Huskers, Jays Set for Top 25 Battle in Omaha

#22/#22 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0)

vs. #20/#21 Creighton Bluejays (2-0)

Tuesday, November 15, 2022, 6 p.m. (CT)

Ryan Athletic Center/D.J. Sokol Arena – Omaha, Nebraska

Live Video: FloSports
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (5:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)

Lincoln (107.3 FM & 1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM)
Huskers.com, Huskers App

No. 22 Huskers, No. 20 Bluejays Set for Top 25 Battle in Omaha 

The Nebraska women’s basketball team hits the road for the first time in 2022-23, renewing its long-standing series with Creighton on Tuesday in Omaha. Tip-off between the No. 22 Huskers (2-0) and No. 20 Bluejays (2-0) at D.J. Sokol Arena is set for 6 p.m. 

A live video stream of Nebraska’s game with Creighton will be available to subscribers of FloSports. Fans can listen to the call of Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the Huskers Radio Network (107.3 FM & 1400 AM in Lincoln, and 590 AM in Omaha), the Huskers App and on Huskers.com.

Nebraska was ranked No. 22 in both the AP and USA Today/WBCA Top 25 preseason rankings, while Creighton opened at No. 21 in both polls. CU moved up to No. 20 in the first regular-season AP Poll released Monday, Nov. 14.

The Huskers opened the season with a 100-36 win over in-state rival Omaha on Monday. Nebraska’s 64-point margin of victory was the largest in a season opener in school history.

Nebraska has produced an average winning margin of 47.5 points in a pair of wins over unranked teams to open the season, while Creighton has posted a pair of road wins over Summit League powers No. 23 South Dakota State (78-69) and South Dakota (74-51). USD went to the 2022 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

The rosters for Nebraska and Creighton combine to feature five Nebraskans, including Huskers Maddie Krull (Omaha/Millard South), Alexis Markowski (Lincoln/Pius X) and Allison Weidner (Humphrey/St. Francis) and Jays Jayme Horan (Omaha/Millard South) and Morgan Maly (Crete). Krull and Horan were teammates at Millard South.

The NU and CU rosters also feature a heavy Minnesota flavor with eight players from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Nebraska’s four Minnesotans include Sam Haiby (Moorhead), Annika Stewart (Plymouth/Wayzata), Kendall Coley (Minneapolis/St. Louis Park) and Callin Hake (Victoria/Chanhassen). Creighton’s four Minnesotans are Lauren Jensen (Lakeville/North), Molly Mogensen (Farmington), Mallory Brake (Hastings) and Kiani Lockett (Minneapolis/Minnetonka).

Sophomore guard Allison Weidner enters Tuesday’s game as Nebraska’s leading scorer (19.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.0 rpg).

Naismith Trophy and Lisa Leslie Award candidate Alexis Markowski has added 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds through the first two contests of her sophomore season. Markowski was the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection for 2022-23.

Maddie Krull, a transfer from South Dakota, scored 18 points in her regular-season Husker debut against Omaha (Nov. 7). Krull’s performance included a career-high-tying four three-pointers against the Mavs. Last season in a win at Creighton, Krull went 4-for-5 from long range for USD.

Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award candidate Jaz Shelley has shown her strong all-around game, averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 4.5 steals. The 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia, had 11 points, eight assists and a career-high five steals in Nebraska’s win over 2022 Southland Conference champion Houston Christian (Nov. 11).

Fellow Australian Isabelle Bourne opened the season with 21 points in the win over Omaha (Nov. 7). The 6-2 power forward from Canberra, Australia ranks second among the Huskers in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Bourne is a two-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection and a three-time Nebraska team captain.

