The No. 21 Nebraska women’s basketball team returns to Big Ten road action this week beginning with a Wednesday night clash at surging Northwestern.
Tip-off between the Big Red (18-7, 8-6 Big Ten) and the Wildcats (19-6, 9-5 Big Ten) at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., is set for 7 p.m. (CT).
Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling the action on stations across the network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM in Lexington. Live premium video will be provided by BTN Plus.
The Huskers are coming off a 70-63 win over Wisconsin in front of a season-high crowd of 8,622 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon. Freshman guard Natalie Romeo led Nebraska with a career-high 21 points while matching a career high with four assists. Senior guard Tear’a Laudermill added 20 points and a career-high seven assists. Senior forwards Emily Cady and Hailie Sample combined for 17 points and 17 rebounds to help the Huskers.
While Nebraska got back on the winning track after dropping three straight games to top-25 teams, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to five straight games with a 63-62 win at Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Each of the last four games for Northwestern have been possession games, including a 73-65 overtime win at Purdue, a 64-58 home win over Illinois and a 75-69 victory at Indiana. In fact, eight of the Wildcats’ last nine games have been decided by single digits, including a one-point win at Illinois, a three-point loss against Iowa and a one-point loss at Penn State.
Like Northwestern, Nebraska is no stranger to close games. In fact, only three of Nebraska’s 11 road games this season have been decided by more than six points, including a 21-point win at Washington State (Nov. 19), a 17-point win at Wisconsin (Jan. 22) and a 12-point loss at No. 5 Maryland (Feb. 8).
The last three meetings between Nebraska and Northwestern have been decided by five points or less, including a 63-59 Husker loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 26, 2014, and a 66-65 Nebraska win in Lincoln on Jan. 2, 2014. The Big Red also beat Northwestern, 55-50, in Evanston on Feb. 7, 2013.
#21 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-7, 8-6 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 7.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 12.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 13.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 7.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
or 5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 6.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg
or 22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 4.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg
or 30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 2.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Off the Bench
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 4.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.8 ppg, 0.2 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.1 ppg, 0.5 rpg
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – Redshirting
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
13th Season at NU (259-149); 25th Season Overall (454-289)
Northwestern Wildcats (19-6, 9-5 Big Ten)
10 – Nia Coffey – 6-1 – So. – F – 15.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg
5 – Alex Cohen – 6-5 – Sr. – C – 9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
3 – Ashley Deary – 5-4 – So. – G – 9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg
25 – Maggie Lyon – 6-1 – Jr. – G – 14.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
42 – Karly Roser – 5-10 – Sr. – G – 4.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Off the Bench
22 – Christen Inman – 5-10 – So. – G – 11.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
11 – Lauren Douglas – 6-2 – Jr. – F – 10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg
12 – Lydia Rohde – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 0.9 ppg, 0.2 rpg
30 – Allie Tuttle – 6-4 – So. – F/C – 1.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg
13 – Nof Kedem – 5-6 – Jr. – G – 0.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Head Coach: Joe McKeown (Kent State, 1979)
7th Season at NU (107-107); 29th Season Overall (616-281)