Huskers Hungry for Home Win Over Hoosiers

Nebraska is back home on Thursday night hunting for its third Big Ten Conference victory when the Huskers play host to Indiana.

Tip-off between the No. 25 Huskers (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten) and the Hoosiers (11-5, 0-4 Big Ten) at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com.

Free live audio from the Huskers Radio Network will be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers App, 107.3 FM in Lincoln and 1490 AM/97.3 FM/97.7 HD3 in Omaha with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call for their 25th consecutive season.

A live video stream will be provided to subscribers of B1G+.

Nebraska notched its first Big Ten home win of the new year with a 78-62 victory over Purdue at PBA on Sunday afternoon.

Indiana comes to Lincoln in search of its first Big Ten win of the season after dropping an 82-67 decision on the road at No. 7 Maryland on Sunday evening.

Nancy Lieberman Award candidate Britt Prince, who has been a catalyst in all areas in a balanced Big Red attack, led all players with 19 points in the win over Purdue. Prince, who ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.0 ppg) ranks among the top 35 players in NCAA Division I in five categories, including field goal percentage (.597, 16th), field goals made (111, 22nd), free throw percentage (.886, 23rd), points (285, 29th) and points per game (33rd). She also ranks 11th in the Big Ten in assists (4.1 apg). The 5-11 sophomore point guard who was a two-time Nebraska High School Player of the Year and four-time state champion at Elkhorn North is averaging 20.5 points per game in Big Ten play.

Fellow sophomore Amiah Hargrove also has emerged as a rising star in the conference. An early contender for Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, Hargrove is averaging 12.1 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds off the bench. The 6-2 forward is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 82.9 percent from the free throw line after going for 13 points in the win over Purdue. She missed the game at Iowa with a minor injury sustained late in NU's loss to No. 17 USC (Dec. 29). She had a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting (4-5 3FG) in Nebraska's Big Ten-opening road win at Penn State (Dec. 6).   

Junior Jessica Petrie has provided consistency and leadership at both ends in her second season as a starter. The 6-2 forward from Gold Coast, Australia, ranks third on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Petrie, who had 17 points and a career-high three threes at Iowa, also has 15 steals in 15 games this season after getting just 12 steals over 68 games in her first two years as a Husker. She also leads the Huskers with 16 blocked shots.

Callin Hake provides veteran leadership and the emotional heartbeat for the Big Red. The 5-8 senior guard from Victoria, Minn., had 11 points and a trio of threes in the win over Purdue. She leads NU with 4.5 assists per game and a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks eighth in the Big Ten and 38th nationally. Hake is shooting 41.1 percent (23-56) from long range and 88.2 percent at the line.

Senior Eliza Maupin has earned back-to-back starts the past two games. She had 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the win over Purdue (Jan. 4), after getting her first Nebraska double-double with 12 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds at No. 14 Iowa (Jan. 1). The 6-3 senior is averaging 9.3 points and 4.4 rebounds and has scored in double figures in four straight games.

Sophomore Petra Bozan earned starts in NU's first 13 games. The 6-3 Croatian is averaging 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.  She produced a career-high 17 points in NU's Big Ten-opening win at Penn State (Dec. 6).

Graduate guard Hailey Weaver, who spent her first four seasons at Northwestern, started the first 13 games in the Husker lineup as the Big Red's top ball-pressuring guard ("Pirate" or "Hound"). Weaver, who has been battling illness the past two games, leads the Huskers with 22 steals. Logan Nissley has earned back-to-back starts. The 6-0 Nissley is averaging 6.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while hitting 50 percent (22-44) of her threes.