#22/#22 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

34 – Isabelle Bourne – 6-2 – Jr. – F – 13.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg

40 – Alexis Markowski – 6-3 – So. – C/F – 10.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg

1 – Jaz Shelley – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

2 – Trinity Brady – 5-11 – So. – G – 5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

3 – Allison Weidner – 5-10 – So. – G – 19.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg

Off the Bench

42 – Maddie Krull – 5-9 – So. – G – 9.5 ppg, 0.0 rpg

21 – Annika Stewart – 6-3 – Fr. – F – 8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg

32 – Kendall Coley – 6-2 – Fr. – F/G – 6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

14 – Callin Hake – 5-9 – Fr. – G – 4.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg

15 – Kendall Moriarty – 6-1 – Fr. – G – 4.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg

4 – Sam Haiby – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg

24 – Nailah Dillard – 5-10 – Gr. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg

44 – Maggie Mendelson – 6-5 – Fr. – F/C – 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)

Seventh Season at Nebraska (98-84); 16th Season Overall (291-193)

#20/#21 Creighton Bluejays (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)

13 – Rachael Saunders – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 5.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg

15 – Lauren Jensen – 5-10 – Jr. – G – 21.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg

21 – Molly Mogensen – 5-7 – Jr. – G – 12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg

30 – Morgan Maly – 6-1 – Jr. – G/F – 17.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg

31 – Emma Ronsiek – 6-1 – Jr. – F – 5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Off the Bench

12 – Jayme Horan – 5-10 – Jr. – G – 6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

14 – Mallory Brake – 6-0 – Jr. – F – 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

22 – Carly Bachelor – 6-0 – Sr. – G/F – 6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg

2 – Kennedy Townsend – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg

Head Coach: Jim Flanery (Creighton, 1987)

21st Season at Creighton (381-253); 21st Season Overall (381-253)

Scouting the No. 20 Creighton Bluejays

Coach Jim Flanery is in his 21st season at the helm of Creighton and has the Bluejays in the top 25 in both national polls after leading CU to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2021-22. 

Creighton is 2-0 this season with a top-25 win at then-No. 23 South Dakota State (78-69, Nov. 7) before running to a 74-51 win at South Dakota (Nov. 10). USD went to the 2022 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

The Jays return a majority of their contributors from the team that finished 23-10 overall and 15-5 in the BIG EAST last season. CU’s two significant losses come from Tatum Rembao (7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), who led the Jays with 6.1 assists while starting all 33 games last season, and Payton Brotzski (4.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg), who started 30 contests.

Creighton returns six of its top seven scorers from 2021-22, led by Emma Ronsiek, who is one of 20 players nationally on the Katrina McClain Award Watch List. The award honors the nation’s top power forward. Last season, Ronsiek averaged 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 32 games. She hit 48.3 percent of her shots from the floor, including 33.9 percent (42-124) of her three-pointers. She added 2.5 assists per game while leading CU with 28 blocks. The junior is averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds early this season after opening 5-for-17 from the field against the South Dakota teams.

Junior Lauren Jensen ranked second among the Jays with 12.5 points while adding 4.0 rebounds  over 33 games with 32 starts. The 5-10 Jensen knocked down a team-best 82 threes (.434) last year. Jensen leads CU with 21.0 points per game this season after erupting for 30 points in an opening night win at No. 23 SDSU.

Junior Morgan Maly added 12.3 points and 4.0 boards off the bench last season. The 6-1 wing from Crete ranked second on the team with 80 threes (.374) and hit 91.4 percent (32-35) of her free throws. Maly is averaging 17.0 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds in two starts this season, including team highs of 21 points and 10 boards in the win at South Dakota.

Senior Carly Bachelor returns after averaging 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in all 33 games as a starter last season. Bachelor has come off the bench to average 6.0 points and 4.5 boards in the first two games for the Bluejays this season.  

Junior Molly Mogensen, a 5-7 guard, has moved into the starting five early this season and has averaged 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. Last season Mogensen contributed 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds while leading the Jays with 1.5 steals and ranking second on the squad with 2.8 assists. She leads CU with eight assists this season.

