Huskers Tangle with Cats Sunday

Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten)

vs. Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten)

Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, 3:30 p.m. (CT)

Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln, Nebraska

Tickets: Huskers.com / 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Special Event: Senior Day (Postgame)
Special Giveaway: “You Betcha” Gourmet Grilling Spatula (300)
Live Television: BTN
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (3:15 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (CD 105.9 FM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Huskers Close Big Ten Regular Season with Cats

The Nebraska women’s basketball team takes aim at its 11th Big Ten Conference regular-season win while trying to tie a school record for home victories when the Huskers host Northwestern Sunday. Tip-off between the Big Red (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten) and the Wildcats (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten) is set for 3:30 p.m. (CT) p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena with tickets on sale now at Huskers.com. 

The Big Ten Network will televise the game, while Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch describe the action on the Huskers Radio Network (B107.3 FM CD 105.9 FM in Omaha), the Huskers App and Huskers.com. In a special promotional giveaway, 300 lucky fans could go home with “You Betcha” gourmet grilling spatulas. “You Betcha” is the signature three-point call of Matt Coatney.

The Huskers will celebrate Senior Day for MiCole Cayton, Bella Cravens and Sam Haiby in a post-game ceremony. Manager Gage Pohlmeier and nutrition student intern Allison Aden also will be recognized.

Not only will Nebraska be looking to tie the school record with its 16th home win of the year (1997-98, 2009-10, 2013-14), the Huskers and Wildcats will be playing for the No. 6 seed at the 14-team Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis next week. The winning team will claim the No. 6 seed, while a loss by the Huskers would drop them to the No. 7 spot. A loss by Northwestern could knock them to the No. 7 or 8 spots, pending the outcome of the Michigan State/Ohio State contest.

Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year front-runner Alexis Markowski continues to build an impressive season as the only true freshman in the conference to lead her team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). The seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week won her most recent award on Monday (Feb. 21) after averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games last week. In 15 games as a Big Ten starter, Markowski is averaging 16.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

Markowski is the only Power Five conference freshman to average at least 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds this season. She leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and rebounding.

Jaz Shelley is the only Big Ten player to rank among the top 20 in the league in scoring (18th, 12.3 ppg), rebounding (9th, 7.0 rpg), assists (5th, 5.0 apg), steals (7th, 1.8 spg) and blocked shots (6th, 1.1 bpg). She notched her fourth 20-point game of the year in Wednesday’s win at Wisconsin.

Captains Sam Haiby and Isabelle Bourne are surging down the stretch. Haiby is averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists the last five games, while Bourne is averaging 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds the past five games. She has scored in double figures in eight straight contests.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten)

34 – Isabelle Bourne – 6-2 – So. – F – 10.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg

40 – Alexis Markowski – 6-3 – Fr. – F/C – 12.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg

1 – Jaz Shelley – 5-9 – So. – G – 12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg

3 – Allison Weidner – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg

4 – Sam Haiby – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Off the Bench

14 – Bella Cravens – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 6.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg

21 – Annika Stewart – 6-3 – Fr. – F – 5.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg

32 – Kendall Coley – 6-2 – Fr. – F/G – 2.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg

5 – MiCole Cayton – 5-9 – Gr. – G – 2.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg

11 – Ruby Porter – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 2.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg

10 – Whitney Brown – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg

15 – Kendall Moriarty – 6-1 – Fr. – G – 1.7 ppg, 0.4 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)

Sixth Season at Nebraska (93-82); 15th Season Overall (286-191)

Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten)

15 – Courtney Shaw – 6-0 – Sr. – F – 8.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg

2 – Lauryn Satterwhite – 5-7 – Gr. – G – 7.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg

4 – Jillian Brown – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg

12 – Veronica Burton – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 17.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg

33 – Laya Hartman – 5-11 – Jr. – G – 7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Off the Bench

