The No. 16 Nebraska women’s basketball team closes its two-game exhibition schedule by welcoming the NCAA Division II No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears to Pinnacle Bank Arena, Sunday at 2 p.m.

The game will be the first meeting between the Huskers and Golden Bears and will feature free live audio from the Husker Sports Network on Huskers.com. No TV or live video will be available.

Tickets for Sunday’s game can be purchased in advance by visiting Huskers.com or by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Tickets also will be available at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office before the game. Reserved seats are just $10, while adult general admission tickets are just $5. Youth and seniors receive discounted rates, while UNL students with ID are admitted free.

Sunday’s matchup between Nebraska and Concordia-St. Paul should offer another one of NCAA Division II’s best teams. The Golden Bears were ranked No. 10 nationally in both the WBCA Preseason Top 25 and the Women’s Division II Bulletin Top 25. The Golden Bears finished with a 28-9 overall record, while advancing to the 2014 NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Concordia-St. Paul has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament 10 times in the past 12 years. Last season, the Bears beat Wayne State twice during the regular season, including a 69-50 win on Jan. 17.

The Huskers, who are coming off an 84-43 exhibition-opening win over Division II No. 6 Wayne State last Sunday, return four All-Big Ten starters who led the Big Red to a 26-7 record, a Big Ten Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament second round. Honorable-mention AP All-American and first-team All-Big Ten point guard Rachel Theriot rejoins seniors Emily Cady (second-team All-Big Ten), Tear’a Laudermill (second-team All-Big Ten) and Hailie Sample (Big Ten All-Defensive) in 2014-15.

Theriot, a 6-0 junior from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, claimed preseason first-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 assists per game as a sophomore. She averaged 18.7 points and a tournament-record 10.0 assists on her way to 2014 Big Ten Tournament MVP honors.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (26-7, 12-4 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 6.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 12.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – JUCO
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 14.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 11.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Off the Bench
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 3.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 3.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg
2 – Kaylee Page – 6-2 – Fr. – F – High School
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – High School
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – High School
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – High School
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – High School
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986) 
13th Season at NU (241-142); 25th Season Overall (436-282)

Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (28-9, 16-6 NSIC)
25 – Kionda Nicks – 6-2 – Jr. – F – 5.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg
40 – Anika Whiting – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 17.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg
2 – Ameshia Kearney – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 12.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
20 – Mishayla Jones – 5-6 – So. – G – 1.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg
12 – Voneisha Harris – 5-10 – Sr. – G – 1.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg
or 30 – Lauren Shifflett 5-8 – RFr. – G – 2.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Off the Bench
34 – Amanda Barton – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 6.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
22 – Asha Knight – 5-11 – Sr. – F – 1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg
32 – Tierra Bender – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 1.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
23 – Jordyn Dudley – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 0.6 ppg, 0.3 rpg
42 – Caitlyn Russell – 6-3 – So. – C – Evansville
10 – Kayla Miller – 5-10 – Fr. – G – High School
40 – Kyrah Fredenburg – 5-11 – Fr. – G – High School
Head Coach: Paul Fessler (Northern Iowa, 1988)
15th Season at CSP (306-128); 19th Season Overall (407-146)

Big Red Begins Season at No. 16 in AP, Coaches Polls
The Huskers open the 2014-15 season at No. 16 in both the Associated Press Preseason Poll and the USA Today Coaches Preseason Top 25. Nebraska closed the 2013-14 campaign at No. 13 in the AP rankings, which did not include NCAA Tournament results.

NU, which went 26-7 last season and 12-4 in the Big Ten before winning its first Big Ten Tournament title, ended the season at No. 17 in the final USA Today Coaches Top 25. Both Nebraska’s final AP and Coaches Top 25 rankings were the second-best year-end rankings in school history. The Huskers have finished the season in the AP Top 25 four times in the past five years.

The Huskers finished No. 19 in the official NCAA RPI, which was its third-best RPI finish in history – all in the last five seasons.

Before Nebraska Coach Connie Yori came to Nebraska for the 2002-03 season, the Huskers had never finished a season ranked in the top 25 in either of the major polls or the RPI.

Nebraska Opened Basketball Season with Big Red Tip-Off
The Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball programs hit the floor for the first time together on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Big Red Tip-Off at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The fun family-friendly event included 15-minute scrimmages by both the men’s and women’s teams and a head-to-head three-point contest between the two programs.

Nebraska women’s basketball Coach Connie Yori and men’s basketball Coach Tim Miles both addressed the thousands of fans who filled the arena for the free event.

The two teams wrapped up the night with an autograph session at the arena.

Husker Season Ticket Sales Reach Another All-Time High
Nebraska’s second season inside the spectacular Pinnacle Bank Arena promises to be packed with action from start to finish, and Husker women’s basketball fans are showing that they want to see it all in person this season.

Heading into their final exhibition game with Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday, Nov. 9, Nebraska had sold a school-record 3,904 season tickets for the 2014-15 campaign.

In their first season at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14, Nebraska shattered its previous season ticket sales record with more than 3,700. The previous record came in 2010-11, when NU sold approximately 2,700 season tickets.

