Nebraska WBB vs Rutgers Preview and Game Thread

Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-10, 0-4 Big Ten)

Saturday, January 7, 2023, 1 p.m. (CT)

Jersey Mike’s Arena - Piscataway, New Jersey

Live TV: BTN - Mike Hall (PBP), Christy Winters Scott (Analyst)

Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (12:45 p.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst), Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (105.9 FM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten)

34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 11.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg

40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - So. - C/F - 12.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg

1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 15.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg

4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg

42 - Maddie Krull - 5-9 - So. - G - 3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Off the Bench

21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - So. - F - 6.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg

44 - Maggie Mendelson - 6-5 - Fr. - F/C - 5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg

15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - So. - G - 4.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg

14 - Callin Hake - 5-9 - Fr. - G - 4.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg

32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - So. - F/G - 2.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg

2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 2.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg

3 - Allison Weidner (Out) - 5-10 - So. - G - 10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Seventh Season at Nebraska (106-89); 16th Season Overall (299-198)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-10, 0-4 Big Ten)

54 - Chyna Cornwell - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 9.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg

22 - Kassondra Brown - 6-2 - Sr. - C - 8.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg

2 - Kaylene Smikle - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 16.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg

11 - Awa Sidibe - 5-11 - Sr. - G - 10.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg

20 - Erica Lafayette - 6-0 - Jr. - G/F - 7.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg

Off the Bench

24 - Kai Carter - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 6.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg

31 - Abby Streeter - 5-11 - Gr. - G - 4.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg

4 - Antonia Bates - 6-3 - Fr. - G/F - 2.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg

Head Coach: Coquese Washington (Notre Dame, 1992) First Season at Rutgers (6-10); 13th Season Overall (215-179)

Scouting The Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Coquese Washington leads Rutgers in her first season as the head coach for the Scarlet Knights. The three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2012, 2013, 2014) returns to the conference after guiding the Penn State program for 12 seasons (2007-19). From 2010-11 to 2013-14, Washington led Penn State to a 101-31 record, including six NCAA Tournament wins and a pair of Sweet Sixteens.

The Scarlet Knights feature just eight players on their 2022-23 roster, including just three returning players (Chyna Cornwell, Erica Lafayette, Awa Sidibe) from a year ago.

In four Big Ten games, Rutgers is averaging just 67.8 points, while surrendering 82.5 points per game. Rutgers has hit a solid 45.9 percent of its shots from the field, including 36.5 percent of its threes. The Scarlet Knights also have knocked down 79.4 percent of their free throws and won the rebounding battle by an average of 6.8 boards per game in their four Big Ten losses.

The key stat in Big Ten play for Rutgers has been turnover margin. The Scarlet Knights carry a minus-12.5 turnover margin, committing an average of 23.8 turnovers through the first four Big Ten games, while forcing just 11.3 turnovers by their opponents. Rutgers has lost all four of its league games by double digits, including home losses to nationally ranked Ohio State (82-70, Dec. 4) and Maryland (78-67, Jan. 2) and road losses at Illinois (80-62, Dec. 7) and Penn State (90-72, Dec. 30).

Husker Numbers to Watch

Nebraska’s Amy Williams is one win away from the 300th of her collegiate head coaching career, including 97 victories at Rogers State (NAIA, 2007-12), 96 at South Dakota (2013-16) and 106 at Nebraska (2016-present).

Isabelle Bourne is 18 points away from 1,000 in her career. She is three games away from her 100th career game as a Husker. Her older sister, Callie, recently reached the 1,000-point mark in her fifth season at Idaho State, achieving the milestone at San Diego (Nov. 25) in career game No. 118.

Jaz Shelley is 58 points away from 1,000 in her college career (646-Nebraska; 296-Oregon).

Sam Haiby is 20 points away from matching Diane DelVigna for No. 14 on Nebraska’s all-time scoring list (1,433 points, 1978-79, 1979-80).

Nebraska vs. Rutgers Series History

Rutgers leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 6-5, but Nebraska notched a 50-38 win over the Scarlet Knights last season on Feb. 1, 2022 in Lincoln. Alexis Markowski led the Huskers with 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Sam Haiby added 12 points and six boards in a low-scoring affair.