Nebraska's rotation goes 10-12 deep, including significant contributions from Claire Johnson (5.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg), Kennadi Williams (3.0 ppg, 2.1 apg) and Emily Fisher.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten)
21 - Eliza Maupin - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 11.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - Jr. - G - 6.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
14 - Callin Hake - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
23 - Britt Prince - 5-11 - So. - G - 19.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Off the Bench
33 - Amiah Hargrove - 6-2 - So. - F - 12.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg
4 - Petra Bozan - 6-3 - So. - F - 7.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg
5 - Claire Johnson - 5-9 - So. - G - 5.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
1 - Hailey Weaver - 6-0 - Gr. - G - 4.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg
15 - Kennadi Williams - 5-4 - RFr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 0.9 rpg
34 - Emily Fisher - 6-0 - Jr. - G/F - 2.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg
00 - Alanna Neale - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - RSo. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
3 - Allison Weidner [Out] - 5-10 - Gr. - G - Redshirt
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
10th Season at Nebraska (171-125); 19th Season Overall (364-234)

Indiana Hoosiers (11-5, 0-4 Big Ten)
3 - Maya Makalusky - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 6.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
8 - Edessa Noyan - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 5.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg
2 - Nevaeh Caffey - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg
5 - Lenee Beaumont - 6-0 - RSo. - G - 14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg
10 - Shay Ciezki - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 22.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Off the Bench
23 - Zania Socka-Nguemen - 6-3 - So. - F - 11.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg
1 - Phoenix Stotijn - 5-9 - So. - G - 2.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg
7 - Jerni Kiaku - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 1.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg
45 - Jade Ondineme - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 0.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg
22 - Chloe Spreen - 5-10 - So. - G - 0.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg
31 - Faith Wiseman - 6-4 - So. - F - 0.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Head Coach: Teri Moren (Purdue, 1992)
12th Season at Indiana (257-117); 23rd Season Overall (456-247)

Scouting the Indiana Hoosiers
• Indiana comes to Lincoln hoping to snap a three-game losing streak after an 82-67 loss at No. 7 Maryland on Sunday night in College Park. The Hoosiers also suffered an 80-60 loss to No. 24 Michigan in Bloomington on New Year's Day, after returning from the holiday break with a 71-48 loss to NET 15 Minnesota (Dec. 29) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

• The Hoosiers, 11-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, opened league play with a 78-57 loss at Illinois (Dec. 6).

• Last season, Indiana finished with a 20-13 record and advanced to the NCAA second round, after tying Nebraska for eighth in the final conference standings at 10-8. It marked the sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament that Indiana won at least one game, including a trip to the 2021 NCAA Elite Eight. The Hoosiers own 10 straight 20-win seasons under 12th-year Hoosier head coach Teri Moren.

• The Hoosiers also have dominated the series with the Huskers in recent years, posting nine wins in the last 10 meetings.

• Senior Shay Ciezki is the only returning starter from last year's team. The 5-7 guard, who started her college career at Penn State, is averaging 22.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, while shooting 44.3 percent (35-79) from long range.Ciezki is also a 93 percent free throw shooter and leads Indiana with 22 steals.

• Lenee Beaumont, a 6-0 redshirt sophomore, is in her first season as a starter with Indiana after missing last season with an injury. Beaumont played 30 games as a freshman in 2023-24 and averaged 3.0 points per game. This season, she is averaging 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds while adding 3.1 assists. Beaumont is also shooting a scorching 44.9 percent (31-69) from three-point range.

• Faith Wiseman, a 6-4 sophomore who has played just 34 minutes in seven games, is the only other active returning player from last year's squad.

• UCLA transfer Zania Socka-Nguemen started Indiana's first seven games before suffering an injury. The 6-3 sophomore forward has averaged 11.9 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds. She returned to play 17 minutes off the bench at Maryland on Sunday, producing four points, three rebounds and two assists in her first appearance since Nov. 28 (Gonzaga).

• Edessa Noyan, a 6-3 transfer from Virginia, has replaced Socka-Nguemen in the starting five the last eight games. The junior forward from Sweden has averaged 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds on the year.

• Freshmen Nevaeh Caffey and Maya Makalusky round out Indiana's starting lineup. Caffey, a high school teammate of Nebraska's Natalie Potts at Incarnate Word Academy, has started every game and averaged 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. Makalusky has made six starts, averaging 6.8 points and 2.7 boards.

• Transfers Phoenix Stotijn (2.8 ppg), Jerni Kiaku (1.9 ppg) and Jade Ondineme (0.9 ppg) have been regular contributors, but the Hoosiers have struggled to find production from the bench.

