Huskers Set for Scuffle with Gophers

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-11, 6-8 Big Ten)

at Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten)

Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7 p.m. (CT)

Williams Arena – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Live Video: B1G+ 
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (6:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)

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

Huskers Set for Scuffle with Young Gophers 

The Nebraska women’s basketball team hunts for a crucial Big Ten road win when the Huskers travel to Minneapolis to meet Minnesota on Wednesday.

Tip-off between the Big Red (14-11, 6-8 Big Ten) and the Golden Gophers (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) with a live video stream provided to subscribers of B1G+. 

The game also can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on 107.3 FM and 1400 AM in Lincoln along with 590 AM in Omaha, Huskers.com and the Huskers App.

Nebraska is hungry for a win after suffering a narrow 80-75 loss at No. 12 Michigan on Sunday. Alexis Markowski, a 6-3 sophomore from Lincoln, led four Huskers in double figures with 18 points and 18 rebounds. The Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 contender is averaging a double-double with 12.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game on the season after notching her fifth consecutive double-double against the Wolverines. Her 18-board effort in Ann Arbor moved Markowski into a tie for the league rebounding lead with Kendall Bostic from Illinois.

Jaz Shelley added a double-double of her own with 14 points and 10 assists at Michigan. The 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia (pronounced MO-ee) owns three double-doubles on the year and leads Nebraska in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (6.4 apg) and steals (1.6 spg) on the season.

Sam Haiby continues to surge for the Big Red, increasing her quickness, explosiveness and endurance after missing 10 of Nebraska’s first 11 games with an injury. The 5-9 graduate guard from Moorhead, Minn., added 10 points at Michigan for her fifth consecutive game in double figures. In seven career games against Minnesota, Haiby has averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while producing double-figure points in each of the seven contests.

Isabelle Bourne, a 6-2 junior from Canberra, Australia, matched Markowski for team-high scoring honors at Michigan with 18 points. Bourne has produced double figures in five consecutive games and is averaging 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds during that stretch to increase her season averages to 11.8 points and 6.4 boards per game.

Maddie Krull (Omaha, Neb.) rounds out Nebraska’s starting five with 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists on the season. Krull has scored in double figures in four of the last 10 games. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-11, 6-8 Big Ten)

34 – Isabelle Bourne – 6-2 – Jr. – F – 11.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg

40 – Alexis Markowski – 6-3 – So. – C/F – 12.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg

1 – Jaz Shelley – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 12.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg

4 – Sam Haiby – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg

42 – Maddie Krull – 5-9 – So. – G – 5.6 ppg – 2.0 rpg

Off the Bench

21 – Annika Stewart – 6-3 – So. – F – 5.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg

14 – Callin Hake – 5-9 – Fr. – G – 5.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg

15 – Kendall Moriarty – 6-1 – So. – G – 3.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg

44 – Maggie Mendelson – 6-5 – Fr. – F/C – 2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg

32 – Kendall Coley – 6-2 – So. – F/G – 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg

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

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

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)

Seventh Season at Nebraska (110-95); 16th Season Overall (303-204)

Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten)

4 – Alanna Micheaux – 6-2 – So. – F – 14.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg

24 – Mallory Heyer – 6-1 – Fr. – F – 11.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg

3 – Amaya Battle – 5-11 – Fr. – G – 9.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg

5 – Maggie Czinano – 6-0 – So. – G – 5.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg

10 – Mara Braun – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 14.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg

Off the Bench

23 – Katie Borowicz – 5-7 – RFr. – G – 8.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg

14 – Isabelle Gradwell – 6-1 – Gr. – G/F – 3.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg

21 – Mi’Cole Cayton – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg

13 – Destinee Oberg – 6-3 – Sr. – C – 2.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg

15 – Angelina Hammond – 5-11 – Gr. – G/F – 1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg

Head Coach: Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota, 2004)

Fifth Season at Minnesota (69-73); Fifth Season Overall (69-73)

Nebraska Notables

Isabelle Bourne recently became the 36th 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska history, achieving the milestone in the fourth quarter of NU’s win over Penn State (Jan. 11). She is just the 22nd player in NU history to achieve the combined career milestones of 1,000 points (1,103) and 500 rebounds (587) joining teammate Sam Haiby (1,538 points, 614 rebounds) in that prestigious group.

Sam Haiby is one of just four players in Nebraska history to rank among the school’s top 20 in points (13th, 1,538), rebounds (19th, 614) and assists (7th, 452). Haiby joins Maurtice Ivy, Anna DeForge and Emily Cady as the only other Huskers on that elite list.

