Huskers Meet No. 14 Michigan Wednesday

Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten)

Tickets: Huskers.com / 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Live TV: Big Ten Network
Sloane Martin (PBP), Brenda VanLengen (Analyst)
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
Halftime: Simon Sez (Steve Max)

Huskers Back in Big Ten, Top 20 Action with Michigan

The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena to close its five-game December home stand by battling its fifth top-20 opponent of the season, when the Huskers take on Michigan Wednesday.

Tip-off between Nebraska (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) and the No. 14 Wolverines (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) is set for 6 p.m. (CT) in Lincoln. Live television coverage will be provided by BTN with Sloane Martin and Brenda VanLengen on the call. The game also can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on 107.3 FM and 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha, the Huskers App and Huskers.com.

Nebraska is coming off an epic 85-79 3OT victory over No. 20 Kansas at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Dec. 21) to improve to 4-0 on the current stand and 7-0 at home this season.

Nebraska has won 24 of its last 25 at PBA with 22 wins by double figures, including a 79-58 win over then-No. 8 Michigan on Jan. 4, 2022, which matched NU’s largest victory margin ever over a top-10 opponent.

Nebraska Head Coach Amy Williams will take aim at her 300th career win in Wednesday’s game with the Wolverines, while Michigan Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico will try for career win No. 500.

Jaz Shelley, who led Nebraska with team highs of 24 points and six assists in the win over Kansas, has provided a big-time offensive presence for the Huskers over the last seven games. The 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia, is averaging 20.6 points and 5.7 assists while hitting 50.9 percent of her field goals, including 51.9 percent (27-52) of her three-point attempts. In the first six games this season, Shelley averaged 9.7 points and 7.5 assists while hitting 23.3 percent (7-30) of her threes. She leads NU in scoring (15.5 ppg), assists (6.5 apg), steals (1.5 spg) and three-pointers per game (2.6). Through two Big Ten games, Shelley leads the conference by averaging 30.0 points and 6.5 made threes per contest.

Preseason All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski has added 13.6 points and a Big Ten-best 9.8 rebounds over 13 games. The 6-3 center from Lincoln owns three consecutive double-doubles after going for 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in the win over Kansas. She added three assists, two blocks and two steals for the Big Red against the Jayhawks. Over the last three games, Markowski is averaging 18.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, including a 22-point, 10-rebound effort going head-to-head with 2022 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Allyson Fertig in a win over Wyoming (Dec. 18). Markowski owns six double-doubles this year, matching her 2022 total of six, when she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She has nine double-figure scoring games and eight double-digit rebound games this season.

Allison Weidner was off to an outstanding start in her sophomore season. The 5-10 guard from Humphrey, Neb., averaged 10.2, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists, including the first two double-doubles of her career, through Nebraska’s first 13 games. She suffered a leg injury midway through the fourth quarter in the Husker win over No. 20 Kansas. Weidner had 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in Nebraska’s first-ever win over No. 20 Maryland (Dec. 4) and 13 points and a season-high seven assists in NU’s Big Ten win over Wisconsin (Dec. 7).

Sam Haiby, who missed 10 of Nebraska’s first 11 games this season, stepped up in a huge way in the triple-overtime thriller against No. 20 Kansas. Haiby scored a season-high 12 points, including 10 after halftime, to help will the Huskers to victory. The 5-9 graduate guard had only played 15 total minutes over two games this season before going for 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes against the Jayhawks. Haiby is a three-year starter for the Big Red who needs three points to reach 1,400 in her career. Haiby was expected to miss the entire 2022-23 season, but a leg injury was less severe than originally thought, and she has been recovering and rehabbing since surgery in mid-October.

Maddie Krull, a Nebraska native and South Dakota transfer, has started each of the last five games to help the Huskers to their five-game winning streak. A defensive workhorse, Krull is averaging 4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a starter.

Maggie Mendelson made her Husker basketball debut with nine points on perfect shooting in nine minutes in a win over Wyoming (Dec. 18). The 6-foot-5, 17-year-old forward/center from Ogden, Utah, was even better in Nebraska’s win over No. 20 Kansas (Dec. 21). She just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go with two blocks. She scored four points and had two huge defensive rebounds in the third overtime period to help the Huskers to victory. In 27 minutes as a college basketball player, Mendelson has totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Mendelson helped the U.S. U16 National Basketball Team to gold at the FIBA Americas Championship in August of 2021 and helped the U.S. U19 National Volleyball Team to gold at the Pan American Cup in July of 2022.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten)

34 – Isabelle Bourne – 6-2 – Jr. – F – 11.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg

40 – Alexis Markowski – 6-3 – So. – C/F – 13.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg

1 – Jaz Shelley – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 15.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg

3 – Allison Weidner – 5-10 – So. – G – 10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg

