The No. 17 Nebraska women’s basketball team takes aim at its eighth consecutive win when the Huskers take on No. 9 Penn State on Monday in Lincoln. Tip-off between the Huskers and Lady Lions is set for 6 p.m.
The Huskers notched their seventh straight win to extend their overall February winning streak to 14 games with a 67-59 victory at Ohio State. Nebraska has won its three home games during its current winning streak by an average of 22.7 points per game. The Huskers have won their four road games by an average of 7.5 points per contest. Overall, NU has outscored the opposition 75.7-61.7 during the streak, while posting a plus-5.4 rebounding margin and a plus-3.4 turnover margin. Nebraska is 16-4 overall, including 7-2 at home and 9-2 on the road in February as a member of the Big Ten.
Coquese Washington brings Penn State to Lincoln on top of the Big Ten standings with a 12-2 record. The Lady Lions can clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title with a win over the Huskers.
PSU is led by an experienced backcourt that features three senior starters, including 2013 Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas. The 5-10 guard ranks second in the Big Ten with 21.8 points per game, while leading the nation with her 96.3 free throw percentage.
The Lady Lions average 75.7, while surrendering 64.9 points per game. Not only does PSU own a plus-10.8 scoring margin, but an impressive plus-7.3 team rebound margin. Penn State shoots 41.7 percent from the field, while holding opponents to 35.9 percent from the field. PSU is also the least-reliant team in the Big Ten on the three-point shot, making just 3.5 per game while hitting just 31.3 percent. But the Lady Lions hold the opposition to 29.4 percent shooting from long range. PSU has also dominated at the foul line, scoring nearly 500 points at the stripe this season.
Penn State leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 5-1.
Probable Starters:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
3 - Hailie Sample - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 6.3 ppg
23 - Emily Cady - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 13.2
35 - Jordan Hooper - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 20.2
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - So. - G - 13.6
1 - Tear’a Laudermill - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.6
Penn State Lady Lions
5 - Talia East - 6-3 - Sr. - F/C - 7.7 ppg
44 - Tori Waldner - 6-5 - Jr. - F/C - 5.3
2 - Dara Taylor - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 11.7
23 - Ariel Edwards - 6-3 - Sr. - G/F - 14.3
33 - Maggie Lucas - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 21.8
Jordan Hooper pushed her Nebraska career three-point record to 275 with five three-pointers at Ohio State. She also moved into fifth on the Big Ten career three-point list. She trails Amber Moore (Illinois, 284) for 4th.
With one assist at Michigan, Hooper increased her single-season high to 29. She has four more than her freshman and sophomore seasons combined (25), and seven more than she distributed in 2012-13.
Emily Cady ranks second in the Big Ten with 11 double-doubles on the season. Cady owns seven double-doubles in Big Ten play. Cady owns 19 career double-doubles, which ranks eighth all-time at Nebraska. Cady needs two more double-doubles to catch Maurtice Ivy and Deb Powell in a tie for sixth with 21.
Rachel Theriot is coming off back-to-back 20-point efforts, including 26 points, a career-high-matching seven rebounds and four assists in the win at Ohio State. She also had 26 points, six boards, eight assists, two steals and one block in the win over Indiana. Theriot leads the league with 39.5 minutes per game.
Nebraska ranks No. 9 nationally with 96,159 fans at home this season. The Huskers rank 10th nationally with an average home attendance of 6,010 per game.
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