• Indiana was also affected by the departure of Valentyna Kadlecova, who returned home to her native Czech Republic at the conclusion of the first semester. Kadlecova made 10 starts in the first 11 games. In IU's lone non-conference loss to nationally ranked Iowa State and the Big Ten-opening loss to Illinois, Kadlecova managed just three points in each game and did not start against ULM (Dec. 11) in her final game as a Hoosier. She averaged 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds.

• As a team, Indiana is averaging 72.3 points on 47.5 percent shooting, including an outstanding 37.4 percent from three-point range. IU is also hitting 77.1 percent of its free throws. However, Indiana carries a minus-1.6 rebound margin and a minus-0.9 turnover margin. In Big Ten play, the Hoosiers have been held to just 58 points, while giving up 77.8 points per contest. IU has hit just 48-of-111 shots (.432) inside the arc, while being outrebounded by an average of 9.2 boards per game and carrying a minus-8.5 turnover margin.
 
Nebraska vs. Indiana Series History
• Nebraska trails the all-time series with Indiana, 13-6, including a 91-69 setback in the most recent meeting at PBA in Lincoln (Jan. 7, 2024).

• Indiana is 9-1 against Nebraska over the last 10 games, with Nebraska's only victory coming in a 72-55 win at Pinnacle Bank Arenan (Feb. 14, 2022).

• Indiana has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in seven of the last nine games, but Thursday's game will mark the second straight game in the series that the Hoosiers enter unranked.

• Nebraska trails the all-time series in 5-4, while Indiana is 8-2 against the Huskers in Bloomington. Indiana owns seven consecutive wins in Bloomington dating back to a 67-64 NU win at Assembly Hall on Feb. 21, 2015. The two teams have never met on a neutral court.

• A total of 17 of 19 meetings in the series have been as Big Ten foes, beginning with a 62-48 Husker win in Lincoln (Jan. 5, 2012). Nebraska won the first four meetings as conference opponents, including a 67-38 win in Bloomington on Jan. 10, 2013 - NU’s fewest points ever allowed to a Big Ten foe in a conference game.

Prince Named to Nancy Lieberman Watch List
• Nebraska's Britt Prince was named to the list of 20 women's college basketball players on the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason Watch List on Oct. 27. The Lieberman Award was the first of the Naismith Starting 5 award watch lists announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

• Fan voting for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award is open at http://www.hoophallawards.com.

• Prince, a 5-11 sophomore from Omaha, Neb., returns for her second season at Nebraska after averaging 13.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals as a true freshman.

• Through 15 games this season, she is averaging a team-best 19.0 points per game while hitting 59.7 percent (111-186) of her shots from the field, including 24-of-47 threes (.511).

• Prince was the MVP of the Emerald Coast Classic Beach Bracket (Nov. 24-25) after leading the Huskers to a tournament title with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting in a 91-82 win over Virginia. She averaged 24.0 points and 6.5 assists in the tournament, including 18 points and a season-high seven assists in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

• Prince established her career high with 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting in a win over Oral Roberts (Nov. 19).

• She produced a 27-point performance at No. 14 Iowa (Jan. 1), when she also recorded five rebounds and four steals, before getting a game-high 17 points to go with a team-high four rebounds in the win over Purdue (Jan. 4).

• Prince opened Big Ten play with 20 points in a win at Penn State (Dec. 6) and led all players with 18 points and seven assists against No. 17 USC (Dec. 29).

• She tipped 2025-26 with 19 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal in a win over Northwestern State (Nov. 3).

• Prince followed with 23 points, two assists and two steals in a win over Samford (Nov. 8), before getting 18 points and a season-high seven rebounds in a win over Creighton (Nov. 12).

• She had 16 points and three assists in a win over North Dakota State in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Nov. 16).

• Prince had 17 points, four rebounds and five assists in a 92-53 win over Bradley (Dec. 3).

• She had eight points, five assists and five steals in an 87-35 win over Omaha (Dec. 9), before going for 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and no turnovers in a win over Illinois State (Dec. 14).

