Huskers Tip Home Big Ten Play with Maryland on New Year’s Eve
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens Big Ten home action on New Year’s Eve when the Huskers take on Maryland in Lincoln.
Tip-off between the Big Red (9-3, 1-0) and the Terrapins (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten) at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 1:30 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com.
The game will be televised live by the Big Ten Network with Sloane Martin and Brenda VanLengen calling the action. A live stream also will be available on the Fox Sports App.
Nebraska fans can listen across the Huskers Radio Network, including B107.3 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. Pregame starts at 1 p.m. (CT).
NCAA NET No. 21 Nebraska had its five-game winning streak snapped before the holiday break with a 69-52 loss at NET No. 43 Kansas. Alexis Markowski notched her Big Ten-leading seventh double-double of the season with game highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Huskers. The two-time Lisa Leslie Award candidate has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, crossing the 1,000-point career mark in a win over Southern (Dec. 17). She will be honored in a pregame presentation on Sunday. Markowski leads the Big Ten in rebounding (9.8) and ranks sixth in scoring (17.3 ppg).
Two-time Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award candidate Jaz Shelley has added 13.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and team bests of 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals this season. The 5-9 guard from Moe (pronounced MOE-ee), Australia, is the first Husker in history to record multiple career triple-doubles after getting 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over UNCW (Dec. 5). Shelley ranks fourth on Nebraska’s career three-point list with 185. She scored a game-high 29 points and hit 6-of-10 threes in a 90-67 victory at No. 21 Maryland last season (Dec. 4, 2022) - NU’s only win over the Terps in 17 meetings.
Three-time Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week Natalie Potts is averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. The two-time Missouri MaxPreps High School Player of the Year out of Incarnate Word Academy has hit 75.4 percent (46-61) of her two-point attempts.
Darian White, a four-year starter and three-time All-Big Sky performer at Montana State before transferring to Nebraska as a graduate student, gives Nebraska another potent weapon. The 5-6 guard is averaging 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists, which ranks 10th in the Big Ten.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten)
vs. Maryland Terrapins (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets
TV: BTN (FoxSportsApp)
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (1 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
B107.3 FM (Lincoln), 590 AM (Omaha), Huskers.com, Huskers App
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Giveaway: Husker Baby Bib (Limited Quantity)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten - NCAA NET 21)
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - 10.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Jr. - C/F - 17.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg
0 - Darian White - 5-6 - Gr. - G - 9.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 13.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg
42 - Maddie Krull - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 2.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Off the Bench
14 - Callin Hake - 5-9 - So. - G - 7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 6.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Eighth Season at Nebraska (123-102); 17th Season Overall (316-211)
Maryland Terrapins (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten - NCAA NET 39)
13 - Faith Masonius - 6-1 - Gr. - G/F - 6.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
14 - Allie Kubek - 6-2 - RJr. - F - 10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg
0 - Shyanne Sellers - 6-2 - Jr. - G - 17.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg
5 - Brinae Alexander - 6-0 - Gr. - G - 9.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
24 - Bri McDaniel - 5-10 - So. - G - 11.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Off the Bench
11 - Jakia Brown-Turner - 6-0 - Gr. - G - 10.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg
3 - Lavender Briggs - 6-1 - Gr. - G - 6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg
2 - Riley Nelson - 6-2 - Fr. - G - 5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg
34 - Emily Fisher - 6-0 - Fr. - G/F - 3.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
20 - Hawa Doumbouya - 6-7 - Fr. - C - 3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
33 - Summer Bostock - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 2.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg
21 - Emma Chardon - 6-2 - RSo. - F - 1.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
30 - Mary Sareen - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.5 ppg, 0.0 rpg
15 - Zen Nuako - 5-6 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Head Coach: Brenda Frese (Arizona, 1993)
22nd Season at Maryland (572-150); 26th Season Overall (628-180)
Scouting the Maryland Terrapins
Coach Brenda Frese brings NCAA NET No. 39 Maryland to Lincoln riding a seven-game winning streak after running to a 78-55 win over James Madison in College Park (Dec. 20) before breaking for the holidays. The Terrapins have won all seven games by nine or more points, including a 13-point victory over Northwestern (71-58) to open Big Ten play in College Park (Dec. 10).
