Nebraska WBB vs San Jose State Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. San Jose State Spartans
Saturday, December 8, 2018, Noon (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Live Video: BTN Plus
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (11:45 a.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst); Lincoln-B107.3 FM; Omaha-ESPN 590 AM; Lexington-880 AM KRVN
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn
Live Stats

Coming off of a much-needed victory vs Kansas, the Husker women (3-5) look to continue their winning ways against the 1-6 San Jose State Spartans. They will be without senior reserve point guard Kristian Hudson due to a foot injury. One item the Huskers would like to do without are the turnovers - which have derailed a promising offense.

Against Kansas, the Huskers leaned on defense, rebounding and their fabulous foursome of fearsome freshmen. Freshman guard Sam Haiby also has produced double figures five times this season. She is averaging a team-best 11.8 points to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Freshman Ashtyn Veerbeek added a career-high 11 rebounds of against the Jayhawks, while fellow freshman Kayla Mershon pitched in a career-best seven boards. Brown rounded out the first-year contributors with four points, two boards and a steal.

Sophomore Kate Cain continues to be one of the nation’s premier shot-blockers for the Big Red. The 6-5 center owns 19 blocks on the season and is averaging 8.4 points and team bests of 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Cain, who owns 119 blocks in just 40 career games, needs seven blocks to climb to No. 4 on Nebraska’s career block list (126).

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-5, 0-0 Big Ten)
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - So. - C - 8.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 8.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 8.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg
33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - So. - G - 8.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg

Off the Bench
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - Fr. - G - 11.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 6.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - Fr. - F - 6.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg
11(out) - Kristian Hudson - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 1.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998); Third Season at Nebraska (31-38); 12th Season Overall (224-147)

San Jose State Spartans (1-6, 0-0 Mountain West)
30 - Megan Anderson - 6-0 - So. - G - 8.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg
35 - Cydni Lewis - 6-0 - So. - F - 11.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg
0 - Raziya Potter - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 10.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
4 - Fieme’a Hafoka - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg
22 - Danae Marquez - 5-5 - So. - G - 7.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Off the Bench
5 - Analyss Benally - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 6.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg
32 - Mikaylah Wilson - 5-10 - So. - F - 5.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
33 - Courtesy Clark - 5-10 - So. - G - 2.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg
2 - Andrea Kohlhaas - 5-11 - Sr. - F - 2.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg
24 - Alexis Harris - 6-3 - Jr. - C - 2.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
1 - Nefer Leon - 5-5 - Fr. - G - 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg

Head Coach: Jamie Craighead (Oregon, 2002); Sixth Season at San Jose State (58-103); 10th Season Overall (109-173)

Scouting the San Jose State Spartans

The Spartans carry a 1-6 record with them to Pinnacle Bank Arena after taking a 76-64 loss at Colorado on Thursday night in Boulder. SJSU is a young team with only one senior on the roster.

This week’s trip to Colorado and Nebraska marks the first venture off the West Coast for the Spartans, who notched an 82-72 home win over Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 24. SJSU opened with losses to San Francisco State and San Francisco, and also took home losses to Pacific and UC Irvine. The Spartans’ only other trip outside of California came in an 80-51 loss at Portland State (Nov. 11).

Sophomore Cydni Lewis leads the Spartans in scoring and rebounding. The 6-0 forward is averaging 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. Lewis has shot a team-high 30 free throws in seven games and is 7-for-14 from three-point range.

Junior guard Fieme’a Hafoka has added 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, while also hitting 12 threes.

True freshman Raziya Potter is coming into her own early for the Spartans. The 5-10 guard is averaging 10.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Potter is an aggressive penetrator who has found her way to the free throw line early.

Sophomore starter Megan Anderson has pitched in 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. The 6-0 guard has knocked down 12 three-pointers and is 9-for-10 at the free throw line.

A third sophomore starter, 5-5 point guard Danae Marquez is averaging 7.7 points and a team-best 4.3 assists per game. The diminutive Marquez also ranks second on the squad with 4.7 rebounds per contest.

As a team, San Jose State has averaged 65.6 points, while surrendering 78.7 points per game. The Spartans have been out-muscled on the boards, 47.9-36.7, and also carry a minus-2.1 team turnover margin. SJSU is shooting just 35.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three-point range, but the Spartans have held their opponents to just 26.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Nebraska vs. San Jose State Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series with San Jose State, 2-0, with those wins coming in 2016 and 2017.