Nebraska WBB vs Northwestern Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten)
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, 3:30 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Tickets: Huskers.com / 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Special Event: Senior Day (Postgame)
Live Television: BTN
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (3:15 p.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst) Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (CD 105.9 FM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

The Huskers will celebrate Senior Day for MiCole Cayton, Bella Cravens and Sam Haiby in a post-game ceremony. Manager Gage Pohlmeier and nutrition student intern Allison Aden also will be recognized.

Not only will Nebraska be looking to tie the school record with its 16th home win of the year (1997-98, 2009-10, 2013-14), the Huskers and Wildcats will be playing for the No. 6 seed at the 14-team Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis next week. The winning team will claim the No. 6 seed, while a loss by the Huskers would drop them to the No. 7 spot. A loss by Northwestern could knock them to the No. 7 or 8 spots, pending the outcome of the Michigan State/Ohio State contest.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten)
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - So. - F - 10.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Fr. - F/C - 12.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - So. - G - 12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg
3 - Allison Weidner - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Off the Bench
14 - Bella Cravens - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 6.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 5.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - 2.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg
5 - MiCole Cayton - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 2.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg
11 - Ruby Porter - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 2.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg
10 - Whitney Brown - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 1.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 1.7 ppg, 0.4 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Sixth Season at Nebraska (93-82); 15th Season Overall (286-191)

Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten)
15 - Courtney Shaw - 6-0 - Sr. - F - 8.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg
2 - Lauryn Satterwhite - 5-7 - Gr. - G - 7.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg
4 - Jillian Brown - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg
12 - Veronica Burton - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 17.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
33 - Laya Hartman - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Off the Bench
10 - Caileigh Walsh - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg
21 - Melannie Daley - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 6.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg
20 - Paige Mott - 6-1 - So. - F - 3.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg
1 - Kaylah Rainey - 5-6 - Jr. - G - 2.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg
42 - Anna Morris - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg
0 - Jess Sancataldo - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg
23 - Jasmine McWilliams - 5-11 - So. - G - 0.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg
13 - Mercy Ademusayo - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg

Head Coach: Joe McKeown (Kent State, 1978) 14th Season at Northwestern (239-196); 36th Season Overall (748-370)

Northwestern Scouting Report

Coach Joe McKeown brings Northwestern to Lincoln with momentum. The Wildcats have back-to-back double-digit wins at Illinois (82-59, Feb. 20) and over Purdue (68-51) in Evanston on Thursday while winning five of their last seven contests. Included in the stretch is a double-overtime win over top-10 Michigan (71-69, Feb. 13) and a six-point win at Penn State, along with another win over Purdue. Northwestern’s losses came at Minnesota (74-68, Feb. 11) and top-10 Indiana (Feb. 17).

National Defensive Player-of-the-Year candidate Veronica Burton leads Northwestern. The All-Big Ten guard leads the Cats in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (6.7 apg) and steals (4.1 spg). She leads the nation in steals per game and ranks fifth nationally in assists per game.

Fellow senior Courtney Shaw leads the Wildcats inside with a team-best 10.1 rebounds, while adding 8.5 points and 1.0 block per game. Northwestern features three solid freshmen in Jillian Brown (8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Caileigh Walsh (7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Melannie Daley (6.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg). Graduate guard Lauryn Satterwhite (7.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg) has been a regular starter down the stretch, hitting 36.1 percent (30-83) of her threes on the year. Junior guard Laya Hartman (7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) also has joined the starting five late in the season, giving the Cats another capable shooter (.381, 24-63).

Northwestern relies on various forms of pressure defense to affect the game, forcing an average of 18.7 turnovers per game. The Cats own a plus-4.6 turnover margin while carrying a minus-1.6 rebound margin. They shoot just 39.8 percent from the field, including just 31.4 percent from three-point range.

Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 12-8, including a sweep of last year’s season series. In a 71-64 win in Evanston (Feb. 17, 2021), Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Kate Cain added 22 points and eight rebounds inside for Nebraska. The Huskers overcame a 28-4 turnover deficit by outrebounding the Cats, 52-33.