Huskers Celebrate Season with Banquet

The Nebraska women’s basketball team celebrated the close of its 2021-22 season with a return to its annual end-of-season banquet at the Grand Manse in downtown Lincoln on Sunday evening.

More than 300 people gathered to look back on Nebraska’s 24-9 season that culminated with a trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The event marked Nebraska’s first end-of-season banquet with fans in attendance since 2019, after COVID-19 disruptions prevented the large group gatherings in 2020 and 2021.

Several Huskers were honored with team awards presented by Head Coach Amy Williams.

Newcomer Jaz Shelley claimed two of Nebraska’s top team honors by winning the team’s Most Valuable Player Award and the Defensive MVP Award. Shelley, a 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia, was the only player to rank among the Big Ten’s top 20 in all five major statistical categories, including scoring (16th, 13.1 ppg), rebounding (15th, 6.3 rpg), assists (5th, 5.0 apg), steals (6th, 1.8 spg) and blocked shots (13th, 0.8 bpg). She also knocked down 82 three-pointers in her first season as a Husker to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors and a spot on the media’s Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis Markowski claimed Nebraska’s Offensive MVP Award. The 6-3 post from Lincoln, Neb., averaged 12.8 points and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds per game. The only Power Five conference freshman in the nation to average at least 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, Markowski increased her team-best averages to 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in Big Ten action. Markowski, who was an eight-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, joined Shelley as a second-team All-Big Ten selection and was a unanimous choice by the coaches to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Nebraska’s Sam Haiby, who was the only 2021-22 Husker who also attended the 2018-19 banquet, captured the team’s Clutch Performer Award. The 5-9 guard from Moorhead, Minn., led Nebraska with 20 points against Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament and regularly sealed games for the Big Red down the stretch throughout the season. Haiby, who earned All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season, scored 10 fourth-quarter points in a 72-55 victory over No. 5 Indiana (Feb. 14). She added nine fourth-quarter points in a 76-73 victory over No. 10 Michigan (March 4). Early in the season, she put up 13 second-half points in a 67-62 win over eventual NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Creighton (Nov. 17). She also scored 10 fourth-quarter points in a 70-67 Big Ten-opening win over Minnesota (Dec. 6).

The first player in Nebraska history to achieve the combined career milestones of 1,000 points (1,381), 500 rebounds (532) and 400 assists (414), Haiby has announced her return for a fifth season as a Husker in 2022-23.

Isabelle Bourne claimed Nebraska’s Husker Award for the second straight season for her leadership on and off the court in 2021-22. The 6-2 forward from Canberra, Australia, earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades for the second time after averaging 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds while hitting 51.5 percent of her shots from the field, including 37.1 percent of her three-point attempts. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice, Bourne was a 2021 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a nominee for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2022. She and Haiby have helped captain Nebraska to postseason tournament trips in both 2021 and 2022.

Annika Stewart completed Nebraska’s group of individual award winners for the season by capturing Lifter-of-the-Year honors. Stewart, a 6-3 forward from Plymouth, Minn., has been one of NU’s hardest workers on and off the court in her two seasons in Lincoln. She averaged 5.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 2021-22.