WBB: Game #24 @ Minnesota

The Nebraska women’s basketball team faces one of its toughest challenges of the season on Thursday, when the Huskers try to slow down Rachel Banham and Minnesota at The Barn in Minneapolis.

Tip-off between the Huskers (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten) and the Golden Gophers (16-7, 8-4) is set for 7 p.m.

Jessica Shepard, nine-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, leads the Huskers to Minnesota averaging 20.3 points and 9.0 rebounds. Winners of seven of their last nine games overall, the Huskers have lost their last two road games after struggling to a 59-47 lack luster loss at Indiana.

Minnesota heads into Thursday’s game battling Nebraska for position in the Big Ten standings. The Golden Gophers are led by Rachel Banham. She has returned from a season-ending knee injury last year to lead the Gophers and Big Ten while ranking third nationally with 25.8 points per game. Banham ranks fifth nationally with 77 threes (3.35 per game).

Banham, who led the Big Ten in scoring as a junior with 23.3 points per game, ranks No. 3 among the Big Ten’s all-time scorers with 2,773 points after her Big Ten-record 60-point performance in Minnesota’s 112-106 double-overtime win at Northwestern on Sunday.
Banham is 45 points behind Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender (2,818) on the Big Ten career list. Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante owns the Big Ten all-time scoring record with 2,919 points.

Carlie Wagner adds 19.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while senior Mikayla Bailey adds 8.3 points in an experienced starting backcourt. Shayne Mullaney has provided big production off the bench with 10.1 points.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 11-7, including a 5-1 record in the past six meetings.

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Probable Starters:

Nebraska Cornhuskers
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 20.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 7.6
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 5.1
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 15.7
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 11.2

Minnesota Golden Gophers

41 - Annalese Lamke - 6-3 - Fr. - C - 1.6 ppg
1 - Rachel Banham - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 25.8
15 - Allina Starr - 5-10 - So. - G - 4.0
24 - Mikayla Bailey - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 8.3
33 - Carlie Wagner - 5-10 - Jr. - G - 19.3
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• Jessica Shepard earned her conference-record ninth Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award on Feb. 8.

• Natalie Romeo needs seven three-pointers to tie the Nebraska single-season school record of 85.

• Natalie Romeo has hit a Big Ten-best 3.83 threes through 12 conference games, just ahead of Minnesota’s Rachel Banham (3.75) and Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell (3.5).

• Jessica Shepard needs 34 points to become the first freshman in Nebraska history to reach 500 points in a season.

• Jessica Shepard needs eight rebounds to catch Emily Cady in third on the Nebraska freshman rebound list.

• Jessica Shepard needs one more double-double to set the Nebraska freshman record.

• Rachel Theriot needs two assists to become the third Husker in history to distribute 600 in a career.

• Allie Havers needs seven blocked shots to crack the top five on Nebraska’s junior single-season list.

• Natalie Romeo is tied for eighth in Nebraska history with 129 career three-pointers. Natalie needs six threes to post the highest freshman/sophomore combined season total in Husker history. Nebraska career three-point leader Jordan Hooper hit 134 threes in her first two seasons. Natalie needs 16 to match Kate Galligan in seventh on the NU all-time list.

GAME NOTES:

BEAT MINNESOTA!