Cain to Clash with Whitish in Sweden

Former Nebraska women’s basketball players Kate Cain and Hannah Whitish will go head-to-head overseas on Saturday when Whitish’s Ostersund team hosts Cain’s Helsingborg squad.

Live video will be available through this link and a subscription is required. The video is set to begin at 8 a.m. (CT) from Ostersund’s Sporthall. Archived video is also available.

Cain was a three-time Big Ten All-Defensive and two-time honorable-mention all-conference selection during her Husker career. The 6-5 center from Middletown, N.Y., finished her four-year career as Nebraska’s career leader in blocked shots (352) while ranking 10th in school history with 117 starts from 2017-18 through 2020-21. She also ranks 28th all-time at Nebraska with 1,085 points and No. 8 in career rebounds with 780. She is one of only 10 Huskers in history to achieve the combined career milestones of 1,000 points and 750 rebounds.

Cain participated in WNBA Training Camp with the Las Vegas Aces is the spring of 2021 before signing a contract with Helsingborg in Sweden for 2021-22. Through her first five professional games in Sweden, Cain is averaging 7.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 28 minutes per game as a starter.

Whitish, a 5-9 guard from Barneveld, Wis., was a three-year teammate of Cain’s as a Husker. One of the top three-point shooters in NU history, Whitish closed her four-year career as a starter at No. 19 on the Nebraska all-time scoring list with 1,228 points. Her 258 three-pointers ranked No. 3 in Husker history, while her 470 assists rank No. 6 in the Big Red record books. A second-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2017-18, she was a catalyst for a Husker squad that was the most improved team in the nation from the 2016-17 season to 2017-18, when she teamed with Cain to lead Nebraska to the 2018 NCAA Tournament. 

Whitish was also an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice as a junior in 2018-19. In 2020-21, Whitish signed a professional contract with Rhein-Main in the German Bundesliga in her first professional season. Whitish has appeared in one game early in the season for Ostersund, contributing three assists in 12 minutes.

Whitish and Cain are scheduled to square off again in the Swedish Basketball League later this season at GA-hallen in Helsingborg on Jan. 22, 2022.