Huskers Open Home Stand Wednesday with Owls

The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns home to open an important three-game home stand by playing host to Florida Atlantic on Wednesday in Lincoln.

Tip-off between the Huskers (4-2) and the Owls (3-2) at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7 p.m., with tickets available now at Huskers.com. 

Nebraska fans can listen across the Huskers Radio Network, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha, the Huskers App and Huskers.com, as Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch team up for their 23rd season together calling the action. Pregame starts at 6:30 p.m. (CT). 

B1G+ subscribers can also follow the game on the live video stream produced by Big Ten Student U with Jake Schrantz and Bobby Hessling on the call.

Nebraska will be looking to bounce back from an 88-81 loss to unbeaten TCU on Saturday in the championship game of the St. Pete Showcase. Florida Atlantic also will be looking to rebound from a loss on Saturday that ended a three-game winning streak.

Natalie Potts continued her outstanding start to the season by claiming her second Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award on Monday, Nov. 27. The 6-2 forward from O’Fallon, Mo., erupted for a career-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field in a win over Lamar (Nov. 23) in Nebraska’s first game at the St. Pete Showcase. Potts, who is leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.738), is averaging 12.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 block through six games as a starter. The two-time Missouri High School Player of the Year has hit 27-of-30 two-point field goals (.900) this season. Not only that, Potts has been fouled on 6-of-27 made two-pointers, converting 5-of-6 and-ones on the season. She won her first Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honor on Nov. 13.

Lisa Leslie Award candidate Alexis Markowski is leading the Huskers in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg) while hitting 64.7 percent (33-51) of her two-point attempts. Markowski notched her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds against TCU. 

The 6-3 Markowski is one of four Huskers averaging in double figures, including two-time Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award candidate Jaz Shelley, who is averaging 12.7 points and 3.2 assists after back-to-back 17-point efforts in Florida. 

Darian White, a four-year starter and three-time All-Big Sky performer at Montana State before transferring to Nebraska as a graduate student, rounds out the four Huskers averaging in double figures. The 5-6 point guard is averaging 11.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists after a season-high 16 points against TCU.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (3-2, 0-0 American Athletic)
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, 7 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Tickets: Huskers.com / 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Live Video: B1G+ (subscription)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (6:30 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - 12.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Jr. - C/F - 17.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg
0 - Darian White - 5-6 - Gr. - G - 11.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 12.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg
42 - Maddie Krull - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 2.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Off the Bench
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 9.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
14 - Callin Hake - 5-9 - So. - G - 6.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 4.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 5.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 2.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 2.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Eighth Season at Nebraska (118-101); 17th Season Overall (311-210)

Florida Atlantic Owls (3-2, 0-0 AAC)
30 - Janeta Rozentale - 6-0 - Gr. - F - 11.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg
13 - Evie Van Der Woude - 6-5 - Fr. - C - 1.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg
2 - Aniya Hubbard - 5-8 - So. - G - 20.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg
11 - Mya Perry - 5-11 - So. - G - 8.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg
24 - Rose Caverly - 5-10 - Gr. - G - 1.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Off the Bench
23 - Jada Moore - 5-11 - Sr. - G - 12.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg
14 - Alexa Zaph - 5-8 - Gr. - G - 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
12 - Allie Tylka - 6-0 - Gr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg
1 - Devyn Scott - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 2.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
22 - Dyllan Hanna - 6-2 - So. - C - 1.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg
21 - Maria Myklebust - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 1.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Head Coach: Jennifer Sullivan (Memphis, 2005)
Third Season at Florida Atlantic (20-45); Third Season Overall (20-45)

Scouting The Florida Atlantic Owls
Coach Jennifer Sullivan leads Florida Atlantic to Lincoln with a 3-2 record. The Owls are coming off a 57-43 loss at Kennesaw State on Saturday that snapped a three-game winning streak for FAU.

Aniya Hubbard, who was the 2023 Conference USA Freshman of the Year for the Owls, led Florida Atlantic with 11 points and seven rebounds despite going just 2-for-12 from the floor. Hubbard leads the Owls with 20.2 points per game on the season while adding 6.6 rebounds.