Graduate student Rachael Saunders rounds out Creighton’s probable starting five. The 5-9 guard is averaging 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a team-best 3.0 steals early this season. Primarily a reserve last season, Saunders averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 boards over 33 games.

Juniors Jayme Horan (6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and Mallory Brake (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) continue to be significant contributors this season after providing big minutes for CU last year. 

Freshman Kennedy Townsend is the only other Jay to see time this season and is still looking for her first collegiate point and rebound. She does have an assist.

In two games against quality opponents on the road, Creighton is averaging 76.0 points while hitting 48.4 percent of its shots, including 35.5 percent of its three-pointers. CU also has knocked down 77.8 percent (21-27) of its free throws. The Jays own a plus-one (34-33) rebound margin and a plus-four (14-10) turnover margin.

Last season, Creighton ranked among the nation’s best three-point shooting teams, averaging 10.1 makes per game while hitting 36.8 percent of its attempts. A year ago, 45.2 percent (908-2,009) of CU’s total feld goal attempts came from beyond the arc. The Jays also averaged more than 20 assists per game while committing fewer than 13 turnovers per contest.

     

Nebraska vs. Creighton Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Creighton 31-16, including a 67-62 win (Nov. 17, 2021) last season in Lincoln. Nebraska improved to 21-3 all-time against CU in Lincoln and snapped a five-game overall series winning streak by the Jays.

Tuesday’s meeting marks the first meeting in the history of the series with both teams ranked in either the AP or Coaches Top 25. It will be Nebraska’s sixth top-25 ranking entering the game since 1997-98. Creighton has never previously been ranked 

The last time either team was ranked at game time came with No. 12 Nebraska’s 60-57 win over Creighton in Omaha (Dec. 11, 2014). That game marked the third straight that NU had entered in the top 25 against Creighton (No. 19, Dec. 14, 2013, NU 63-38; No. 25, Dec. 5, 2012, CU, 66-57). The Huskers were also ranked No. 21 heading into an 80-59 win over the Jays in Lincoln on Nov. 24, 1997, before returning to the rankings at No. 24 for a 69-56 win over CU on Dec. 9, 2009.

Last season, Sam Haiby led Nebraska with 15 points and five boards, while Alexis Markowski added 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. Both teams hit just five threes in the game.

Carly Bachelor led CU with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tatum Rembao added 12 points and seven boards. Morgan Maly contributed 16 points, including three of CU’s five threes. Creighton rallied to outscore NU 23-14 in the fourth quarter, but the Huskers were able to hold on after building a 53-39 lead after three quarters.

Creighton worked its way to a 78-62 win in the last meeting in Omaha (Dec. 14, 2020). That game was still affected by COVID protocols and the Huskers played without starting guard Trinity Brady (ankle) and lost guard Ruby Porter (ankle) early in the contest. The Huskers finished the game with just six scholarship players. CU led 42-21 at the half and played 14 Jays in the game.

During the last six games in the series, the Jays are 63-of-175 (.360) from three-point range, while Nebraska is just 21-of-96 (.219). CU is averaging 10.5 made threes per game during the stretch, while NU is averaging 3.5.

Nebraska has not made more than five threes in a game against Creighton since a 75-67 Husker win in Omaha on Nov. 17, 2008 when the Big Red went 9-for-21. On the flip side, Creighton has made at least five threes every game against Nebraska since going 4-for-13 at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha on Dec. 3, 2000. Creighton won that game, 66-57. NU went 5-for-10.

In the last 27 meetings combined, Nebraska has hit 88-of-321 (.274) for an average of just 3.3 made threes per game. Creighton has hit 198-of-607 (.326) for an average of 7.3 made threes in the same 27 games. Nebraska owns an 18-9 series edge during that span.

Last season, current Husker Maddie Krull finished with 16 points, including 4-of-5 three-point shooting, to help South Dakota to a 73-71 win at Creighton (Dec. 16, 2021).