.22 triples per contest. She ranked sixth in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.1 points per game and 11th in the league with her 36.8 three-point field goal percentage. She also ranked 14th in the conference with 2.59 assists per game in 2006-07.

A consistent performer as a senior, Hardy produced double figures in each of her final 20 games as a senior. She scored in double figures 28 times as a senior, including seven games with 20 or more points. She capped her career with 23 points in NU's season-ending 64-61 loss to Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the third-highest scoring total by a Husker in NCAA Tournament history.

A constant in Nebraska's lineup, Hardy made 92 consecutive starts to close her career and led the Huskers in minutes played, scoring average (16.1 ppg) field goals made (177) and attempted (424), three-pointers made (71) and attempted (193), free throw percentage (.824) and  assists (83) as a senior.

Hardy scored a season-high 32 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and five steals in Nebraska's win at USC on Nov. 26. That effort followed a 23-point performance that included a season-high five three-pointers in a win at UC Irvine on Nov. 24. For her efforts she was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Nov. 27.

She added an MVP award while leading Nebraska to the State Farm Classic Tournament title in Gainesville, Fla., Dec. 28-29. In the Huskers' championship game win over Florida, Hardy erupted for 29 points, after scoring 16 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out five assists in NU's opening-round win over NC State on Dec. 28.

Days later, Hardy went off for 27 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists to carry the Huskers to their first-ever win at perennial Big 12 power Texas. She added 22 points and a season-high six rebounds to lead the Huskers past No. 25 Kansas State on Jan. 17.

Hardy helped the Huskers to one of the best seasons in school history in her final year at Nebraska. The Huskers finished with a 22-10 record and made their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. NU closed with a 10-6 Big 12 mark to earn a first-round bye in the league tournament for the first time since 1997-98.

Junior (2005-06)

Hardy became a more solid all-around backcourt player and decision-maker as a junior, while continuing to pour in points. She led Nebraska with 17.5 points per game, despite taking nearly two fewer shots per game than her breakout sophomore season and playing nearly three fewer minutes per game.

Hardy continued to rewrite the Nebraska record book as a junior, shattering the Huskers' career three-point record. She hit 81 threes on the season, the third-highest total in school history, to finish the year with 196 career three-pointers, well ahead of Nebraska's previous career mark of 155 set by current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge (1995-98).

Along with shooting a career-best 36.2 percent from three-point range on the season, Hardy dished out nearly 50 percent more assists than her sophomore season, while cutting her turnover total down by nearly one third.

She finished second on the team with 101 total assists, while committing just 66 turnovers, to rank among the Big 12 leaders with a 1.53-assist-to-turnover ratio.

Hardy dished out a career-high nine assists in a win over Colorado on Jan. 28, nearly doubling her previous career best entering the season. She added eight assists at Northwestern and a pair of six-assist efforts against Texas Southern and Minnesota.

She also grabbed a career-high 59 steals on the season, including a 10-game stretch during the non-conference season where she recorded multiple steals in every game.

Hardy scored a season-high 32 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field in a win over Northern Arizona on Dec. 31. She added a season-high five steals against the Lumberjacks.

She scored 20 or more points on 12 occasions, including a 29-point effort against Texas that included a season-high six three-pointers. She had 28 points and six rebounds against No. 22 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament on March 8, after closing the regular season with 28 points and five assists at Missouri on March 1.

She added 26 points at Texas Tech, before scoring 23 points, including the game-winning shot with two seconds left in overtime against Kansas State on Feb. 18.

Hardy struck for 26 points against No. 3 LSU on Nov. 25, on her way to Big 12 Player-of-the-Week and Miami Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament honors. She added 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field in the Huskers' win over Kansas on Jan. 7.

Sophomore (2004-05)
Hardy thrived during a breakout sophomore campaign, leading the Big 12 in conference play with 20.9 points per game on her way to first-team All-Big 12 honors.

She finished second overall in the league in scoring by averaging 19.0 points per game on the year, trailing only Big 12 Player-of-the-Year Kendra Wecker from Kansas State.

Hardy also became one of the Big 12’s most dangerous long-range threats. She finished second in the league with 85 three-pointers on the year, tying the Nebraska single-season record held by Amy Stephens. In her final game as a sophomore, Hardy also tied the school single-game record by burying 7-of-11 three-pointers against Iowa on March 21.

Hardy became just the eighth player and third sophomore in Nebraska history to earn first-team all-conference honors. She was just the third NU player to earn first-team All-Big 12 accolades.

She also set the Nebraska sophomore single-season scoring record by finishing the year with 609 points to smash two-time All-American Karen Jennings’ previous mark of 574 points in 1990-91.

Hardy’s 19.0 points per game ranked as the third-best scoring average by a sophomore at NU, trailing only Jennings’ 20.5 points in 1990-91, and Maurtice Ivy’s 19.7 points per game in 1985-86. Hardy joined Jennings and Ivy as the only sophomores in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors.

Nebraska’s sparkplug showed her explosiveness throughout the season and was chosen the Big 12’s "Most Likely Player to Go Off for 40 Points" by the Dallas Morning News.

