Postseason Play Highlights 2021 – University of Nebraska

• 2021 Postseason Tournament Qualifier (WNIT, Round of 16)
• Sam Haiby – Second-Team All-Big Ten
• Kate Cain – Big Ten All-Defensive (Third Career Award)
• Kate Cain – Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Second Career Award)
• Isabelle Bourne – Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten
• Bella Cravens – Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
• Ashley Scoggin – National JUCO Transfer of the Year Finalist

Huskers Make Major Strides in 2021, Look Forward to 2022

• The Nebraska women’s basketball team concluded a successful season with a narrow loss in the round of 16 of the 2021 Postseason WNIT.

• Nebraska (13-13, 9-10 Big Ten) finished ninth in the final Big Ten regular-season standings and earned the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament.

• The Huskers not only notched a Big Ten Tournament victory over Minnesota (72-61), they added a Postseason WNIT win over Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion UT Martin (72-46) in Memphis, Tenn. Nebraska was one of eight Big Ten teams to advance to postseason play.

• During the regular season, Nebraska posted five wins over AP Top 25 opponents – the second-highest total in the Big Ten, trailing only No. 7 Maryland. Nebraska defeated No. 15 Ohio State and swept No. 15/24 Northwestern, while adding wins over No. 23 Michigan State and Rutgers.

• Nebraska was one of only eight Big Ten teams to record more than one win over a top-25 opponent during the regular season.

• Sam Haiby emerged as a star for the Big Red, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. The 5-9 junior guard from Moorhead, Minn., was the only conference player to rank among the top 13 in scoring (11th, 16.8 ppg), rebounding (13th, 6.8 rpg) and assists (8th, 4.4 apg).

• Isabelle Bourne also emerged as a future force in the Big Ten, claiming honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades in 2021. Bourne finished 11th in the Big Ten in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and 24th in scoring (13.6 ppg) while adding 2.5 assists. Bourne was also a semifinalist for the World Exposure Report International Player of the Year in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

• Three-time Big Ten All-Defensive selection Kate Cain continued as one of the best shot-blockers in conference and school history. The 6-5 Cain ranks No. 6 all time in the Big Ten and holds the Nebraska record with 352 career blocks. Cain earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades in 2021 and became just the 10th Husker in history to achieve the combined milestones of 1,000 points and 750 rebounds. Cain owns 1,085 points, 780 rebounds and 352 blocks in her career.

• Transfer Ashley Scoggin made an instant impact on the Husker lineup in 2020-21. Scoggin was one of 10 finalists for the World Exposure Report National Junior College Transfer of the Year Award after starting all 26 games alongside Haiby and Cain. Scoggin averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 assists while leading the Huskers with 43 three-pointers.

• Transfer Bella Cravens also made a big impact inside for the Big Red. The 6-3 forward from Laie, Hawaii, ranked 10th in the Big Ten with 7.6 rebounds per game. She added 6.4 points per game while starting 17 games despite battling an ankle injury late in the season.

• Annika Stewart smashed the Nebraska freshman record for three-point percentage (.446, 29-65).

Nebraska Knocks Off Five Top 25 Foes in 2020-21

• Nebraska’s five regular-season wins over AP Top 25 teams trailed only No. 7 Maryland among Big Ten teams. The Terrapins went 8-2 against foes ranked at any point this season in the AP Poll, while Nebraska went 5-5. Iowa was the only other Big Ten team with more than four wins. The Hawkeyes went 5-9.

•  The Huskers’ win over No. 15 Ohio State (Jan. 16) marked the third time in 2020-21 that Nebraska played an AP No. 15 team that also entered the game unbeaten (Northwestern, 4-0; Michigan, 7-0; Ohio State, 7-0). 

• Nebraska was 5-5 against AP Top 25 teams (ranked at any point this season) including 4-4 against AP Top 25 teams at game time, with wins over No. 15 Northwestern, No. 15 Ohio State, at No. 23 Michigan State and at No. 24 Northwestern, and losses at No. 15 Indiana, at No. 15 Michigan, to No. 7 Maryland (March 11) and No. 9 Maryland (Feb. 14). 

Big Red Signs Top 25 Recruiting Class for 2021

• Nebraska Coach Amy Williams received National Letters of Intent from five talented players on Nov. 11, as the Huskers earned a No. 21 national ranking for its incoming class of 2021 from ESPN.

• Nebraska’s impressive group includes two players ranked among the top 100 in the ESPN individual rankings, led by the versatile Kendall Coley (No. 49) and Nebraska high school standout Allison Weidner (No. 80) at the national level. Lincoln native Alexis Markowski, who will contend with Weidner for Nebraska’s state high school player-of-the-year award in 2021, Illinois prep star Kendall Moriarity and Tatiana Popa fortify a strong five-player class. 

• Four members of the Husker class have been ranked among the top 100 in the country by at least one ranking service, and all five have been mentioned among the top 275.

• Kendall Coley was an early enrollee for Nebraska after delays to the high school season in Minnesota. She was cleared for full participation on Jan. 21, 2021 and played in 12 games for the Big Red. She averaged 1.9 points and 1.0 rebound.

• Incoming Husker Alexis Markowski was named the Nebraska MaxPreps Player of the Year on March 24. Markowski led Lincoln Pius X to back-to-back Class A state championships. The 6-3 forward/center averaged 23.3 points and 13.0 rebounds for the Thunderbolts as a senior. Over her final three high school seasons, Markowski totaled 1,484 points and 867 rebounds.

• Incoming Husker Allison Weidner led the state of Nebraska in scoring (25.0 ppg) and assists (6.4 apg) while ranking second in steals (6.4 spg). She led the Humphrey St. Francis Flyers to the 2021 Class D2 state championship. The 5-10 guard finished her high school career as the No. 3 scorer in state history with 2,282 points, while adding 741 assists and 629 steals.