10 – Caileigh Walsh – 6-3 – Fr. – F – 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg

21 – Melannie Daley – 5-11 – Fr. – G – 6.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg

20 – Paige Mott – 6-1 – So. – F – 3.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg

1 – Kaylah Rainey – 5-6 – Jr. – G – 2.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg

42 – Anna Morris – 6-3 – So. – F – 1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg

0 – Jess Sancataldo – 6-0 – Sr. – G – 1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg

23 – Jasmine McWilliams – 5-11 – So. – G – 0.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg

13 – Mercy Ademusayo – 6-4 – Fr. – F – 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg

Head Coach: Joe McKeown (Kent State, 1979)

14th Season at Northwestern (239-196); 36th Season Overall (748-370)

Nebraska Numbers to Watch

• Nebraska has produced its second 20-win season under Coach Amy Williams, joining the 2017-18 squad that finished with 21 victories. The Huskers have a total of 18 20-win seasons in program history.

• A win for Nebraska against Northwestern would give the Huskers their 11th season with 22 or more victories in program history and their first since a 26-win campaign in 2013-14, when Nebraska won the Big Ten Tournament title before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• Nebraska is 15-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena with a pair of wins over top-10 foes (No. 5 Indiana, Feb. 14; No. 8 Michigan, Jan. 4). It marks NU’s most home wins since going 15-4 at PBA in 2015-16. The school record for home wins in a season is 16 (3 times, 1997-98 [16-0], 2009-10 [16-0], 2013-14 [16-2]).

• Nebraska’s two wins over top-10 opponents represent the second time in school history the Huskers have posted multiple wins over top-10 teams in the same season, joining the 2009-10 campaign when NU recorded three top-10 victories.

• Through games Feb. 24, the Huskers ranked among the top 25 teams nationally in assists (6th, 492), total rebounds (7th, 1,197), scoring offense (10th, 78.8), assists per game (11th, 17.6 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (13th, 1.24), three-point field goals made (14th, 235), rebounds per game (14th, 42.8 rpg), scoring margin (15th, +15.8), defensive rebounds per game (21st, 29.2 rpg) and three-point field goals made per game (25th, 8.4 pg).

• Nebraska leads the Big Ten in scoring margin (+16.0 ppg), total rebounds (43.1 rpg), field goal percentage defense (.374) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.267).

• Alexis Markowski is a seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week (Jan. 11).

• Alexis Markowski leads all Power Five conference freshmen in total rebounds (217) while ranking third in points (362) – first among forwards or centers. She is the only Power Five freshman averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.

• Nebraska guard Jaz Shelley is the only player to rank among the top 20 players in the Big Ten in scoring (18th, 12.3 ppg), rebounding (9th, 7.0 rpg), assists (5th, 5.0 apg), blocked shots (6th, 1.1 bpg) and steals (7th, 1.8 spg).

• Nebraska ranks 10th nationally in scoring offense with 78.8 points per game. The only time in the last 25 years NU has averaged more than 75 points per game in a season came in 2009-10 (77.4 ppg). That Husker team went unbeaten in the regular season, won the Big 12 regular-season title and advanced to Nebraska’s first NCAA Sweet Sixteen as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.    

• Sophomore point guard Jaz Shelley has pulled down 188 total rebounds in 816 minutes this season. In two seasons (971 minutes) at Oregon (2019-20, 2020-21), the 5-9 Shelley totaled 70 rebounds.

• Shelley needs 12 rebounds to become the first Nebraska guard to get 200 total rebounds since Brandi Jeffery (209, 2014-15). The only other Husker guard to pull down 200 boards since the turn of the century was Keasha Cannon-Johnson (227, 2001-02; 251, 2003-04).

• Jaz Shelley leads Nebraska with 30 blocked shots in 27 games. She had six blocks in 55 games over two seasons at Oregon.

