Huskers Return Home to Battle Lady Braves Tuesday
The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns home to take on Alcorn State Tuesday night.
Tip-off between the Huskers (2-0) and Lady Braves (0-1) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena with tickets available now at Huskers.com/Tickets or by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) at 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Tuesday's contest will be Nebraska's Military Appreciation game.
A live video stream will be available to subscribers of B1G+ with a BTN Student U broadcast team.
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).
The Huskers improved to 2-0 with an impressive 71-52 road win at Wyoming on Friday night. The Cowgirls won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the 2023 Postseason WNIT.
Alexis Markowski led the Huskers with game highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds to notch her first double-double of the season and 22nd of her career. Markowski scored the first 10 points of a decisive 19-2 Nebraska surge to close the third quarter and start the fourth, turning a four-point lead into a 21-point cushion midway through the final period. Markowski is averaging a double-double with 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds through two games.
Fellow preseason All-Big Ten performer Jaz Shelley added 15 points and game highs of seven assists and three steals. Shelley leads the Huskers with 16.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.0 steals to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game.
Freshman Natalie Potts completed a sensational opening week of her college career with 15 points of her own at Wyoming. Through two games as a starter, the two-time Missouri High School Player of the Year is averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block.
Darian White contributed 11 points at Wyoming in another strong start as a newcomer to the Husker lineup. White averaged 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the opening week of her Husker career. White was a four-year starter and three-time All-Big Sky performer at Montana State.
Through two games, Nebraska has shown explosive offense and shutdown defense. At Wyoming, the Huskers produced an 18-0 first-half run and a decisive 19-2 second-half surge to power their way to victory. In the opener, Nebraska produced runs of 16-0, 12-0 and 10-0.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
vs. Alcorn State Lady Braves (0-1, 0-0 SWAC)
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, 7 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Special Event: Military Appreciation
Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets - 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Live Video: B1G+ (subscription)
Live Stats: Huskers.com (StatBroadcast)
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 (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - 12.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Jr. - C/F - 15.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg
0 - Darian White - 5-6 - Gr. - G - 12.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 16.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Off the Bench
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 9.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
14 - Callin Hake - 5-9 - So. - G - 9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 4.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 1.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Eighth Season at Nebraska (116-99); 17th Season Overall (309-208)
Alcorn State Lady Braves (0-1, 0-0 SWAC)
2 - Nakia Cheatham - 6-0 - Sr. - G/F - 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
5 - Destiny Brown - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
1 - Ashanti Backus - 5-4 - Sr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
11 - Zy’nyia White - 5-6 - Jr. - G - 11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
24 - Kiarra Henderson - 5-9 - Sr. - G/F - 5.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Off the Bench
21 - Akryiale Ford - 6-2 - Gr. - F - 8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
15 - Jeanee Anderson - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 2.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
0 - Jazmine Jackson - 5-8 - So. - G - 2.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
30 - Maya Claytor - 6-0 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
32 - Milia Gibson - 5-6 - Jr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
14 - Arene Iyekekpolor - 6-0 - Fr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Nate Kilbert (MVSU, 1987)
Fourth Season at Alcorn State (22-53); 22nd Season Overall (201-399)
Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska used an 18-0 first-half run and a decisive 19-2 second-half surge to power its way to a 71-52 victory at Wyoming (Nov. 10).
• Alexis Markowski led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points and 13 rebounds to notch her first double-double of the season. Jaz Shelley and Natalie Potts each contributed 15 points, while Darian White added 11. Those four Husker starters have produced double figures in each of Nebraska’s two wins to open the season.
• Nebraska jumped to a 46-12 halftime lead on its way to a 90-42 home-opening win over Northwestern State (Nov. 6). The 12 points allowed marked the second-fewest given up by the Big Red in a first half in school history, trailing only 10 points surrendered to Illinois in the first half in 2018. Nebraska’s 46 points scored exceeded any first half for the Huskers in 2022-23.
• 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.
• The Huskers have hit at least one three in 466 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two threes in 345 consecutive games.
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 28 times in the last 75 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).