42 – Maddie Krull – 5-9 – So. – G – 4.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Off the Bench

44 – Maggie Mendelson – 6-5 – Fr. – F/C – 9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg

21 – Annika Stewart – 6-3 – So. – F – 7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg

4 – Sam Haiby – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg

15 – Kendall Moriarty – 6-1 – So. – G – 4.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg

14 – Callin Hake – 5-9 – Fr. – G – 3.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg

2 – Trinity Brady – 5-11 – Jr. – G – 2.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg

32 – Kendall Coley – 6-2 – So. – F/G – 2.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg

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

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)

Seventh Season at Nebraska (106-87); 16th Season Overall (299-196)

14/19 Michigan Wolverines (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten)

33 – Emily Kiser – 6-3 – Gr. – F – 18.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg

44 – Cameron Williams – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg

3 – Maddie Nolan – 5-11 – Sr. – G – 7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg

5 – Laila Phelia – 6-0 – So. – G – 17.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg

32 – Leigha Brown – 6-1 – Sr. – G – 14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg

Off the Bench

11 – Greta Campschroeder – 6-0 – So. – G – 4.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg

22 – Chyra Evans – 6-2 – Fr. – F – 3.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg

20 – Alyssa Crockett – 6-2 – Fr. – F – 2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg

10 – Jordan Hobbs – 6-3 – So. – G – 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg

30 – Elise Stuck – 6-1 – Jr. – G/F – 1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg

24 – Michelle Sidor – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg

12 – Ari Wiggins – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg

13 – Kate Clarke – 6-1 – Fr. – G – 0.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg

Head Coach: Kim Barnes Arico (Montclair State, 1993)

11th Season at Michigan (246-197); 27th Season Overall (499-315)

*Starters based on previous game

Scouting the Michigan Wolverines

Coach Kim Barnes Arico is in her 11th season leading Michigan and her 27th year as a head coach. She will take aim at her 500th career win in Wednesday’s game at Nebraska. Barnes Arico led Michigan to its best season in school history with a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight last year, after Michigan advanced to its first-ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2021.

No. 14 Michigan comes to Lincoln with an 11-1 overall record following a 76-68 win over No. 6 North Carolina in Charlotte (Dec. 20). The Wolverines scored a program record 35 first-quarter points and never looked back in the win over the Tar Heels.

Former Husker Leigha Brown led Michigan with 25 points against UNC, while sophomore Laila Phelia added 20 points.

Michigan opened Big Ten play with a 77-66 win over Northwestern at Crisler Arena (Dec. 4), before suffering a 71-68 home loss to Toledo just four days later. Michigan also owns an 84-75 win over a top-25 Baylor team (Nov. 27).

Senior Emily Kiser leads Michigan with 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The 6-3 post also ranks second on the team with 40 assists. Kiser is shooting a team-best 58.1 percent from the field and 87 percent (60-69) at the free throw line.

Phelia is off to an outstanding start to her sophomore season. The 6-0 guard is averaging 17.0 points and 3.7 rebounds while leading the Wolverines with 1.9 steals per game. She also leads Michigan with 12 blocks on the year. Phelia has hit 49.4 percent of her shots, including 45 percent (18-40) of her threes, while connecting on 80 percent (32-40) of her free throws.

Brown has moved into a point guard role for the Wolverines in her fifth season overall and third in Ann Arbor. The 6-1 senior is averaging 14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 5.2 assists.

Senior guard Maddie Nolan (7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and junior forward Cameron Williams (7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg) have started all 12 games alongside Kiser and Phelia for the Wolverines.

Junior Elise Stuck (1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg), sophomore Greta Campschroeder (4.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and freshman Alyssa Crockett (2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg) have played in all 12 games for Michigan. Sophomore Jordan Hobbs (2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg) also has played in 11 contests for the Wolverines.

Michigan is averaging 77.6 points and hitting 48.5 percent of its field goal attempts, including 33.2 percent of its threes, while making 5.9 threes per game. The Wolverines own a plus-8.4 (37.5-29.1) team rebounding margin and a plus-4.7 turnover margin. Michigan is surrendering just 57.1 points per game while holding opponents to 38.1 percent shooting.

Nebraska vs. Michigan Series History

Nebraska owns a 16-7 edge in the all-time series with Michigan, including a 79-58 run past the Wolverines in Lincoln (Jan. 4, 2022). The Huskers added a 76-73 win over the Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in Indianapolis (March 4, 2022).

Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis Markowski made her first career start against the Wolverines last season in Lincoln, putting up 20 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Jaz Shelley added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Huskers hit 8-of-20 threes while holding the Wolverines to 1-of-12 from long range in NU’s largest victory margin ever over a top-10 team.

Outside of Nebraska’s lopsided win in January, five of the last six games in the series have been decided by six points or less.

