The Nebraska women’s basketball team hits the road for the second time this season, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday to take on No. 18 North Carolina in a top-20 battle in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Tip-off between the No. 15 Huskers (6-1) and the No. 18 Tar Heels (6-2) is set for 5 p.m. (CT), with live video coverage on ESPN3.com with Dean Linke and Bobby Hundley on the call.
The game can be heard live on the Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and The Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha. Free live audio is available on Huskers.com.
Nebraska slipped to 6-1 on the season with a 76-72 loss to Washington State in Lincoln on Saturday. The setback snapped the Huskers’ 10-game winning streak against Pac-12 Conference foes. NU owns wins over UCLA and Utah this season. North Carolina, which also owns a win over UCLA (78-68) this year, also suffered a loss to an unranked Pac-12 foe over the weekend. The Tar Heels dropped a 94-81 overtime decision to Arizona State in their second game of the Cancun Challenge on Friday, Nov. 29.
The game between the Huskers and Tar Heels will showcase two of the nation’s most explosive front lines. Nebraska’s starting forwards of Jordan Hooper, Emily Cady and Hailie Sample will make their 75th straight starts together. The experienced trio has powered Nebraska to back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips, including the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16. They enter the game averaging 40.9 points and 26.3 rebounds.
North Carolina’s starting trio of Diamond DeShields, Stephanie Mavunga and Xylina McDaniel are just as potent, but not as experienced. DeShields, a 6-1 freshman guard, is averaging 16.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Mavunga, a 6-3 freshman forward, has averaged 14.8 points and 10.5 boards per game, while McDaniel, a 6-2 sophomore forward, has contributed 10.5 points and 5.8 boards per game. McDaniel, the daughter of former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, DeShields, the daughter of former Major Leaguer Delino DeShields, and Mavunga have combined for 40.8 points and 21.4 boards per game.