Jada Moore, a 5-11 senior guard who transferred to FAU after starting her career at Kansas State, ranks second on the team in both scoring and rebounding with 12.3 points and 7.3 boards off the bench. Moore did not play in the loss to Kennesaw State after leading FAU with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 50-39 win over Stetson (Nov. 20).

With Moore leading the way, FAU outscored Stetson 19-2 in the fourth quarter. Without Moore, the Owls were outscored 18-2 in the first quarter at Kennesaw State.

Janeta Rozentale, a 6-0 graduate transfer from South Florida, has added 11.0 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds through five starts. Rozentale is shooting 59.5 percent from the field, but just 45.8 percent (11-24) from the free throw line.

Ohio State transfer Mya Perry has contributed 8.2 points as a starter. The 5-11 sophomore guard leads FAU with 8-of-24 three-point shooting.

Quinnipiac transfer Rose Caverly has managed 1.4 points and 2.4 rebounds while starting each of the first five games. The 5-10 graduate guard is just 2-of-11 from the field on the season, including 1-of-5 from three-point range.

Freshman Evie Van Der Woude, a 6-5 center from the Netherlands, rounds out the FAU starting five by averaging 1.2 points in 10 minutes per game.

Dyllan Hanna, a 6-2 sophomore center, adds more size inside while contributing 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15 minutes per contest.

Graduate guards Alexa Zaph (4.0 ppg) and Allie Tylka (3.0 ppg) add experience off the bench, while senior guard Devyn Scott (2.0 ppg) has created offense for her teammates with a team-best 2.8 assists per game.

Junior forward Maria Myklebust rounds out FAU’s regular 11-player rotation with 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. The 6-1 Norwegian is a transfer from Vermont.

Through five games, FAU owns a 63.8-59.6 scoring advantage while hitting 40.5 percent of its shots from the field, including 26.5 percent (22-83) of its three-pointers. The Owls have hit just 64.7 percent of their free throws. Florida Atlantic owns a 40.2-39.6 edge on the glass, while holding opponents to just 34.2 percent shooting from the field. The Owls carry a minus-2.4 turnover margin while committing 18.4 turnovers per game.

Nebraska vs. FAU Series History
Nebraska owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Florida Atlantic, including an 86-69 win over the Owls on Dec. 19, 2017. That victory occupies a permanent place in Husker history, as then-freshman center Kate Cain notched the first points (22), rebounds (14) and blocked shots (11) triple-double in school history for Nebraska.

Cain led six Huskers in double figures in the victory, including a 17-point, five-rebound, eight-assist effort from Hannah Whitish. Nicea Eliely nearly added a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Emily Wood contributed 11 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting off the bench.

Sasha Cedeno led all scorers with 25 points and eight rebounds off the bench in the game for FAU. Cedeno went 10-for-11 at the free throw line and 3-of-4 from long range.

Nebraska outscored FAU 34-18 in the fourth quarter, which is tied for the most fourth-quarter points by a Husker team in school history.

The Huskers rolled to a 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic in the first meeting between the two teams at the Veterans Day Classic in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 12, 2006.

Husker Nuggets
• Natalie Potts earned her second Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award (Nov. 27). She won the inaugural weekly honor (Nov. 13).

• Potts leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.738) through six games, while tying teammate Jaz Shelley for 20th in scoring (12.7 ppg) and seventh in blocked shots (1.2 bpg). 

• Alexis Markowski was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll each of the first two weeks of the 2023-24 season. She also earned a spot on the St. Pete Showcase All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds over two games in Florida.

• Markowski leads the Big Ten in rebounding (9.0 rpg) while ranking eighth in the league in scoring (17.3 ppg) and 11th in field goal percentage (.522) through six games.

• The Huskers had six players produce double figures in points against Northwestern State, marking the first time Nebraska accomplished that feat since a 90-61 season-opening win over Oral Roberts on Dec. 4, 2020.

• Wednesday’s game with Florida Atlantic marks the 700th consecutive Nebraska women’s basketball game broadcast by Huskers Radio Network analyst Jeff Griesch.

• The Huskers have hit at least one three in 470 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two threes in 349 consecutive games.

• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 28 times in the last 78 games, including 15 times in 2022-23. The Huskers opened 2023-24 with 10 three-pointers in a win over Northwestern State (Nov. 6, 2023). Nebraska knocked down a 2022-23 season-high 14 threes in a season-opening win over Omaha (Nov. 7, 2022). 