Scouting The Alcorn State Lady Braves
Alcorn State returns four starters and its top four scorers from a team that finished 12-17 overall and 8-10 in the SWAC last year.
The Lady Braves opened this season with a 77-42 loss at Mississippi State (Nov. 6). MSU advanced to 2023 NCAA Tournament after taking a 73-65 overtime loss to Nebraska (Nov. 26, 22) in Puerto Rico.
Destiny Brown, a 6-3 junior forward and preseason All-SWAC selection, managed just three points and seven boards in the loss to the Bulldogs. Last season, Brown led the Lady Braves with 13.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
ASU was led in the opener by 5-6 junior guard, Zy’nyia White, who had 11 points and five rebounds. White averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 rebounds a year ago as a starter.
Nakia Cheatham, a 6-0 senior guard/forward, added eight points and four boards. Cheatham averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds as a regular starter last season.
Kiarra Henderson, a 5-9 senior starter, pitched in five points and seven rebounds. She averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 boards primarily off the bench last season.
Senior guard Ashanti Backus rounded out the Alcorn State starting five with three points. She made six starts last season but averaged just 2.1 points per game.
Akryiale Ford contributed eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. The 6-2 graduate forward is in her third season with ASU. She averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds a year ago.
Senior Jeanee Anderson and sophomore Jazmine Jackson were the only other Lady Braves to find the scoring column against Mississippi State.
Returning starter Tyginae Wright (8.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2022-23) did not play in the opening loss to Mississippi State.
The only regular starter lost from last year’s Alcorn State squad is Cayla Obillo, who averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and team bests of 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
Nebraska vs. Alcorn State Series History
No. 16 Nebraska defeated Alcorn State 83-49 (Nov. 16, 2014) in the only previous meeting between the two schools.
Long-time head coach Nate Kilbert returns to Lincoln for his fifth game as head coach with a third school, when he brings the Alcorn State Lady Braves to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday. Kilbert, who is in his 22nd season as an NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach, made his first trip to Lincoln as the coach of Mississippi Valley State for a 99-53 loss to the Huskers at the Devaney Center on Nov. 15, 2011. He went on to be the 2012 SWAC Coach of the Year in his final season leading the Delta Devilettes.
Kilbert returned to Lincoln two years later as the head coach of Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 21, 2013, for Nebraska’s third home game at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The eventual Big Ten Tournament champion and No. 11 Huskers defeated UAPB 78-55. Kilbert had captured his second straight SWAC Coach of the Year award in his first year at Pine Bluff in 2012-13.
He was back at Pinnacle Bank Arena two years later with UAPB in a 96-46 loss to the Huskers on Nov. 14, 2015, before leading the Lady Lions back to PBA for a 73-52 loss on Dec. 2, 2017 against the eventual NCAA Tournament-qualifying Huskers.
Freshman Potts Smoking Hot in Opening Week
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., averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block in her opening week of the regular season.
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.
In her regular-season collegiate debut, Potts added 10 points, five rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block while hitting 5-of-7 shots from the field in a 90-42 win over Northwestern State (Nov. 6).
Through two games, Potts has hit 10-of-11 (.909) two-point field goal attempts and 1-of-3 three-point tries.
White Shines in Husker Starting Debuts
Nebraska has received an immediate boost in the backcourt from three-time first-team All-Big Sky guard Darian White.
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.
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.
Through two games, White is averaging 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
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.
Husker Numbers to Watch
• Darian White has scored in double figures 99 times in her college career (97, Montana State; 2, Nebraska), including each of her last 10 games.
• Jaz Shelley is 13 assists from joining the top 10 at Nebraska in career assists. Shelley heads into the Alcorn State game with 379 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 29 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 nine three-pointers to climb to No. 5 on the Nebraska career three-point list, matching Lindsey Moore (173, 2010-13).
• Alexis Markowski needs two double-doubles to climb into a tie for sixth in Nebraska history with Nafeesah Brown (24, 1992-94). Markowski is currently tied for seventh with Janet Smith (22, 1979-82).
• 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 72 points away from becoming the 37th 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska history. Alexis Markowski is 156 points from reaching 1,000 career points.
• Darian White is 260 points away from 2,000 in her college career.
