Makenzie Helms Season 2020-21

Honors & Awards

• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Spring 2020)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2020)
• Gatorade Connecticut High School Player of the Year (2019)
• USA Today First-Team All-Connecticut (2018, 2019)
• No. 27 Point Guard in the Nation (ESPN, 2019)
• Southern Connecticut Conference Player of the Year (2019)

Feature Story - Huskers. Together. (Makenzie Helms, 2020)

Sophomore (2020-21)
Makenzie Helms played in Nebraska's first two games of COVID-delayed 2020-21 season before transferring. She scored a career-high 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench in a win over Oral Roberts (Dec. 4). She also had two rebounds and two assists against the Golden Eagles. Two days later, she added two rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes in a win over Idaho State (Dec. 6).

Freshman (2019-20)
Makenzie Helms saw increased action in 2020 Big Ten play, competing in seven conference contests and the Big Ten Tournament. She played in each of NU’s final seven games, while competing in 13 games overall on the season.

The 5-8 guard from East Haven, Conn., notched season highs with three points against Indiana (Feb. 9) and Penn State (Feb. 13) and three assists against Indiana and Northwestern (Feb. 16).

Helms made her greatest impact against the Hoosiers. After Nebraska fell behind 36-11, Helms entered in the second quarter and sparked a 10-0 Husker run. She converted the first three-point play of her career and dished out three assists in just seven total minutes. Nebraska rallied to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter before losing in the closing seconds to the Hoosiers.

She made her collegiate debut by dishing out an assist in three minutes of action off the bench in Nebraska’s season-opening win over Alabama A&M (Nov. 6). Helms returned to action to play eight minutes, getting the first points (2) and rebounds (2) of her career in a win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 30) at the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas.

Helms was limited during the summer and early in the season after undergoing multiple surgeries to alleviate pain in her legs caused by compartment syndrome.

Before Nebraska
Helms captured Gatorade Connecticut High School Player-of-the-Year honors by averaging 26.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 4.3 steals while leading the East Haven Yellowjackets to the Southern Connecticut Conference title.

Helms, who was the conference player of the year, led East Haven to a 20-5 overall record and a spot in the Connecticut Class L state quarterfinals.

She was the first commitment to Nebraska’s 2018-19 class, making her intentions known in January of 2018. Her commitment followed a junior season in 2017-18 in which Helms averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 4.0 steals per game. East Haven finished No. 3 in the state of Connecticut with a 25-3 record in 2017-18. Helms earned first-team all-state honors and was a USA Today first-team All-Connecticut selection. 

As a sophomore, Helms averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals at the Loomis Chaffee School. She earned All-New England accolades as both a freshman and sophomore.

She played her summer basketball for New Heights NYC for Coach Rock Rosa, averaging 20 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals per contest. ESPN ranked her as the No. 27 point guard in the class of 2019.

Personal
The daughter of Lance and Jocelyn Helms, Makenzie has two older sisters, Cynthia and Cassie, and a younger brother, Logan.

Helms is majoring in political science and earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2020. She was also a member of the 2020 Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. Helms chose Nebraska over Syracuse, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kentucky, Yale, Penn, Rutgers and Georgia Tech.

Makenzie Helms' Career Bests
Points - 10 vs. Oral Roberts, Dec. 4, 2020
Rebounds - 2 Three Times, most recent vs. Idaho State, Dec. 6, 2020
Assists - 3 vs. Northwestern, Feb. 16, 2020; vs. Indiana, Feb. 9, 2020 
Steals - 1 vs. Ohio State, Feb. 19, 2020
Blocks - None
FGM - 3 vs. Oral Roberts, Dec. 4, 2020
FGA - 4 vs. Oral Roberts, Dec. 4, 2020
3FGM - None 
3FGA - 1 Three Times, most recent vs. Idaho State, Dec. 6, 2020
FTM - 4 vs. Oral Roberts, Dec. 4, 2020
FTA - 4 vs. Oral Roberts, Dec. 4, 2020

Helms' Career Statistics

Year	G-GS	FG-FGA	Pct.	3FG-FGA	Pct.	FT-FTA	Pct.	TRB-Avg.	PF-D	A	TO	Blk	ST	Pts-Avg.
2019-20	13-0	4-10	.400	0-2	.000	2-2	1.000	6-0.5	10-0	8	9	0	1	10-0.8
2020-21	2-0	3-6	.500	0-1	.000	4-4	1.000	4-2.0	6-0	3	4	0	0	10-5.0
Career	15-0	7-16	.438	0-3	.000	6-6	1.000	10-0.7	16-0	11	13	0	1	20-1.3