Sunday’s game will mark the first time in 18 meetings with Maryland that the Terrapins will be unranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
While the Terps are not currently in the polls, they would be 29th in the WBCA/USA Today rankings.
More importantly, Maryland is still one of the Big Ten’s most explosive and athletic teams, averaging 81.7 points per game. The Terps also lead the Big Ten in total rebounds at 43.8 boards per contest.
All-Big Ten junior Shyanne Sellers leads Maryland in every major statistical category. The 6-2 guard ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (17.8 ppg), 15th in rebounding (6.3 rpg), fifth in assists (5.4 apg), sixth in steals (2.1 spg) and 16th in blocks (0.8 bpg). She is shooting 39.4 percent (13-33) from three-point range and 85.7 percent (66-77) from the free throw line. Sellers was the 2022 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman before earning first-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference media as a sophomore. She had 20 points and 11 rebounds in No. 11 Maryland’s 69-54 win over Nebraska in Lincoln last season. Sellers had 21 points and eight boards in No. 20 Maryland’s 90-67 loss to the Huskers in College Park. She is coming off a 29-point, eight-rebound, six-assist effort in a win over James Madison (Dec. 20).
Graduate Brinae Alexander is the only other Terp to start all 12 games alongside Sellers. The 6-0 guard is averaging 9.9 points and 3.8 rebounds while leading Maryland with 31 three-pointers (.413). She averaged 9.0 points per game in her first season with the Terps last year. Alexander spent her first four seasons at Vanderbilt. The 2019 SEC All-Freshman selection averaged 15.2 points per game for the Commodores as a senior in 2021-22. She had 14 points and hit a trio of threes against the Huskers in the Terrapin loss last season.
Another graduate, Faith Masonius has moved into the starting lineup recently. The 6-1 guard/forward is averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 boards, while ranking second on the team with 2.8 assists. She started both games against Nebraska last year and averaged 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the series split with the Huskers.
Redshirt junior Allie Kubek has also taken on a starting role for the Terps. The 6-2 forward is averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds this season, after missing the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL injury suffered in preseason. Kubek was a third-team All-Colonial Athletic Association player as a sophomore at Towson in 2021-22, averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. She scored 17 points against her old team on Dec. 12, which followed another 17-point effort in a Big Ten win over Northwestern (Dec. 10).
Bri McDaniel rounds out Maryland’s probable starting five. The 5-10 sophomore ranks second among the Terrapins in scoring with 11.4 points per game. She also ranks second on the team in steals (20) and third in assists (27). Over the last five games as a starter, McDaniel is averaging 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists, including 15 points and nine rebounds last time out in the win over JMU.
Jakia Brown-Turner started the first 11 games for Maryland before missing the James Madison game. The 6-0 graduate and NC State transfer is averaging 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on the season. As a sophomore for the Wolfpack in 2020-21, Brown-Turner was an AP honorable-mention All-American, averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds to earn first-team All-ACC honors.
Freshmen Riley Nelson (5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and Emily Fisher (3.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are the only Terps who have come off the bench for all 12 games.
Graduate guard Lavender Briggs, who has battled lower body injuries during her career, has missed the last five games for the Terps but was hopeful for a return after the holiday break. Briggs has averaged 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds this season in seven starts. Last season she averaged 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two games with the Huskers.
Nebraska vs. Maryland Series History
Maryland leads the all-time series with Nebraska 16-1, including a 69-54 win over the Huskers in the last meeting in Lincoln (Jan. 22, 2023). Shyanne Sellers led the No. 11 Terrapins with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Diamond Miller pitched in 18 big points.
Nebraska won the last meeting at Maryland, a 90-67 victory at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Md. (Dec. 4, 2022).
Jaz Shelley led the Huskers with 29 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting while adding five assists in the win over the Terps. Isabelle Bourne added 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long range. Alexis Markowski pitched in 14 points, while Allison Weidner contributed her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Sellers led Maryland with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Miller added 13.
Maryland has been ranked in the AP Top 20 in all 17 of the previous meetings with the lowest ranking coming at No. 20 (twice, 2019-20 and 2022-23).
