Nebraska WBB vs Northwestern State Preview and Game Thread

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Northwestern State Lady Demons
Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, Noon (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska
Special Event: Sportsmanship Pep Rally (9:30 a.m.)
Live Video: B1G+ (subscription required)
Live Stats: Huskers.com (StatBroadcast)
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (11:30 a.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst) Lincoln (107.3 FM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska opened exhibition play with an 83-47 win over Dakota Wesleyan at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Oct. 29. Freshman Natalie Potts led the Huskers with 15 points while adding eight rebounds off the bench. Senior Annika Stewart contributed 14 points off the bench, while newcomer Darian White made an impressive debut with 13 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

Nebraska enters the season with three returning starters, including preseason All-Big Ten selections Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski. Shelley and Markowski were both named to preseason national player-of-the-year watch lists at their positions last week.

Graduate guard Maddie Krull, who started 60 games in two seasons at South Dakota, before transferring to Nebraska prior to last season, joins Shelley and Markowski as returning starters. Krull made 24 starts for the Big Red a year ago. The Millard South High School grad earned her bachelor’s degree from Nebraska in August, just three seasons into her college career.

Northwestern State comes to Lincoln for the second time in school history (Nov. 28, 1994) after working its way to an 11-18 record that included a 7-11 Southland Conference mark a year ago. The Lady Demons feature three returning starters (Jiselle Woodson, Sharna Ayres, Jasmin Dixon).

Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - Fr. - F/G - HS
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Jr. - C/F - 11.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg
0 - Darian White - 5-6 - Gr. - G - 14.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg
1 - Jaz Shelley - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 14.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg
42 - Maddie Krull - 5-9 - Gr. - G - 6.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg

Off the Bench
21 - Annika Stewart - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
14 - Callin Hake - 5-9 - So. - G - 4.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - Fr. - G - HS
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - Fr. - F - HS
44 - Maggie Mendelson - 6-5 - So. - F/C - 2.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg
3 - Allison Weidner (Out) - 5-10 - Jr. - G - 10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Eighth Season at Nebraska (114-99); 17th Season Overall (307-208)

Northwestern State Lady Demons (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
11 - Jasmin Dixon - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 3.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg
24 - Jordan Todd - 6-1 - Sr. - C - 3.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg
3 - Jiselle Woodson - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 8.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
21 - Mykaila Pickard - 5-10 - Jr. - G - JUCO
35 - Sharna Ayres - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 8.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg

Off the Bench
4 - Karmelah Dean - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 1.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg
15 - Carla Celaya (VT) - 5-11 - So. - G - 1.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
32 - Madison Moles - 6-6 - So. - C - 1.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
20 - Jordan McLemore - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 0.8 ppg, 0.7 rpg
12 - Ivona Miljanic - 6-0 - So. - G - 0.4 ppg, 0.8 rpg
5 - Jenny Ntambwe - 6-1 - So. - F - JUCO
23 - Jordan Brown - 5-9 - RSo. - G - JUCO
25 - Nia Hardison - 5-8 - Jr. - G - JUCO
33 - Niaisya Ervin - 5-10 - Jr. - G - JUCO
1 - Jermesha Frierson - 5-7 - Fr. - G - HS
31 - Ane Astarloa - 6-3 - Fr. - C - HS

Head Coach: Anna Nimz (Pittsburg State, 2008) Fourth Season at Northwestern State (24-51); Fourth Season Overall (24-51)

Scouting The Northwestern State Lady Demons

Head Coach Anna Nimz enters her fourth season at Northwestern State. The Lady Demons come to Lincoln from Natchitoches, La., after posting an 11-18 overall record that included a 7-11 Southland Conference mark last season.

Nimz and her coaching staff are no strangers to the Midwest. She played and coached collegiately at Pittsburg State in Kansas, while assistant coach Addae Houston played and coached at Northwest Missouri State. Houston spent last season as an assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan. Assistant coach Mike Brown graduated from Drake and was the head coach at Iowa Central Community College, Upper Iowa and William Penn.

On the court, the Lady Demons will be challenged to replace their top two scorers from a year ago - Candice Parramore (13.5 ppg) and Shelby Rayner (8.9 ppg) along with six other players from their 2022-23 roster.

The Lady Demons return three key starters led by guard Sharna Ayres. The 5-10 guard from Melbourne, Australia was the only Lady Demon to start all 29 games a year ago, averaging 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds, while hitting a team-best 55 three-pointers. She also connected on 92 percent (23-25) of her free throws on the season.

Jasmin Dixon, a 6-3 junior forward, joined Ayres in the starting lineup for 25 games, averaging 3.2 points and 4.0 rebounds while leading NSU with 1.0 blocks per game. Senior Jiselle Woodson is Northwestern State’s top returning scorer. The 5-5 guard averaged 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and a team-best 2.4 assists last season. She also led the Lady Demons with 32 steals and connected on 36.1 percent of her three-pointers (22-61).

Northwestern State features a pair of Alaskans - senior forward Jordan Todd and junior guard Mikaila Pickard - on their 16-player roster. The teammates at Anchorage Christian High School are 4,160 miles (68-hour drive) away from home when they are in Natchitoches. NSU also has two newcomers from Spain - Carla Celaya (Montbau) and Ane Astarloa (Berriz) - and two players from New Jersey - Jordan Brown (Plainsboro) and Niaisya Ervin (Newark).

Nebraska vs. Northwestern State Series History

Nebraska will meet Northwestern State in women’s basketball for just the second time in school history on Monday. The Huskers battled their way to a 70-57 victory over the Lady Demons at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Nov. 28, 1994.

Current Nebraska Head Coach Amy Williams played one minute off the bench as a freshman in that game, wearing No. 34.