Nebraska women’s basketball players bullish on Britt Prince

A five-star point guard from Elkhorn North, Prince won four state titles wearing No. 2, which is currently taken by Husker sophomore Logan Nissley. Instead of getting that number — the way Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola did from receiver Malachi Coleman — Prince preferred her jersey number from club basketball.

No. 23, of course, was worn by Husker legend Kelsey Griffin, whose jersey sits in the Pinnacle Bank Arena rafters.

“They said that Kelsey was fine with it,” Prince said in her first interview since joining NU. “That’s really cool.”

Matching Griffin’s impact would be no small feat. Then again, excitement and expectations for a Husker women’s basketball freshman have rarely been higher. Nebraska beat many schools — but especially Indiana — for Prince’s signature. Because Prince had been so quiet on many of her recruiting visits to campus, guard Allison Weidner said, new teammates expected the same personality when she arrived.

“She got here, got a little relaxed and kind of started to feel like home,” Weidner said. “So then she started to open up to us, and she’s a really fun girl.”

Prince conceded she can be “pretty shy” when she gets to know people.

“But they were really welcoming,” she said of teammates. “I could just be myself.”

On Monday — NU’s picture day — that meant laughing for the camera, doing TikTok dances and putting on, at one point, party hats. Other days, it means battling for playing time — and perhaps a starting job — on Nebraska’s seasoned roster.

Teammates are sold on Prince’s basketball ability.

“I think she’s capable of being Big Ten freshman of the year,” junior guard Callin Hake said. “That’s something she should definitely shoot for, and I think she can be one of the best players in this league before she leaves. The sky’s really the limit for her.”

Weidner said it’s “quite amazing” the things Prince can do on the court.

“Well, she doesn’t miss a lot of shots, so that always helps,” Weidner said. “And the ways she can get to the rim and facilitate for others is pretty unique.”

If Prince hits the ground running, NU could have one of the Big Ten’s best backcourts — despite losing All-Big Ten point guard Jaz Shelley.

Weidner, the Humphrey native who missed the last 1½ seasons with two different knee injuries, returns “100%” healthy, which for her means diving on the floor, sprinting the court and giving coaches and teammates “a heart attack” when she takes a spill.

“I feel like my old self,” said Weidner, who was averaging 10.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game when she suffered her first knee injury in December 2022.

Hake and Nissley, who made 38% and 40% of their 3-pointers last year, return, as does defensive stopper Kendall Moriarty. Florida transfer Alberte Rimdal, a career 34% 3-point shooter — is another wing threat. Her addition, and Weidner’s return, should more than account for the departures of Darian White and Maddie Krull and a knee injury that will sideline Kennadi Williams this year.

That leaves Shelley’s shoes — and her 13.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game last season — to fill. Prince’s prolific scoring and rebounding skills may not be as important as whether she and her teammates can feed posts Alexis Markowski, Jess Petrie and Natalie Potts, the last of whom was Big Ten freshman of the year last season.

NU builds its offense on “post touches,” especially to Markowski, set to enter the school’s top 10 for career scoring.

“She’s a great 3-point shooter,” Hake said of Prince, “but she ‘betters the ball’ for her teammates, and I think that’s something we need to do when we have such a great inside presence.”

“I’m willing to accept whatever role comes my way,” she said. “I just want to help the team win.”