Last season, Nebraska ranked No. 11 nationally with an average home attendance of 6,161 fans per game. The Huskers ranked No. 8 nationally in total attendance with 110,892 fans flocking to the arena to watch the Big Red roll to a 16-2 home record.

Theriot Claims Preseason All-Big Ten Honors
Nebraska junior Rachel Theriot captured preseason first-team All-Big Ten team announced at Big Ten Conference Women’s Basketball Media Day on Thursday, Oct. 16.

Theriot, a 6-0 point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, joined senior point guards Rachel Banham (Minnesota) and Samantha Logic (Iowa) on the five-player honor squads of both the conference coaches and media. Michigan State sophomore Aerial Powers and Northwestern sophomore Nia Coffey rounded out the coaches top five. Sophomores Amanda Zahui from Minnesota and Lexie Brown from Maryland, along with junior Ameryst Alston from Ohio State claimed spots on the media’s six-player team.

As a team, Nebraska was picked No. 3 in the conference by the media, trailing Maryland and Michigan State. Iowa earned the No. 3 spot ahead of the Huskers in the coaches ranking of the top three teams.

Scouting the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears
Coach Paul Fessler has bult a traditionally strong NCAA Division II program at Concordia-St. Paul. Entering his 15th season at the helm of the Golden Bears, Fessler has produced a 306-128 record while leading the team to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in the past 12 seasons. Last year, Fessler guided CSP to its first NCAA Elite Eight appearance after claiming its third Sweet 16 bid in the past 10 years.

The Golden Bears, who enter 2014-15 ranked No. 10 by both the WBCA and Women’s Division II Bulletin, are coming off a 28-9 campaign. CSP went 16-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Down the stretch, the Golden Bears defeated No. 19 Northern State (54-36), No. 2 Harding (68-57), No. 8 Central Missouri (85-60) and No. 7 Emporia State (70-67) before falling to No. 10 Nova Southeastern in the NCAA Elite Eight at Erie, Pa.

Concordia-St. Paul returns three starters and 10 letterwinners, including leading scorer and rebounder Anika Whiting. The 6-2 senior forward from Ashland, Wis., averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last season. She started all 37 games and averaged 31.5 minutes per contest. In addition to her strong presence inside, Whiting hit 20-of-49 three-pointers (.408) and a sizzling 84.5 percent (169-200) of her free throws. In her three seasons as a starter, Whiting has amassed 1,485 points and 647 rebounds. She pumped in a career-high 32 points against Central Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

The Golden Bears also return senior Ameshia Kearney. The 5-9 guard from Minneapolis averaged 12.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Kearney, who scored a season-high 26 points against Sioux Falls in February, also knocked down 69 threes on the year while hitting 36.9 percent of her long-range attempts.

That dynamic duo of double-figure scorers is joined by returning starter Kionda Nicks. The 6-2 junior forward from St. Paul, Minn., averaged 5.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season. Nicks was a back-door stopper for the Golden Bears last year, blocking 104 shots. She also committed 113 fouls.

Concordia-St. Paul must replace a pair of double-digit scorers from last season, including Rachel Hansen. The point guard averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and a team-best 4.7 assists. A four-year starter, Hansen closed her career with 1,305 points, 597 rebounds, 474 assists and 182 steals.

Carissa Wolyniec joined Hansen, Whiting, and Kearney in the starting five for all 37 games. The 5-11 guard averaged 11.1 points and 4.4 boards while burying a team-best 100 threes (.392).

Senior Voneisha Harris (1.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg), Mishayla Jones (1.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg) and Lauren Shifflett (2.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg) are leading contenders to replace Hansen and Wolyniec in the starting backcourt. Tierra Bender (1.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) and Jordyn Dudley (0.6 ppg, 0.3 rpg) add more experience at guard.

Amanda Barton, a 6-2 senior forward, adds depth up front after averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a junior. Barton started two games and played in 10 contests before missing the rest of last season with a health issue. A sixth senior, Asha Knight (1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg) adds more depth at forward.

The Golden Bears added a trio of newcomers, led by Caitlyn Russell, a 6-3 sophomore center who transferred from Division I Evansville. Russell played in 20 games for the Purple Aces last season. Freshmen guards Kayla Miller and Kyrah Fredenburg may also be asked to contribute.

As a team, Concordia-St. Paul averaged 70 points per game last year, while surrendering 62.1 points per contest. The Golden Bears hit just 40.3 percent of their shots, including 33.9 percent of their threes, but held opponents to just 35.3 percent success, including 30.4 percent from long range. CSP hit 72.9 percent of its free throws, attempting 4.1 more free throws per game than the opposition. Despite their size, the Golden Bears struggled with a minus-1.7 team rebounding margin, but owned a plus-2.6 team turnover margin, committing just 11.2 turnovers per game. They also blocked 5.6 shots per game.

Nebraska vs. Concordia-St. Paul Series History
Sunday’s game marks Nebraska’s first meeting in school history with Concordia-St. Paul.