Huskers Head to Florida for San Juan Shootout

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-1) vs. Buffalo Bulls (2-0)
Thursday, Nov. 23, 3:15 p.m. (CT)
Ocean Center (Daytona Beach, Florida)
Live Video: SportsNetTV.com
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln - 107.3 FM; Omaha - CD 105.9 FM
Free Live Audio: Huskers.com/Huskers App
Live Stats
San Juan Shootout Tournament Central

Huskers Head to Florida for San Juan Shootout
• The Nebraska women’s basketball team takes its first trip away from home this season when the Huskers compete in two games at the San Juan Shootout in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Huskers (3-1) open play at the tournament on Thanksgiving Day at 3:15 p.m. (CT) by battling the Buffalo Bulls (2-0) at the Ocean Center.

• Nebraska will close the tournament by colliding with Coastal Carolina at the Ocean Center on Friday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. 

• Live radio broadcasts of both games will be produced by the Husker Sports Network, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch teaming up for their 17th season together on the call. The games will be carried live for free on Huskers.com and over the air on select Husker Sports Network stations, including B107.3 FM and CD 105.9 FM in Omaha. Free audio also can be found on Huskers.com and the Huskers App. 

• Nebraska will try to rebound from its first setback of the season, a 64-49 loss to Creighton on Sunday, Nov. 19. The game against the Jays capped a stretch of four games in eight days for the Big Red.

• Despite the setback, Nebraska’s defense continued to work toward long-term improvement, holding its fourth straight opponent to fewer than 70 points. In 29 games last season, the Huskers only held eight opponents to fewer than 70 points.

• Buffalo travels to Florida with a 2-0 record having scored more than 70 points in each of its first two games. The Bulls, who return four starters from last year’s team that finished 22-10 overall, scored 87 points in an opening-night win over Delaware before putting up 76 points on UMES on Nov. 13.

• Thursday’s game with Nebraska will be Buffalo’s first game in 10 days. • A pair of Husker freshmen find themselves atop Nebraska’s offensive statistics early in the season. Taylor Kissinger, a 6-1 guard from Minden, Neb., is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game while leading the Big Red with nine three-pointers on 42.9 percent shooting (9-21) from long range. 

• Kate Cain, a 6-5 freshman center from Middletown, N.Y., ranks second among the Huskers in scoring (11.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) while leading the Huskers in blocked shots (2.5 bpg).

• Buffalo’s starting five through the first two games this season has combined for 222 career starts for the Bulls. Nebraska’s starting five in its last game with Creighton has combined for 67 career collegiate starts. Buffalo senior guard Stephanie Reid owns 85 career starts.

• Husker sophomore Nicea Eliely made her first appearance of the season against Creighton.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 6.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Fr. - C - 11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - So. - G - 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - Fr. - G - 13.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Off the Bench
13 - Bria Stallworth - 5-6 - So. - G - 8.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - So. - F - 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - So. - G - 4.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 3.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg
43 - Rachel Blackburn - 6-3 - So. - F - 3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 1.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Injured
13 - Janay Morton - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Second Season at Nebraska (10-23); 11th Season Overall (203-132)

Buffalo Bulls (2-0, 0-0 MAC)
21 - Mariah Suchan - 6-1 - Sr. - F - 6.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg
31 - Cassie Oursler - 6-3 - Sr. - C - 12.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg
1 - Stephanie Reid - 5-6 - Sr. - G - 8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
24 - Cierra Dillard - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 11.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
30 - Katherine Ups - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 4.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Off the Bench
12 - Courtney Wilkins - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
0 - Summer Hemphill - 6-1 - So. - F - 9.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
32 - Brittany Morrison - 5-9 - Jr. - F - 8.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg
11 - Theresa Onwuka - 5-10 - So. - G - 7.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
30 - Marissa Hamilton - 5-11 - Fr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
3 - Liisa Ups - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
13 - Autumn Jones - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg
4 - Hanna Hall - 5-3 - Fr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
22 - Ayoleka Sodade - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Head Coach: Felisha Legette-Jack (Syracuse, 1989)
Sixth Season at UB (92-70); 16th Season Overall (233-233)

Scouting the Buffalo Bulls
• Coach Felisha Legette-Jack brings her Buffalo Bulls to Florida with a 2-0 record on the young season. The Bulls are coming off a 76-41 win over UMES on Nov. 13, after opening the season with an 87-73 victory over Delaware on Nov. 10. Both games were at Alumni Arena in Buffalo.

