Huskers Battle Purdue to Open B1G Home Stand
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens a crucial three-game home stand on Sunday when the Big Red take on Purdue.
Tip-off between the Huskers and the Boilermakers at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m.
Nebraska heads to the weekend with a one-game lead over Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan in the Big Ten standings. The Huskers are still battling for a top-four conference finish, seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and a berth to a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Sunday’s game will be a rematch of Nebraska’s 62-61 win over the Boilermakers at West Lafayette, in Jan.
Jessica Shepard, leads Nebraska with 20.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, led the Huskers with 22 points in the first meeting while Natalie Romeo added 14 points. Rachel Theriot contributed eight points and 12 assists.
Purdue returns three starters from last year’s squad, led by April Wilson’s 14.5 points per game. Wilson has been held to single digits three times in the past five games. She did not start Thursday at Iowa, but she did have 14 points in 31 minutes off the bench. In the first meeting with NU, Wilson led Purdue with 24 points.
Ashley Morrissette has contributed 12.3 points. She was shut out by the Big Red at Purdue. Bridget Perry leads Purdue’s inside game with 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Perry is more of a stretch-four than a back-to-the basket post. She had 13 points and six rebounds in the loss to NU.
Torrie Thornton has joined Perry on the front line with 3.1 points per game, Andreona Keys rounds out the starting five from the wing with 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.
Purdue leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 5-3, and all eight meetings have been as Big Ten foes.
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Probable Starters:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
32 - Jessica Shepard - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 20.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 7.4
4 - Kyndal Clark - 5-7 - RSr. - G - 4.7
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - So. - G - 15.7
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 10.6
Purdue Boilermakers
4 - Torrie Thornton - 6-0 - RSr. - F - 3.1 ppg
13 - Bridget Perry - 6-2 - Jr. - G - 11.2
1 - Ashley Morrissette - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 12.3
24 - Andreona Keys - 5-10 - So. - G - 9.2
25 - April Wilson - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 14.5
• Jessica Shepard is the first Husker freshman in history to reach 500 points. She enters the Purdue game with 534 and needs 78 points to produce one of the top 10 scoring seasons overall in school history.
• Jessica Shepard needs 47 rebounds to catch Kathy Hagerstrom in the top spot on Nebraska’s freshman rebound list.
• Jessica Shepard needs one double-double to set the Nebraska freshman record.
• Rachel Theriot’s 182 assists this season rank as the eighth-highest total in Nebraska history.
• Natalie Romeo ranks third in the Big Ten with 87 threes, just one behind Minnesota’s Rachel Banham and Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell. Romeo is tied for fifth nationally in that category and tied for sixth nationally with 3.35 made threes per game.
• Natalie Romeo ranks eighth in Nebraska history with 138 career three-pointers and needs seven triples to climb to No. 7 on the NU all-time list.
• Jasmine Cincore has emerged late this season to help at both ends of the court. Over the last eight games, Cincore is averaging 5.3 points per game. Over the last three games, she is averaging 7.3 points per contest, including a career-high-tying nine points and a pair of threes at Ohio State.
BEAT PURDUE!
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