Nebraska WBB vs Wyoming Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) vs. Wyoming Cowgirls (4-4, 0-0 Mountain West)

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, Noon (CT)

Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska

Live Video: B1G+ (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch)

Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (11:45 a.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst) Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (ESPN 590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska is coming off an impressive 89-68 win over Drake on Sunday in Lincoln. Five Huskers scored in double figures, led by the second straight double-double by Alexis Markowski (15 points, 10 rebounds), who earned her second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award for the performance. The win over the Bulldogs extended Nebraska’s winning streak to 11 games, making the 2021-22 Huskers just the second NU team to ever win 11 straight games, joining the 2009-10 Big Red.

The victory over Drake was Nebraska’s seventh this season by 20 or more points.

Nebraska’s success is making waves nationally, with the Huskers at No. 6 in the NET Rankings (Dec. 20). NU is one of just seven remaining unbeaten teams in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. The Huskers rank No. 2 nationally in scoring margin (+29.6 ppg), No. 3 in defensive rebounds per game (32.4 rpg), No. 4 in field goal percentage (.480), No. 5 in free throws made and No. 6 in both scoring offense (84.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.325). Overall, Nebraska ranks among the top 25 teams in the nation in 17 statistical categories.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
14 - Bella Cravens - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 7.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - So. - F - 10.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg
0 - Ashley Scoggin - 5-7 - RSo. - G - 9.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - So. - G - 14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 9.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Off the Bench
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Fr. - F/C - 9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg
3 - Allison Weidner - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 5.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - 4.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
5 - MiCole Cayton - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 2.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg
11 - Ruby Porter - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 3.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 2.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg
10 - Whitney Brown - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 1.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)Sixth Season at Nebraska (83-75); 15th Season Overall (276-184)

Wyoming Cowgirls (4-4, 0-0 Mountain West)
4 - Grace Ellis - 6-0 - So. - F - 7.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
11 - Alba Sanchez Ramos - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 5.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg
12 - McKinley Bradshaw - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
14 - Quinn Weidemann - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg
24 - Tommi Olson - 5-6 - Sr. - G - 2.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg

Off the Bench
45 - Allyson Fertig - 6-4 - Fr. - C - 9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg
30 - Ola Ustowska - 5-10 - So. - G - 5.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg
10 - Paula Salazar - 6-3 - So. - F - 4.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg
2 - Emily Mellema - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 3.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg
21 - Landri Hudson - 5-9 - So. - G - 0.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg
23 - Lexi Bull - 6-0 - So. - G/F - 0.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg
5 - Tess Barnes - 6-2 - Fr. - G/F - 0.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Head Coach: Gerald Mattinson (Weber State, 1981)Third Season at Wyoming & Overall (35-26)

Wyoming comes to Nebraska as the defending Mountain West Tournament champions. The 2020-21 Cowgirls finished with a 14-10 overall record that included a 69-48 loss to UCLA in the NCAA first round in Austin, Texas (March 22).

Quinn Weidemann, a 5-9 senior guard out of Omaha Westside High School, is a leader for the Cowgirls. The 2021 Mountain West Tournament MVP, Weidemann is averaging 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2021-22. A member of the 2021 Mountain West All-Defensive Team, Weidemann has 14-of-30 threes (.467) this season. She was the 2018 Nebraska Gatorade High School Player of the Year while leading Westside to the Class A state title as a senior.

McKinley Bradshaw leads this season’s Cowgirls in scoring with 13.8 points per game, while ranking second on the squad with 5.4 rebounds. She also ranks No. 2 among the Cowgirls with 10 made threes, but is shooting just 25 percent from long range. The 5-11 junior led Wyoming in scoring (11.7 ppg) a year ago despite coming off the bench most of the season.

Spaniard Alba Sanchez Ramos returns to Wyoming’s lineup after starting all 24 games last season and 29 games for the Cowgirls as a sophomore. She is averaging 5.5 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds, while ranking second on the team with 2.6 assists.

Senior Tommi Olson joins Sanchez Ramos and Weidemann in giving Wyoming three returning starters. She ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West last season in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), steals (55) and steals per game (2.3) while ranking third in assists (4.2).

As a team, Wyoming has held its eight opponents to just 54.3 points per game, but has managed just 62 points per contest. The Cowgirls are hitting just 39.6 percent of their shots from the field, including just 29.2 percent of their three-pointers. They have been strong at the line (.746) and they also own a plus-4.4 rebound margin and a plus-0.9 turnover margin.