• Prince, a two-time Gatorade and MaxPreps Nebraska High School Player of the Year at Elkhorn North, earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors while leading the Huskers to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

• In the NCAA Tournament, Prince led the Big Red with 14 points and six assists against Louisville. She averaged 17.0 points and 5.3 assists over three Big Ten Tournament games, including a season-high-tying 24 points against tourney champion and NCAA No. 1 seed UCLA.

• Prince was the USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Jan. 21, 2025) after going for 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals in a win at Iowa (Jan. 16, 2025), when she hit a career-high five three-pointers.

Potts Earns Spot on Katrina Mcclain Watch List
 • Nebraska's Natalie Potts was included on the list of 20 women's college basketball players named to the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Preseason Watch List on Oct. 30. The McClain Award was the fourth of the Naismith Starting 5 award watch lists announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

• Fan voting for the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award is open at http://www.hoophallawards.com.

• Potts, a 6-2 redshirt sophomore from O'Fallon, Mo., returns for her third season at Nebraska in 2025-26. She was the 2023-24 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game of the 2024-25 campaign. Potts was averaging team bests of 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds through the first four games prior to her injury. She was shooting 69.4 percent from the field, including 72.7 percent (8-11) from three-point range to lead the Big Red to a No. 19 national ranking and a 4-0 start.

• In 40-minute production, Potts put up eye-popping numbers of 28.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per 40 to rank among the best players in the Big Ten through the first four games last season.

• In 2023-24, Potts led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.489), while ranking second among league freshmen in scoring (10.2 ppg) and free throw percentage (.829) in 2023-24. She started all 35 games for the 23-12 Huskers, who advanced to the Big Ten Championship Game and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• Potts, who won 8-of-15 Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards during the regular season, was the most consistent freshman in the conference from start to finish. She won the inaugural weekly honor on Nov. 13, 2023, before claiming the final two freshman awards on Feb. 26 and March 4. She won at least one weekly honor during all five months of the season. Her eight weekly awards matched the total of fellow Nebraska Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis Markowski in 2022.

• Potts, who also claimed an honorable-mention All-Big Ten award from the conference media, was a unanimous choice on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team by the conference coaches.

• After suffering her knee injury against North Alabama (Nov. 19, 2024), Potts underwent knee surgery (Dec. 4). She continues to rehab with hopes of returning to the court mid-season.

Nebraska By The Numbers
• Petra Bozan (294) needs 6 points to reach 300 in her career.
• Callin Hake (688) needs 12 points to reach 700 in her career.
• Britt Prince (688) needs 12 points to reach 700 in her career.
• Britt Prince (.597) ranks 16th nationally and 3rd in the Big Ten in field goal percentage.
• Britt Prince (19.0 ppg) ranks 33rd nationally and 5th in the Big Ten in scoring.
• Callin Hake (2.48) ranks 38th nationally and 8th in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Nebraska (.514 FG%) ranks 6th nationally and leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage.
• Nebraska (33.1 ppg) ranks 6th nationally and 2nd in the Big Ten in bench scoring.
• Nebraska (86.3 ppg) ranks 12th nationally and 5th in the Big Ten in scoring offense.
• Nebraska (19.3 apg) ranks 14th nationally and 4th in the Big Ten in assists per game.
• Nebraska (1.48) ranks 14th nationally and 4th in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Nebraska (.780) ranks 14th nationally and 2nd in the Big Ten in free throw percentage.
• Nebraska (+26.2 ppg) ranks 15th nationally and 5th in the Big Ten in scoring margin.

Big Red Triple Threats
• Nebraska is hitting 36.7 percent of its shots from three-point range and averaging 8.2 made threes per game with shooters up and down the lineup.

• Five Huskers are shooting 38.5 percent or better from long range: Britt Prince (.511), Logan Nissley (.500), Callin Hake (.411), Hailey Weaver (.409) and Amiah Hargrove (.385).

• In Big Ten play, the Huskers have knocked down 41.2 percent of their threes while averaging 8.8 makes per game.

• Hargrove (.727) leads the Huskers from beyond the arc in league play, while Prince (.563), Nissley (.500) and Weaver (.500) give Nebraska four players hitting 50 percent or better from long range through four Big Ten contests.