Preseason All-Big Ten center and 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis Markowski (Lincoln, Neb.) is one of the Big Ten’s top rebounders, averaging 10.0 boards to go along with her 12.4 points per contest. The 6-3 center has moved into a tie with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark atop the Big Ten double-doubles list with 13 this season, which is tied for 16th nationally.

Jaz Shelley opened Big Ten play with 29 points in a road upset at No. 20 Maryland (Dec. 4), before pumping in 31 points in a win over Wisconsin (Dec. 7). She also had 21 points and five assists in a loss to No. 14 Michigan (Dec. 28). She just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a win over Penn State (Jan. 11).

Nebraska has knocked down 10 or more threes on 11 occasions this season and was 10-0 when hitting double-digit threes before falling 80-75 at No. 12 Michigan despite going 11-for-25 from long range. Nebraska was 21-of-46 from beyond the arc on the road last week, including 10-of-21 in a win at Northwestern (Feb. 6). The Huskers’ most recent double-digit effort inside Pinnacle Bank Arena came on 13-of-28 shooting against Penn State (Jan. 11). 

Kendall Moriarty put the exclamation point on the win over Penn State (Jan. 11) with a running, half-a-hook three from beyond halfcourt in the closing seconds to beat the shot clock. Moriarty’s improbable shot, which came on a Nebraska baseline inbounds play, was Scott Van Pelt’s “The Best Thing I Saw Today” on ESPN. 

Huskers Face Historic Strength of Schedule

Nebraska’s game at No. 12 Michigan was its 10th this season against an AP Top 25 team at game time, and the Huskers are scheduled to face at least one more current top-25 foe in No. 7 Iowa (Feb. 18) in Lincoln. If those numbers hold, it would give NU a school-record-tying 11 games against AP Top 25 teams. No other Nebraska team has ever faced more than 11 AP Top 25 opponents (2000-01). 

Since entering the Big Ten (2011-12), the Huskers had never played more than eight games in a season against AP Top 25 foes prior to this season.

Nebraska’s upcoming game with Iowa will be its fifth against an AP Top 10 team this season. The Huskers have never faced more than five AP Top 10 teams in the same season.

The game with Iowa on Saturday will be Nebraska’s ninth this season against a current NCAA NET Top 16 opponent.

Scouting The Minnesota Golden Gophers

Lindsay Whalen leads a young group of Gophers in her fifth year as Minnesota’s head coach. In a season when teams are loaded with experience across the conference, Minnesota features a starting five loaded with freshmen and sophomores.

Inexperience has been a major factor in Minnesota struggling to a 9-16 overall record and a 2-12 conference mark in the strongest Big Ten from top-to-bottom in recent memory.

True freshman Mallory Heyer joins sophomore Alanna Micheaux as the only Gophers to start all 25 games this season. Micheaux, a 6-2 forward, is averaging 14.1 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds, while Heyer, a 6-1 forward, has contributed 11.9 points and 7.2 boards. Heyer, who was the No. 55 recruit in the nation according to ESPN out of Chaska, Minn., also has hit 32 three-pointers. 

Another true freshman, 6-0 guard Mara Braun, leads the Gophers with 14.8 points per game while connecting on a team-best 49 threes (.336). Braun, who was the No. 28 player in the nation by ESPN out of Wayzata, Minn., has added 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals.

A third true freshman, 5-11 point guard Amaya Battle out of Hopkins, Minn., has added 19 starts and is averaging 9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and a team-best 4.4 assists. Battle was the No. 39 recruit in the country according to ESPN and was Minnesota’s Miss Basketball in 2022.

Sophomore guard Maggie Czinano, the younger sister of Iowa’s Monika Czinano, recently joined Minnesota’s starting five. She is averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. She replaced redshirt freshman Katie Borowicz, who started 17 games for the Gophers and ranks fifth on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per contest and a team-best 1.9 steals.

While the Gophers have been fully committed to a youth movement, they have much more experienced players coming off the bench. Graduate guard/forward Isabelle Gradwell has made six starts and averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. The fifth-year player from Marshalltown, Iowa, spent her first four seasons at Cleveland State.

Another graduate guard, Mi’Cole Cayton, is in her seventh collegiate season after spending two years at Nebraska. Cayton, who has made two starts, is averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11 minutes per game. She helped Nebraska to the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a key reserve a year ago. She spent her first four seasons at California, after originally signing with Nebraska out of Stockton St. Mary’s (Calif.) High School in November of 2015.