In the Huskers’ 103-99 triple overtime victory over No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, Hardy exploded for a career-high 37 points to power the Huskers to their first-ever win over a top-five opponent.

Hardy played 52 minutes against the Bears, which ranks as the second-highest total in Big 12 history, trailing only teammate Jina Johansen’s 55 minutes in the marathon victory. Hardy knocked down six three-pointers against BU, which tied for the second-highest total in school history. She also set career bests by hitting 11-of-13 free throws.

Her 37 points against the eventual national champion Bears ranked as the second-highest total by a sophomore in school history, trailing only Crystal Coleman’s 41 points against Oklahoma State on Feb. 19, 1983. Overall, Hardy’s effort against BU tied for the seventh-highest output by an individual in school history.

Hardy’s performance against BU was her second 30-point scoring effort of the season, joining her 31 points in a win over Hampton in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on Nov. 27. Her eruption against the Lady Pirates earned her a spot on the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team.

She followed her performance against Baylor with 29 points and five three-pointers in a loss at No. 23 Kansas State on Jan. 15. Hardy earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors on Jan. 17, after averaging 33 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

She also scored 29 points in a loss at Creighton on Dec. 18, after opening the season with 28 points in NU’s first-round Preseason WNIT victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 12.

In the Huskers’ meeting with Oklahoma State on Feb. 1, Hardy hit six three-pointers on her way to 28 points. She also hit the first buzzer-beating, game-winning shot of her career to allow the Huskers to escape with a 73-71 win.

In Nebraska’s 11 games against top-25 opponents, Hardy averaged 18.3 points and hit nearly three three-pointers per game.

Hardy, showed her consistency as a sophomore by scoring in double figures in 28 of 32 games, including 15 games with 20 or more points.

2003-04 (Freshman)
Hardy made the greatest impact of Nebraska's newcomers by averaging 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and a team-leading 1.7 steals per game. She also tied for the team lead with 30 three-pointers, which ranked second on NU's freshman single-season list.

After showing her explosiveness off the bench in NU's first two games with nine points in a win over Wofford and 12 points in a victory over Princeton, Hardy continued to improve throughout the year.

Hardy played her best basketball in the postseason, averaging 19 points, six boards, three assists and two steals in NU's two games in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

She scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds against Oregon State in the season finale on March 22, after scoring 18 points, pulling down seven boards and dishing out a season-high four assists in a win over Drake on March 18.

A true game-changer, Hardy scored 18 of her 20 points against OSU in the second half, including nine straight points in a 13-2 NU run to turn a 50-42 deficit into a 55-52 Husker lead.

Hardy hit for a season-high 21 points against Missouri on Feb. 25, which included a 10-for-10 effort at the free throw line. She added 17 points in NU's win over the Tigers in Columbia on Jan. 14.

She earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors on Jan. 26, after producing 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in NU's win over No. 9 Kansas State.

Hardy scored in double figures in 11 of her 27 games on the season.

High School
Hardy revitalized O’Hara’s program, helping the team improve from a 4-21 record as a freshman to a 19-10 record and a trip to the Class 4A (largest) state quarterfinals as a senior. She scored 27 points in O'Hara's 72-71 overtime win over Center in the Class 4 District 14 championship game. For her postseason performances, Hardy was named the Kansas City Star Prep Athlete of the Week on March 7, 2003.

A three-time all-state selection and a four-time first-team all-conference pick, Hardy averaged 18 points, six assists, five steals and five rebounds per game during her career for Coach Mary Haggerty. Hardy scored nearly 2,000 points in her prep career.

Hardy scored a game-high 24 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left in the Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game held April 12, 2003, in Overland Park, Kan. Hardy helped the Missouri squad overcome an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat the Kansas All-Stars, 92-89.

Personal
The daughter of Karen Hardy, Kiera has an older brother, Cameron, and two sisters, La'Cletia and Kristen. Kiera was born on June 22, 1985, in Kansas City, Mo. Hardy chose Nebraska over UMKC and Wichita State.

Hardy majored in family and consumer science and earned her undergraduate degree in May of 2007.

Hardy was a third-round pick of the Connecticut Sun in the 2007 WNBA Draft. She played professionally for Haukar in Iceland before playing for Strakonice in the Czech Republic in 2009-10. She also played for the Kansas City Queenz in the WBCBL in 2010. She was an assistant coach at Texas-Pan American in 2012-13. She earned her master's degree from Grand Canyon University in 2019.

Hardy'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	27-0	88-227	.388	30-97	.309	41-49	.837	79-2.9	69-2	44	52	1	45	247-9.1
2004-05	32-31	226-560	.404	85-238	.357	72-89	.809	117-3.7	67-1	67	90	1	51	609-19.0
2005-06	32-32	201-509	.395	81-224	.362	77-98	.786	99-3.1	70-1	101	66	0	59	560-17.5
2006-07	32-32	177-424	.417	71-193	.368	89-108	.824	97-3.0	69-0	83	85	0	33	514-16.1
Career	123-95	692-1,720	.402	267-752	.355	279-344	.811	392-3.2	275-4	294	293	2	188	1,930-15.7