Husker34

I agree, Wisconsin has shown great improvement throughout the year. Illinois has also gotten better under their new coach this year. If those teams continue to improve and Neb remains stagnant, we will be lucky to remain a middle of the pack team.

Give her a scholarship. (We always seem to have a few extra anyway. ☺) Her enthusiasm, hard work and consistent effort -- not to mention 3 point shooting-- helps build a winning, team-first culture.

I understand that the number of transfers is increasing in women's basketball. However, how many of those listed from other schools are starters or leading scorers on their team. We are not losing players looking for more playing time. I will not be surprised to see more players jump ship.

Was Grace injured? With Verbeek in foul trouble most of the evening, Grace may have been able to provide some defensive/rebounding minutes.

I understand RB may not be playing for physical reasons. Is there any news as to why the other two will not be on the roster next year? I haven't seen any news about them transferring.

If Nebraska helped ND get the waiver, I believe it was because Neb thought it would be best for both sides (Nebraska and JS) to part ways. Shepard did not seem happy or fully committed to playing her best ball at Nebraska. It looks like she may have found that at ND. From the Nebraska side, I don't think we would have saw the improvements we did this year if she were still on the team. Team chemistry seemed much better this year. The existing players had to step up and take over more scoring and rebounding roles. We were also able to add transfer Kate Cain to the roster. If we had a starting center on the roster, I don't know if Kate chooses Nebraska.

Kate didn't arrive on campus until mid summer. She missed out on quite a bit of the summer weight lifting and pre-season conditioning.

I agree with mwn89. This was not our best defensive effort. We just didn't have an answer for Buss today. I think some of our early fouls threw off our substitution patterns a little bit. It was also an early start...11am. It's different getting up in the morning and heading to the venue. Our other road games have been in the afternoon/evening. It gives the team a little more time to review game plan and get ready to play. We are still a young team and will learn to adjust. Regardless of wins or losses at this point, I am so proud of this team. They have fun together and it shows. Coach Amy has done an incredible job building this Family.

When watching the WNIT games, I remember thinking she gave the bench quite a few minutes. Her system seemed to be to play fast and go "all out" offensively and defensively. Give 130% while on the court- knowing there would be a sub to give you a break in a few minutes. Offensively, it seemed to be push the ball up the court fast and the first player with an open shot had the green light to shoot. Defensively, again "all out" -get in the passing lane and create turnovers leading to fast break points. The post players also got up and down the court quickly. I don't know if Jess is dealing with a minor nagging injury, poorly conditioned or if it is by design of the offense but she seems much slower going up and down the court this year. I remember times last year where she would beat Everyone down the court and recieve a long pass from Theriot for a layup. Now, it feels like we are so slow getting into the offensive set that we have given the defense time to set up. The defense against us has time to get back, get organized and find Jess for a double/triple team. I believe this offense is meant to run fast. As many have said, next year could be very different. Our freshmen are gaining valuable experience at the college level. Hopefully Burns is healthy. I'm looking forward to her intensity and leadership. GBR!

Do we see the basket before we turn and heave it at the basket? We shoot an abnormally high number of air balls.

Love seeing Whitish in the starting lineup. Her outside shooting really helps offensive production. It was nice to see over 70 points on the board. The offense flows much better with the guards driving into the lane occasionally. Now...if we can just limit the turnovers and tighten up the defense. This was a game we could/should have won if we had limited the wide open shots by Iowa.

I believe the poor free throw shooting is a result of poor conditioning. We have "tired" legs at the line. Jasmine was an 82% shooter last year. This year, it is 61%. We currently have only two players shooting higher than 66% from the line. Whitish at 76% and Wood at 80%. It's going to be tough to win the close ones if we can't make our free throws.

We definitely seem to be lacking the player that can provide on court leadership and bring the "fire". I'm thinking like the intensity and passion Blackburn shows on the court. I don't see players congratulating or high-fiving each other after good plays nor are they encouraging each other after a mistake. There is very little emotion on the court. I want to see a player fired up and encourage her teammates to get a stop on defense or give an excited fist pump after a great offensive play. I don't know if it is a chemistry issue or that things are just still too new.

I'm not happy to point this out but former recruit Mi'cole Cayton plays for the Bears.

According to stats on ESPN we shot a higher field goal percentage but VT was able to attempt 23 more shots than NEB due to turnovers and VT offensive rebounds.

Caveman - I understand your concerns about post play. I believe some of it is a result of slow perimeter passing. The passes need to be quick to get the zone defense shifting. As it is, it is difficult (almost impossible) to make the entry pass into the post. The posts have 2-3 defenders around them. That being said, the post players need to finish the opportunities they are given which includes making their free throws. We also have offensive sets where the post players are on the perimeter shooting threes. It doesn't leave much height down low for offensive rebounds.

There may be a few lumps this year but we need to remember “success” can be defined by more than just wins and losses. We are a relatively young team and our freshmen are gaining valuable game minutes. We have also shown a lot of fight. We don’t give up and have had some good runs late in games. The biggest issue I see is there is too much “thinking” going on out on the court. By this, I mean there is some hesitancy on both the offensive and defensive ends. It seems they are thinking about …where do I pass? where/when do I move on offense? Are we switching screens on defense?, etc. This is BRAND NEW to the entire team this year not just the newcomers. This will improve with time as they become more comfortable with the offensive and defensive sets. If we face a lot of zone this year as teams try to collapse on Jessica, quick perimeter passing will be key to finding open shots. There is a lot of potential in this team. I will continue to be there and cheer them on… win or lose. GBR!

Hannah and Riley both had more game minutes than Esther last night. It will be interesting to watch if the trend continues. The freshman are doing a good job of taking care of the basketball. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hannah break into the starting lineup by the start of the conference season.

I love that the team didn't quit. They are continuing to fight. Washington St up 73-62.

Washington St up 53-34 at the half. We did not score the last 4:31 of the 2nd quarter. Turnovers have hurt.

Very fast paced game. Huskers down 13 with 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

She would be a nice addition to the team. She can p!ay the true point guard position.

I can definitely see the improvement from game to game. All the minutes the freshman are getting will pay dividends in the future. We can't continue to be so reliant on the three. We need to be able to get the ball to the bigs when they are on the block. It seems we are just passing around the perimeter hoping for a good look at a long range shot. I would like to see some high-low post play or someone driving to the basket to help break the double\triple team on Jess. When we run the offense with Jess or Allie shooting the three, we don't have anyone underneath for the offensive rebound. I look forward to the rest of the season and am hopeful with the continued improvement that we surprise a team or two.