• Through the first 20 seasons with the three-point shot in women’s basketball (1988-2007), Nebraska hit 10 threes in a game just six times (591 games).

White Shines in Starting Role for Huskers

Nebraska has received an immediate boost in the backcourt from three-time first-team All-Big Sky guard Darian White.

Through six games, White is averaging 11.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals, after scoring a season-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds against TCU (Nov. 25).

The 5-6 graduate student transferred into the Husker program during the summer after averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals over 120 starts in four seasons at Montana State. 

The No. 2 scorer in Montana State history, White finished with 1,716 points, 612 rebounds, 449 assists and 260 steals.

White was the 2022 Big Sky Tournament MVP, leading the Bobcats to the conference title and a trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

She was also a two-time Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2022) and the 2020 Big Sky Freshman of the Year.

White was the 2019 Idaho Gatorade High School Player of the Year and joins three-time North Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year Logan Nissley, two-time Missouri MaxPreps Player of the Year Natalie Potts and Australian National Program forward Jessica Petrie in Nebraska’s group of four newcomers for 2023-24.

White produced her first Husker double-double with season highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds against No. 22 Creighton (Nov. 19).

In her Nebraska regular-season debut, White scored 13 points, including six in a 16-0 run to start the game, while adding game highs of nine rebounds and three steals to go along with four assists in Nebraska’s 90-42 win over Northwestern State (Nov. 6).

She was strong in all phases of her first road game as a Husker, contributing 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in a 71-52 victory at Wyoming.

White took the court for the first time at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Nebraska’s exhibition win over Dakota Wesleyan (Oct. 29), producing 13 points, seven rebounds and game highs of eight assists and four steals.

Potts Earns Second Big Ten Freshman Award

Two-time Missouri MaxPreps High School Player of the Year Natalie Potts has made an instant impact on Nebraska’s lineup. The 6-2 forward from O’Fallon, Mo., claimed her second Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award (Nov. 27) over the first three weeks of the season after averaging 14.0 points in two games at the St. Pete Showcase. Potts opened the week with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including a three-pointer, in a 75-61 win over Lamar. She also went 3-for-3 at the free throw line against the Cardinals.

Potts averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors (Nov. 13).

She backed up her opening-week efforts by averaging 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in her second week. Potts capped the week with a then-career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting against No. 22 Creighton (Nov. 19), after getting seven points and career highs of 11 rebounds and three blocks in a win over Alcorn State (Nov. 14).

In Nebraska’s 71-52 road win at Wyoming, Potts was a catalyst at both ends of the court, erupting for 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while adding two steals and a blocked shot. Potts was a menace defensively, creating easy offensive opportunities with deflections at the front of Nebraska’s press to help turn an early Husker deficit into a double-digit road victory over the Cowgirls.

 

Husker Numbers to Watch

• Darian White has scored in double figures 101 times in her college career (97, Montana State; 4, Nebraska) after getting a season-high 16 points against unbeaten TCU (Nov. 25).

•  Jaz Shelley is seven assists from joining the top 10 at Nebraska in career assists. Shelley heads into the FAU game with 385 assists in two-plus years at Nebraska. All-American and two-time WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge ranks 10th in school history with 392.  

•  Jaz Shelley is 23 assists away from 500 in her college career. Only five Huskers in history have totaled 500 collegiate assists (Lindsey Moore, Meggan Yedsena, Rachel Theriot, Jina Johansen, Nicole Kubik).

• Jaz Shelley needs four three-pointers to climb to No. 5 on the Nebraska career three-point list, matching Lindsey Moore (173, 2010-13). 

• Alexis Markowski needs one double-double to climb into a tie for sixth in Nebraska history with Nafeesah Brown (24, 1992-94). Markowski sits in seventh with 23.

• Annika Stewart needs four points to reach 500 in her career.

 

Nebraska Notables

• Two-time All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski (Lincoln, Neb.) was the Big Ten’s top rebounder with 322 rebounds in 2022-23. She was the only Big Ten player to average a double-double (12.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg) during regular-season conference play.

• Jaz Shelley is 28 points away from becoming the 37th 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska history. Alexis Markowski is 82 points from reaching 1,000 career points.

• Darian White is 217 points away from 2,000 in her college career.