The No. 19 Nebraska women’s basketball team makes its first-ever trip to Piscataway, N.J., to take on No. 21 Rutgers in a Big Ten Conference top-25 showdown on Thursday night.
Tip-off between the Big Red and the Scarlet Knights is set for 6 p.m.
The Huskers, who have won seven of their last eight games, take a 17-game February winning streak with them to New Jersey. Nebraska has not lost a game in the month of February since 2012.
Senior Tear’a Laudermill led the Big Red in scoring in all three games. She has produced double figures in six straight games, including 24 points in a road win at Wisconsin. Laudermill, who was a second-team All-Big Ten pick last year, has pushed her season averages to 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
The Huskers continue to be led in scoring by junior point guard Rachel Theriot. She is averaging 16.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. Theriot has produced double figures in 19 of 21 games this season.
Emily Cady adds a potent inside presence. She averages 12.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists. In the win over Michigan, she became the fifth Husker and 17th player in Big Ten history to record 1,000 career rebounds.
C. Vivian Stringer leads Rutgers into the game carrying 945 career victories, including 425 in her 20th season with the Scarlet Knights.
Stringer’s Scarlet Knights carry a 16-5 overall record that includes a 7-3 Big Ten mark, tied with Nebraska for third in the Big Ten standings. Rutgers is ranked No. 21 in this week’s Associated Press Poll.
A power team that rarely relies on the three-point shot, Rutgers is hitting just 2.2 threes per game in conference play. As a team, Rutgers is averaging 71.5 points per game despite getting just 6.9 points per game from three-point range on the season. The Scarlet Knights have been efficient from long range though, hitting 33.1 percent (48-145) from outside, including 31.4 percent (22-70) in the Big Ten.
Overall, Rutgers is shooting 44.2 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent in the league. The Scarlet Knights have hit 71 percent of their free throws on the season, including 73.9 percent in Big Ten play.
Rutgers has matched the opposition on the boards but carries a plus-4.6 team turnover margin in Big Ten action.
Nebraska will be facing Rutgers for the first time in school history.
Probable Starters:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
3 - Hailie Sample - 6-1 - Sr. - F - 7.7 ppg
23 - Emily Cady - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 12.7
1 - Tear’a Laudermill - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 13.2
13 - Brandi Jeffery - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 7.6
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Jr. - G - 16.5
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
2 - Kahleah Copper - 6-1 - Jr. - F/G - 15.6 ppg
20 - Christa Evans - 6-3 - Sr. - F/C - 0.7
3 - Tyler Scaife - 5-9 - So. - G - 16.2
15 - Syessence Davis - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 4.3
44 - Betnijah Laney - 6-0 - Sr. - G/F - 15.8
• Rachel Theriot’s 444 career assists are tied for fifth in Husker history. She needs one more to pass former Husker and current Nebraska assistant coach Amy Stephens (444, 1986-89) into sole possession of No. 5 on the NU career chart.
• Rachel Theriot ranks second in the Big Ten and third in NCAA Division I with a .926 free throw percentage (63-68).
• Emily Cady became the fifth Husker and 17th player in Big Ten Conference history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, when she grabbed eight boards against Michigan Feb. 1. She is tied for fourth in NU history with 1993 Wade Trophy winner Karen Jennings on the school rebound chart. Only Janet Smith (1,280), first-team All-American Jordan Hooper (1,110, 2011-14), and first-team All-American Kelsey Griffin (1,019, 2006-10) have more career rebounds in Husker history.
• Emily Cady is tied for sixth with Western Kentucky’s Chastity Gooch among all active NCAA Division I career rebounders. Emily’s 1,000 rebounds rank third among all active players in Power Five conferences.
• Emily Cady’s 1,320 career points rank No. 15 in Husker history. She needs 28 points to catch Cory Montgomery (1,348, 2007-10) in 14th.
• Emily Cady enters the Rutgers game needing 25 points to become the 31st 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska history.
• Brandi Jeffery has been slowed by a bone bruise on her knee over Nebraska’s last four games, after suffering the injury in the closing minutes of NU’s win over Purdue. She has split time with Natalie Romeo the past two games, while continuing to battle the effects of the knee injury.
• Brandi Jeffery needs three points against Rutgers to reach 500 in her career.
• Hailie Sample is the Big Ten’s No. 3 active career rebounder with 634, trailing only teammate Emily Cady (1,000) and Iowa’s Samantha Logic (825).
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