• In 28 games in 2021-22, Nebraska has far surpassed its season steals total (120, 26 games) from a year ago. The Huskers own 207 steals this season. The last time NU had 200 steals in a season came with 221 in 2018-19.

• Nebraska’s minus-21 foul disparity (28-7) at Iowa (Jan. 16) marked the largest foul differential in program history (by NU or opponent) in 1,456 games over 48 seasons. It marked the first time in history that a Husker team held a negative foul differential of greater than 17. In NU’s other 27 games this season, the Huskers own a positive foul differential of +1.8.

• Nebraska has hit 235 threes this season, which ranks second in school history, trailing only 250 made threes in 2017-18 when the Huskers earned their last NCAA Tournament bid.

Scouting The Northwestern Wildcats

• Coach Joe McKeown brings Northwestern to Lincoln with momentum. The Wildcats have back-to-back double-digit wins at Illinois (82-59, Feb. 20) and over Purdue (68-51) in Evanston on Thursday while winning five of their last seven contests. Included in the stretch is a double-overtime win over top-10 Michigan (71-69, Feb. 13) and a six-point win at Penn State, along with another win over Purdue. Northwestern’s losses came at Minnesota (74-68, Feb. 11) and top-10 Indiana (Feb. 17).

• Northwestern will aim to claim the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a win over the Huskers. At 16-10 overall and 8-7 in the conference, the Wildcats would move ahead of Nebraska in the standings by percentage with a victory over the Huskers.

• National Defensive Player-of-the-Year candidate Veronica Burton leads Northwestern. The All-Big Ten guard leads the Cats in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (6.7 apg) and steals (4.1 spg). She leads the nation in steals per game and ranks fifth nationally in assists per game.

• Fellow senior Courtney Shaw leads the Wildcats inside with a team-best 10.1 rebounds, while adding 8.5 points and 1.0 block per game.

• Northwestern features three solid freshmen in Jillian Brown (8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Caileigh Walsh (7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Melannie Daley (6.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg).

• Graduate guard Lauryn Satterwhite (7.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg) has been a regular starter down the stretch, hitting 36.1 percent (30-83) of her threes on the year.

• Junior guard Laya Hartman (7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) also has joined the starting five late in the season, giving the Cats another capable shooter (.381, 24-63).

• A balanced Northwestern roster also includes Paige Mott (3.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and Kaylah Rainey (2.2 ppg).

• Northwestern relies on various forms of pressure defense to affect the game, forcing an average of 18.7 turnovers per game. The Cats own a plus-4.6 turnover margin while carrying a minus-1.6 rebound margin. They shoot just 39.8 percent from the field, including just 31.4 percent from three-point range. 

Nebraska vs. Northwestern Series History

• Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 12-8, including a sweep of last year’s season series. In a 71-64 win in Evanston (Feb. 17, 2021), Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Kate Cain added 22 points and eight rebounds inside for Nebraska. The Huskers overcame a 28-4 turnover deficit by outrebounding the Cats, 52-33.

• Nebraska prevailed 65-63 last season at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Dec. 31, 2020) as Sam Haiby hit a wild putback of her own miss as time expired. The play was ESPN SportCenter’s Top Play. Haiby led the Huskers with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Bourne added a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. The Huskers lost the turnover battle, 24-7, but won the boards 47-35.

• In the two games last season, Northwestern produced a 52-11 turnover margin, while Nebraska put up a 99-68 rebounding edge. The Huskers also outscored the Cats 48-27 from three-point range.

• Nebraska is 5-3 all-time against Northwestern in Lincoln dating back to a 65-64 win at the Devaney Center on Nov. 29, 1980. The Huskers are 6-5 against the Cats in Evanston and raced to an 88-56 win over Northwestern at the 2012 Big Ten Tournament (March 1).

Markowski Makes Case for Freshman All-American

• Alexis Markowski is making her mark as a true freshman for her hometown Huskers. The 6-3 forward/center from Lincoln leads Nebraska with 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game – the only Big Ten freshman to lead her team in scoring and rebounding.