In the most recent thriller, Sam Haiby and Allison Weidner each scored 16 points, while Jaz Shelley and Annika Stewart added 12 points apiece to lead the Huskers to the 76-73 win at the 2022 Big Ten Tournament. Laila Phelia led Michigan with 19 points, while Naz Hillmon added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

NU is 8-3 all-time against Michigan in Lincoln. The Huskers are 8-4 all-time against the Wolverines away from home, including 6-3 in Ann Arbor and 2-1 at the Big Ten Tournament.

The series has been evenly matched as Big Ten foes, with Nebraska owning a 10-7 edge since joining the conference in 2011-12.

Nebraska was 6-0 against Michigan as non-conference foes dating back to the first meeting between the two teams on Nov. 28, 1980 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. The Huskers won 118-92 in the highest scoring game in Nebraska women’s basketball history.

Shelley On Top of Big Ten Stats

Jaz Shelley leads the Big Ten in scoring (30.0 ppg) and three-pointers (13) through two games.

Shelley opened Big Ten play with 29 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting in Nebraska’s historic 90-67 upset of No. 20 Maryland in College Park (Dec. 4).

The 5-9 shooting guard from Moe, Australia added 31 points on 7-of-12 three-point shooting in Nebraska’s 82-54 home win over Wisconsin (Dec. 7).

No other Big Ten player made more than eight threes through the first two conference games.

While Shelley went 13-for-22 from beyond the arc, fellow conference sharp shooters Caitlin Clark (6-14) from Iowa and Taylor Mikesell (8-21) from Ohio State combined to go 14-for-35 (.400) to lead both of their teams to 2-0 starts.

Williams Shoots for 300th Career Win

Amy Williams takes aim at career head coaching victory No. 300 when the Huskers take on Michigan Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. She enters the contest against the Wolverines with 299 wins (106-Nebraska; 96-South Dakota; 97-Rogers State).

Williams already has collected a pair of century club victories this season. She notched her 200th career NCAA Division I victory against Samford (Dec. 10). The milestone win followed closely behind claiming her 100th victory as Nebraska’s head coach with a 73-44 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Puerto Rico Clasico (Nov. 25).

Husker Numbers to Watch

Nebraska’s Amy Williams is one win away from the 300th of her collegiate head coaching career, including 97 victories at Rogers State (NAIA, 2007-12), 96 at South Dakota (2013-16) and 106 at Nebraska (2016-present).

Alexis Markowski is two points away from 600 and eight rebounds away from 400 as a Husker. She is just five points away from matching her father Andy’s Nebraska career total of 603 points. Andy was a four-year contributor and two-year starter for the Husker men’s basketball team from 1995-96 through 1998-99. Andy finished with 568 rebounds.

Annika Stewart is two points away from 400 in her career.

Sam Haiby is three points away from 1,400 in her career.

Kendall Moriarty has already surpassed her season point total (58-45) from a year ago while tripling her three-point total (9-3) and more than doubling her season rebound total (31-12). She also has doubled her steals total (6-3), more than quadrupled her made free throws (9-2) and matched her season block total (3) from a year ago.

Isabelle Bourne is 39 points away from 1,000 in her career. She is five games away from her 100th career game as a Husker. Her older sister, Callie, recently reached the 1,000-point mark in her fifth season at Idaho State, achieving the milestone at San Diego (Nov. 25) in career game No. 118.

Big Red Dominance at Pinnacle Bank Arena

Nebraska is 7-0 at Pinnacle Bank Arena to open 2022-23 with six of the first seven wins by double digits. In fact, NU has won its seven home games by a total of 199 points (28.4 ppg), including a 64-point season-opening victory over Omaha and a 28-point Big Ten home-opening victory over Wisconsin.

Nebraska tied a school record by winning 16 home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2021-22. The Huskers finished 16-1, matching the 1997-98 (16-0), 2009-10 (16-0) and 2013-14 (16-2) teams for most home wins. Coach Amy Williams was a senior guard on Nebraska’s 1997-98 team coached by 2022 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Paul Sanderford.

Nebraska’s 16 home wins matched UNLV for the most regular-season home wins in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in 2021-22.

The Huskers didn’t just win at home, they won big, posting the largest home combined cumulative margin of victory in school history despite losing a game to Big Ten co-champion Iowa (Jan. 9). The 2021-22 Huskers produced a total home victory margin of 429 points (25.2 ppg). The 2009-10 Huskers that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished No. 3 in the AP final regular-season poll won their 16 games by a total of 388 points (24.3 ppg).

Nebraska delivered double-digit margins in 15 of 16 home wins, including wins over top-10 Michigan (79-58) and Indiana (72-57) teams, with only 2022 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Creighton falling by single digits (67-62).

The Huskers also ranked No. 14 nationally in total attendance (76,317) and 18th in average home attendance (4,489).