Senior Destinee Oberg also has helped Minnesota off the bench after spending her first three seasons at Arkansas. Oberg, a 6-3 center, was the No. 38 player in the country in the 2019 class by Prospects Nation at John F. Kennedy High School in Burnsville, Minn. She is averaging 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Graduate transfer Angelina Hammond, another 5-11 guard from Hopkins, Minn., has multiple years of eligibility after starting her career at Siena in 2018-19. She spent two seasons at Southeastern before playing at Miami Dade last year. She has appeared in 20 games this season for the Gophers.

Minnesota is trying to stop a six-game losing streak that includes a 76-70 overtime loss to Wisconsin at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday. Mallory Heyer led Minnesota with 28 points and 15 rebounds, while Mara Braun added 15 points. Amaya Battle contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

Prior to the loss to Wisconsin, Minnesota played consecutive games against the top teams in the Big Ten, including Michigan (Jan. 29), Indiana (Feb. 1), at Illinois (Feb. 5), and at Ohio State (Feb. 8).

In Big Ten play, Minnesota is averaging 66.6 points per game, but opponents have dissected the Gopher defense for 80.2 points per contest. Minnesota has produced one of the top rebounding totals in the conference (41.5 rpg) but they have averaged 19.9 turnovers per league game and carry a minus-6.5 turnover margin.

Minnesota is shooting just 27.1 percent from three-point range in the league, and 38 percent overall from the field, while Big Ten opponents are hitting 45.4 percent of their field goals including 33.6 percent of their threes. 

Nebraska vs. Minnesota Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Minnesota 17-12, including three consecutive victories.

The Huskers swept the season series with the Golden Gophers a year ago by working their way to a 70-67 road win in Minneapolis to open 2021-22 Big Ten play (Dec. 6, 2021). Nebraska followed with a 93-70 run past Minnesota at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Feb. 20, 2022).

The Huskers began their three-game winning streak in the series with a 72-61 victory at the 2021 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

Nebraska owns a 12-4 all-time edge in Lincoln and is 2-0 at the Big Ten Tournament, but the Huskers are 3-8 against the Gophers in Minneapolis. NU owns a 12-7 advantage as Big Ten foes.

Jaz Shelley and Bella Cravens each scored 15 points to lead Nebraska to victory at Williams Arena last December, while Sam Haiby scored 10 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter to rally NU from a four-point deficit with four minutes left. Isabelle Bourne pitched in 10 points.

Last season, Jaz Shelley averaged 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 3.0 steals in Nebraska’s two wins over Minnesota.

In seven career games against Minnesota, Sam Haiby has averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals. She has scored in double figures in all seven games.

Although women’s basketball was not a full varsity sport at Nebraska until 1975-76, a women’s team from Nebraska suffered its first defeat at Minnesota in 1904 after going unbeaten in 1897 and 1903. Two weeks after the first meeting with Minnesota, Nebraska beat the same team in Lincoln.

Minnesota’s Laura Coenen scored 42 points for the Gophers in a 90-79 win over the Huskers on Nov. 30, 1984. That effort is tied for the most points by any opponent individual against the Huskers.

Husker Numbers to Watch

Sam Haiby (Moorhead, Minn.) is expected to make the 100th start of her Nebraska career when the Huskers play the Golden Gophers in her home state on Wednesday.

Sam Haiby is three points away (1,538) from matching Angie Miller for No. 12 on Nebraska’s all-time scoring list (1,541 points, 1984-87).

Sam Haiby needs three rebounds to match Carol Garey at No. 18 (617, 1979-80) on Nebraska’s career rebounding list. 

Isabelle Bourne needs four points to match Dominique Kelley in No. 25 (1,107, 2008-11) on Nebraska’s career scoring list. Bourne is nine points shy of Jessica Shepard at No. 24 (1,112, 2016-17) and 13 points away from Meggan Yedsena (1,116, 1991-94) at No. 23.

Alexis Markowski’s 13 double-doubles this season are tied for the seventh most by a Husker in a season in school history. Her next double-double will move her into a tie for fourth on NU’s season double-double list with 14 (Jordan Hooper, 2011-12 & 2013-14; Emily Cady, 2013-14).

Alexis Markowski needs one more double-double to become just the 10th Husker in history to amass 20 or more career double-doubles.

Jaz Shelley needs five assists to move into a tie for 12th on Nebraska’s career assist list with Kathy Hawkins (326, 1976-77).

Jaz Shelley is eight assists from tying Meggan Yedsena (169, 1992-93 & 1993-94) for ninth on the Nebraska single-season assist chart.