• A seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Markowski has increased her production to 16.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals over the past 15 games as a Big Ten starter. She has hit 55.1 percent from the field and 52 percent (13-25) from three-point range during that stretch

• Markowski has captured five of the past seven Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards and was named the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week (Jan. 11).

• Markowski ranks third among all Power Five conference freshmen in points (362) while leading all Power Five freshmen in rebounds (217). She is the only Power Five freshman averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

• Among all freshmen nationally, Markowski’s 264 points in conference play trail only DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow (412, BIG EAST), Buffalo’s Georgia Woolley (295, MAC) and ORU’s Tirzah Moore (289). Markowski’s 142 total rebounds in Big Ten action rank fifth among all freshmen in their respective conferences.

• Markowski’s numbers compare favorably to the freshman campaigns of the three best forwards in Husker history, including 1993 Wade Trophy winner and first-team All-American Karen Jennings (13.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1989-90); 2010 first-team All-American Kelsey Griffin (13.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2005-06) and 2014 first-team All-American Jordan Hooper (14.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2010-11).

The Aussie Army Knife – Jaz Shelley

• A two-time choice to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (Nov. 22, Nov. 29) for her impressive performances early in the season, sophomore transfer Jaz Shelley has filled the stat sheet across all categories while leading the Huskers to a 21-7 record and a No. 21 NET ranking.

• While baseball has its rare five-tool talents, the 5-9 point guard from Moe (pronounced MO-ee), Australia is demonstrating her amazing skill level in all five major statistical categories in basketball. She is the only Big Ten player to rank among the conference’s top 20 in points (18th, 12.3 ppg), rebounds (9th, 7.0 rpg), assists (5th, 5.0 apg), blocks (6th, 1.1 bpg) and steals (7th, 1.8 spg).

• In addition to her top-25 rankings in the sport’s five major statistical categories, Shelley also ranks sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and ninth in the Big Ten in three-point field percentage (.385).

• She missed Nebraska’s loss at Iowa (Jan. 16) because of COVID protocols, while fellow starting guard Sam Haiby missed the game with injury.

• A third Husker starter, Bella Cravens, missed her fourth straight start at Iowa because of injury but did return to play two minutes in the third quarter against the Hawkeyes (Jan. 16).

• Shelley is one of three members of the Australian National Program on the 2021-22 Nebraska roster, joining Isabelle Bourne and Ruby Porter. Bourne and Shelley were teammates for Australia’s silver medal-winning Gems at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Championships.

• Shelley was the only collegiate player for Australia at the 2021 Asia Cup in Amman, Jordan. She earned a bronze medal in early October. She joined the Huskers for the 2021-22 season, after completing the NCAA transfer process in mid-April. She spent two seasons at Oregon and has three seasons of eligibility at Nebraska.

Husker Nuggets

• Sam Haiby has moved to No. 9 on Nebraska’s career assist list with 393. With seven more assists, Haiby will become the first player in Husker history to achieve the combined career milestones of 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists.

• Haiby will join graduate students MiCole Cayton and Bella Cravens in participating in Senior Day ceremonies following Nebraska’s game with Northwestern. Cayton plans to complete her collegiate eligibility this season, while Cravens and Haiby have one year remaining.

• Freshman Allison Weidner is averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in four games as a Big Ten starter

• Nebraska owns an impressive 6-3 record in February and one more win would give the Huskers just the fifth February in school history with seven or more victories. The only other time in history Nebraska played 10 games in February came in the first full season of women’s basketball as a varsity sport in 1975-76 (7-3).

• The other times Nebraska has amassed seven or more February wins, the Huskers advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament (2013-14, 8-0, NCAA 2nd Rd.; 2009-10, 8-0, NCAA Sweet 16; 2012-13, 7-0, NCAA Sweet 16).