The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens its second half of Big Ten Conference play by closing a two-game road swing at Wisconsin on Wednesday. Tip-off between the Huskers and the Badgers is set for 7 p.m.
The Huskers head to the Kohl Center in Madison after producing their best back-to-back performances of the season. Nebraska stormed to an 84-51 home win over Michigan, before running to an 80-67 road win at Iowa. The Big Red got huge performances from All-American Jordan Hooper and Tear’a Laudermill in both games.
Wisconsin heads into the clash with Nebraska after snapping a four-game losing streak with an 82-71 victory over Ohio State in Madison. Michala Johnson, Jacki Gulczynski and Taylor Wurtz had huge games for the Badgers, who improved to 10-11 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten.
Johnson, a 6-3 transfer from Connecticut, scored 21 points. She also pitched in seven rebounds. Johnson leads the Badgers on the season with 16.3 points per game, while ranking second on the team with 7.4 rebounds per contest..
Gulczynski, erupted for 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes against the Buckeyes. Wurtz, added a double-double of her own with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Wisconsin has averaged 65.8 points per game on the season, while surrendering 65.7.
Wisconsin leads the all-time series with Nebraska 5-4, but the Huskers have won all four meetings as Big Ten Conference foes.
Probable Starters:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
3 - Hailie Sample - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 6.2 ppg
23 - Emily Cady - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 13.7
35 - Jordan Hooper - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 19.7
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - So. - G - 12.9
1 - Tear’a Laudermill - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.5
Wisconsin Badgers
10 - Dakota Whyte - 5-8 - So. - G - 6.8 ppg
5 - Morgan Paige - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 12.6
2 - Taylor Wurtz - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 12.0
35 - Jacki Gulczynski - 6-1 - Jr. - G/F - 8.7
25 - Michala Johnson - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 16.3
Over the last three games, Tear’a Laudermill has averaged 20.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals. She has hit 60.6 percent (20-33) from the field, including 58.8 percent (10-17) from three-point range. She has also knocked down 12-of-14 free throws.
Jordan Hooper has become the third Husker and fifth Big Ten player in history to reach the combined career milestones of 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She has pushed her career totals to 2,078 points and 1,013 rebounds. She needs six boards to catch Kelsey Griffin in second with 1,019. Janet Smith owns the NU career record with 1,280 rebounds.
Rachel Theriot produced her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 assists in Nebraska’s win over Michigan last Wednesday, before adding 10 points, four rebounds and four assists at Iowa.
Nebraska ranks No. 10 nationally with 80,079 fans at home this season. The Huskers rank 11th nationally with an average home attendance of 5,720 per game.
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