After a successful two-game Big Ten road swing, the No. 17 Nebraska women’s basketball team returns home to open a two-game conference home stand when the Huskers take on Penn State Thursday.
Tip-off between the Big Red (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) and the Lady Lions (3-13, 0-5 Big Ten) is set for 6 p.m. (central) at Pinnacle Bank Arena with live national television coverage by the Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and Stephanie White on the call.
Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call on stations across the network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM in Lexington. Free live audio also will be available on Huskers.com.
After opening Big Ten play with back-to-back losses to No. 23 Minnesota and No. 8 Maryland, the Huskers bounced back with a pair of comeback wins at Michigan State and Illinois last week. NU trailed by six with under four minutes left before rallying for a 71-67 win over the Spartans Thursday. Sunday at Illinois, the Huskers rallied from a six-point deficit with just over eight minutes left to post a 58-53 win.
Close games are nothing new for the Big Red. In fact, nine of Nebraska’s 15 games this season have been decided by single digits, including six games by five points or less.
All-American Rachel Theriot continues to lead the Nebraska backcourt. The 6-0 guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, is averaging 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. She is coming off a 27-point performance where she carried Nebraska to victory in the second half. Theriot scored 20 points in the second half, including 11 of NU’s final 15 points.
While Theriot leads the Husker backcourt, Emily Cady provides production and mental toughness for Nebraska in the post. Cady is averaging 13.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Tear’a Laudermill, Hailie Sample and Brandi Jeffery round out a solid and experienced starting five.
Penn State comes to Lincoln as the three-time defending Big Ten regular-season champion, but the Lady Lions have fallen on hard times with the loss of four starters from last year’s squad that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Lady Lions shared the conference title with Michigan State last season.
#17 Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 7.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 13.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 11.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 7.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 18.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Off the Bench
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 6.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 4.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.1 ppg, 0.6 rpg
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – High School
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
13th Season at NU (253-145); 25th Season Overall (448-285)
Penn State Lady Lions (3-13, 0-5 Big Ten)
12 – Lindsey Spann – 5-6 – RFr. – G – 16.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg
5 – Sierra Moore – 5-11 – So. – G – 11.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg
1 – Candice Agee – 6-6 – Jr. – C – 10.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
10 – Keke Sevillian – 5-7 – So. – G – 2.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg
44 – Tori Waldner – 6-5 – Sr. – F/C – 4.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Off the Bench
15 – Kaliyah Mitchell – 6-2 – So. – G/F – 7.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg
41 – Jenny DeGraaf – 6-1 – So. – G/F – 4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg
25 – Peyton Whitted – 6-3 – So. – F – 4.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg
11 – Alex Harris – 6-3 – So. – F – 3.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
14 – Dominique Brooks – 6-4 – Jr. – F – 1.2 ppg, 0.1 rpg
Head Coach: Coquese Washington (Notre Dame, 1992)
8th Season at PSU (145-94); 8th Season Overall (145-94)