The Terps have been ranked in the top 15 in either the AP or Coaches poll entering 14 of the previous 17 meetings, including Maryland’s 80-65 win at College Park (Feb. 6, 2022).
The Terrapins have been ranked in the top 10 in eight of the 17 previous meetings, including an 83-73 Maryland win over the Huskers at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (March 11, 2021). • Nebraska took No. 13 Maryland to the wire at the Xfinity Center in College Park before falling 77-75 (Feb. 25, 2018). The Huskers trailed by 14 points in the third quarter before rallying to take a 75-74 lead with 48 seconds left. A Hannah Whitish three-pointer from the right wing in the closing seconds caught back iron and caromed off as Maryland survived.
Nebraska’s first meeting with Maryland came in the 2008 NCAA Tournament second round in College Park - a 76-64 Maryland win. NU is 1-14 against the Terps as Big Ten foes.
Sunday’s game will be NU’s 16th against the Terps as conference foes - the most by the Huskers against any league team from the Eastern Time Zone (Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State) since Maryland joined the conference in 2014-15.
Nebraska has made seven trips to the Xfinity Center in league play, and Maryland is making its seventh trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln is 1,205 miles from College Park.
Since Maryland entered the league (2014-15), Michigan State has only appeared on the court at Pinnacle Bank Arena four times, and the Huskers have played the Spartans 12 times. Lincoln is 727 miles from East Lansing. NU is 11-6 all-time against Michigan State and 6-0 in Lincoln.
Husker Numbers to Watch
• Darian White is two assists away from 500 in her career. Jaz Shelley reached the 500 mark in her college career by notching nine assists at Michigan State (Dec. 9). Shelley has pushed her total to 514. Only five previous Huskers in history had totaled 500 collegiate assists (Lindsey Moore, Meggan Yedsena, Rachel Theriot, Jina Johansen, Nicole Kubik).
• Annika Stewart is one point away from 500 in her career.
• Maddie Krull is six points away from 700 in her career.
• Darian White is 22 rebounds away from 700 in her career.
• Jaz Shelley is 22 rebounds away from 500 in her career.
• Alexis Markowski is 45 rebounds from 750, which would move her into a tie for No. 10 on the Nebraska career rebound list.
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.
• Alexis Markowski is No. 5 on Nebraska’s career double-doubles list (28) after notching her seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds at Kansas (Dec. 20). She needs five double-doubles to catch Emily Cady at No. 4 (33). The Husker record for career double-doubles is 40 by first-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2006-10) and Jordan Hooper (2011-14).
• Darian White is 176 points away from 2,000 in her college career.
• Natalie Potts reached 100 career points in her eighth career game. She is in line with some of the best Husker freshmen in recent history in the pace of reaching the 100-point mark, including Jordan Hooper (6th game), Kelsey Griffin (7th), Kate Cain (10th), Sam Haiby (10th), Alexis Markowski (12th), Emily Cady (14th), Isabelle Bourne (20th).
• Darian White has scored in double figures 102 times in her college career (97, Montana State; 5, Nebraska). She scored a season-high 16 points against unbeaten TCU (Nov. 25).
Husker Nuggets
• Natalie Potts earned her third Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award (Dec. 11) in five weeks. She won the first weekly honor (Nov. 13) before adding her second award (Nov. 27). Potts ranks among the top freshmen in the Big Ten in both scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• Alexis Markowski was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll three of the first four 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 (9.8 rpg) while ranking sixth in scoring (17.3 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.510).
• The Huskers had seven players produce double figures in points against UNCW, which is believed to be the first time that has been accomplished in school history. It is the second time this season the Huskers have had six players score in double figures in a game (Northwestern State, Nov. 6).
• The Huskers have hit at least one three in 476 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two threes in 355 consecutive games.
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 33 times in the last 84 games, including six times in 2023-24. The Huskers hit a season-high 16 threes against UNCW (Dec. 5). NU hit 10 threes vs. Northwestern State (Nov. 6), Florida Atlantic (Nov. 29), Georgia Tech (Dec. 2) and Michigan State (Dec. 9), before knocking down 12 vs. Southern (Dec. 17).
• 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).