• The Bulls return four starters from last year’s team that finished 22-10 overall and 10-8 in the MAC. Buffalo finished No. 98 in the final NCAA RPI after going 13-4 at home, 8-4 in true road games and 1-2 at neutral sites.

• Buffalo’s top returning scorer is senior Stephanie Reid, who averaged 11.5 points per game a year ago. This season the 5-6 point guard from Melbourne, Australia, is averaging 8.5 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game. She will be making her 86th career start in Thursday’s game with the Huskers.

• Fellow Australian Katherine Ups gives more balance, experience and all-around play to the Bulls. The 5-9 senior guard is averaging 4.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She has made 56 starts alongside Reid in her career.

• Inside, senior Cassie Oursler gives the Bulls size and more experience. The 6-3 center from Grand Island, N.Y., has started 52 career games and enters Thursday’s contest tied for the team lead with 12.0 points per game. She has added 2.5 blocks per contest for a Bulls team that is averaging 8.5 blocks per game. Oursler averaged 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game a year ago.

• Senior Mariah Suchan, a 6-1 forward, gives Buffalo another experienced player with size. Suchan has averaged 6.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals through two games and has made 27 starts in her career.

• Junior Cierra Dillard has joined the starting lineup this season, replacing last year’s star JoAnna Smith, who led the Bulls with 17.2 points and 89 three-pointers a year ago. The 5-9 Dillard is averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 steals per game in 24.5 minutes per contest. Dillard started alongside current Husker guard Bria Stallworth at UMass in 2015-16, when Dillard averaged a team-leading 15.5 points per game. She also led UMass with 60 steals and finished second on the team (to Stallworth) with 2.7 assists per game. Dillard was also one of the top players for the Minutewomen as a freshman, averaging 10.6 points per game as a three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week.

• The Bulls also have displayed a deep bench early this season with 6-1 junior Courtney Wilkins leading Buffalo in scoring with 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. The forward from Melbourne, Australia has matched Dillard for the team lead with five three-pointers this season.

• Summer Hemphill, a 6-1 forward from Buffalo, ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game while adding a team-high 4.0 blocks per game off the bench.

• Sophomore Theresa Onwuka, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Asaba, Nigeria, was a part-time starter a year ago but has come off the bench to average 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in just 10.5 minutes this season. Onwuka is 5-for-5 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line this season.

• Junior Autumn Jones gives Buffalo more depth in the backcourt. The 5-8 guard out of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis was a solid junior college player at Pensacola State last season. She was a first-team WBCA Junior College All-American at Moberly Area CC in 2015-16 when she averaged 16.3 points per game.

• Jones’ choice to go to Buffalo should not be surprising given Coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s connection to Indiana. Legette-Jack spent six seasons as the head coach of the Hoosiers from 2006-07 through 2011-12 - Nebraska’s first year in the Big Ten. She took IU to the postseason each of her first three seasons, including a trip to the WNIT Quarterfinals in 2008-09, when the Hoosiers finished with a 21-11 overall record and an 11-7 Big Ten mark. However, in her final season at Indiana, the Hoosiers finished with a 6-24 record that included a 1-15 Big Ten mark. Nebraska defeated Indiana in its first-ever home Big Ten Conference game, 62-48 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Jan. 5, 2012. The previous season, Legette-Jack led the Hoosiers to a 67-61 win over the Huskers in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge at Assembly Hall in Bloomington on Dec. 5, 2010.

Nebraska Streaks 
• Senior guard Jasmine Cincore owns the longest streak of consecutive starts among the Huskers with 38. Sophomore guard Hannah Whitish (21) ranks second among the Huskers in consecutive starts.

• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 284 straight regular-season games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008.

• Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 163 consecutive games. 

• Nebraska has lost 18 consecutive games away from Pinnacle Bank Arena dating back to a 93-81 win at Michigan on Jan. 24, 2016.

• Kate Cain has blocked at least one shot in each of the first four games of her career.

• Nicea Eliely has at least one blocked shot in each of her last five games.

• Jasmine Cincore has recorded at least one steal in four consecutive games.

• Hannah Whitish has posted at least one assist in six consecutive games.

• Taylor Kissinger and Emily Wood each have knocked down at least one three-pointer in three consecutive games. • Maddie Simon has grabbed at least eight rebounds in three consecutive games. • Nicea Eliely has at least five rebounds in three straight games.

• Whitish has grabbed at least three rebounds in six straight games.