The No. 13 Nebraska women’s basketball team takes on Brigham Young in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament on Monday night in Los Angeles with a berth to the Sweet 16 on the line. Tip-off between the Big Ten Tournament champion Huskers and the Cougars is set for 8:10 p.m.
Nebraska heads to the NCAA second round working for one win to play its way back to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the NCAA Lincoln Regional, March 29 and 31. The Big Red, who have not played host to an NCAA Tournament game in Lincoln since 1993, will need to get past 27-6 BYU in the second round.
The No. 4 seed Huskers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the past seven years by beating 13th-seeded Fresno State, 74-55.
Big Ten Player of the Year Jordan Hooper led the Big Red with her 14th double-double of the season and her school-record-tying 40th double-double of her career. She led the Huskers with a game-high 23 points, her 50th career 20-point effort, while adding 11 rebounds.
Emily Cady added her 13th double-double of the season and 21st of her career with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Big Ten Tournament MVP Rachel Theriot notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 assists.
BYU finished as the West Coast Conference runner-up behind NCAA No. 6 seed Gonzaga. Coach Jeff Judkins and the Cougars finished No. 38 in the final NCAA RPI. BYU handed Gonzaga its only loss in the last 20 games, defeating the Bulldogs 62-52, but Gonzaga avenged the loss with a 71-57 victory over the Cougars in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
BYU advanced to the second round by rolling to a 72-57 over NC State on Saturday. The Cougars were led by 6-7 senior center Jennifer Hamson, who nearly notched a triple-double with 12 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the win over the Wolfpack. Hamson is averaging 18.1 points, 11.4 and a nation-leading 4.2 blocks per game.
Sophomore guard Lexi Eaton poured in a game-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists against NC State.
Nebraska leads the all time series with BYU 4-3. The last time the two teams played was in 2001.
Probable Starters:
Nebraska Cornhuskers
3 - Hailie Sample - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 6.1 ppg
23 - Emily Cady - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 12.7
35 - Jordan Hooper - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 20.4
33 - Rachel Theriot - 6-0 - So. - G - 14.2
1 - Tear’a Laudermill - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 11.5
BYU Cougars (27-6)
41 - Morgan Bailey - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 10.3 ppg
5 - Jennifer Hamson - 6-7 - Sr. - C - 18.1
4 - Kim Beeston - 5-11 - Sr. - G - 11.4
15 - Kylie Maeda - 5-5 - So. - G - 4.7
21 - Lexi Eaton - 5-10 - So. - G/F - 17.2
Jordan Hooper pulled down 11 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament first-round win over Fresno State to push her career total to 1,106 to become the first Husker in history with 2,300 points and 1,100 career rebounds. Hooper enters Nebraska’s second-round game against BYU with 2,337 points and 1,106 boards.
Nebraska is making its 12th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its sixth in the last eight seasons.
Over the past six years, the Cornhuskers have produced six NCAA Tournament wins under Coach Connie Yori.
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