Huskers to Battle No. 10 Iowa, Honor Simon

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. 10/10 Iowa Hawkeyes Monday, February 25, 2019, 7:30 p.m. (CT) Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) - Lincoln, Nebraska Live TV: BTN (Mike Monaco, Bobbie Kelsey) Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (7:04 p.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst) Lincoln-B107.3 FM; Omaha-ESPN 590 AM Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn

Huskers to Honor Simon on Senior Night with Iowa • The Nebraska women’s basketball team takes aim for a season series split with No. 10 Iowa before celebrating Senior Night on Monday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. • Tip off between Nebraska (13-14, 8-8 Big Ten) and the No. 12 Hawkeyes (21-6, 12-4 Big Ten) is set for 7:30 p.m. (CT). Live radio coverage (beginning at 7:04 p.m.) can be heard in Lincoln on B107.3 FM, in Omaha on ESPN 590 AM, in Lexington on 880 AM KRVN and across the state on the Husker Sports Network. Free live audio can be found at Huskers.com, the Huskers App and on TuneIn.  • Live television coverage will be provided by BTN with Mike Monaco and Bobbie Kelsey on the call. • Nebraska will honor senior Maddie Simon (Lincoln, Nebraska) in an on-court ceremony immediately following Monday night’s game. The Lincoln Pius X graduate has played in 105 games in her Husker career, scoring nearly 700 points while grabbing more than 300 rebounds. • The Huskers are coming off back-to-back wins for just the second time in Big Ten play after working their way to a 71-64 win at Northwestern (Feb. 21). The victory followed an 82-71 win over No. 24 Michigan State (Feb. 17) in Nebraska’s last appearance at Pinnacle Bank Arena. • Nebraska’s only other two-game conference winning streak this season came against Michigan and at Ohio State to open league play and ended with a 77-71 loss at Iowa (Jan. 3). • Nebraska is one of four teams that enter the final week of Big Ten play with an 8-8 record and one of eight teams that could finish with a 10-8 mark. The Huskers own at least one win over every team (Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Purdue [2], Northwestern and Michigan State) in the No. 4 through No. 9 spots in the conference standings as of Feb. 22. • Nebraska is 1-4 against the top four teams in the Big Ten standings with two lossess to No. 8 Maryland, one loss to No. 10 Iowa, a loss to previously ranked Rutgers and a loss at Michigan. • Although Nebraska is below .500 on the season, the Huskers have fought hard down to the wire, with a school-record 12 games decided by two possessions or less. Unfortunately, the Huskers are just 3-9 in games decided by six or fewer points, including 2-6 in Big Ten play. Iowa is 2-2 in its Big Ten games decided by two possessions, including a six-point win over Nebraska (Jan. 3). The Hawkeyes are coming off a 75-73 loss at Indiana (Feb. 21).

Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-14, 8-8 Big Ten) 44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - Fr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg 31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - So. - C - 7.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg 3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg 5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg 32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - Fr. - G/F - 9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg Off the Bench 4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - Fr. - G - 9.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg 33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - So. - G - 8.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg 13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 7.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg 24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 7.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg 14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 1.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg 11(out) - Kristian Hudson - 5-5 - Sr. - G - 2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Third Season at Nebraska (41-47); 12th Season Overall (234-156)

No. 10/10 Iowa Hawkeyes (21-6, 12-4 Big Ten) 21 - Hannah Stewart - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg 10 - Megan Gustafson - 6-3 - Sr. - F - 27.4 ppg, 13.1 rpg 3 - Mackenzie Meyer - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 9.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg 11 - Tania Davis - 5-3 - Sr. - G - 10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg 22 - Kathleen Doyle - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 13.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg Off the Bench 5 - Alexis Sevillian - 5-5 - So. - G - 5.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg 43 - Amanda Ollinger - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 2.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg 25 - Monika Czinano - 6-3 - Fr. - F/C - 2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg 1 - Tomi Taiwo - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg 24 - Zion Sanders - 5-8 - So. - G - 1.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg 23 - Logan Cook - 6-1 - Fr. - F - 0.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg 31 - Paula Valino Ramos - 6-3 - So. - F/C - 0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg Head Coach: Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa, 1983) 19th Season at Iowa (388-216); 35th Season Overall (744-358)

Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes • In her 35th season as a collegiate head coach, including her 17th at Iowa, Lisa Bluder brings an explosive and experienced Iowa team into Monday’s meeting with Nebraska. • The No. 12 Hawkeyes are No. 2 in the Big Ten standings at 12-4 after losing 75-73 on a last-second shot at Indiana on Thursday night. Prior to the loss at Indiana, the Hawkeyes had put themselves in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament with an impressive 86-73 win over No. 7 Maryland on Feb. 17. But a come-from-behind win on a last-second shot by Maryland against Minnesota Thursday, put the Terps back on top in the conference race at 13-3 heading into the final week of Big Ten regular-season play. • Iowa is led by All-American, National Player-of-the-Year candidate and probable Big Ten Player-of-the-Year Megan Gustafson, who leads the nation in scoring at 27.4 points and ranks fourth with 13.1 rebounds per contest. Both of those averages are on the rise since Nebraska’s first meeting with the Hawkeyes on Jan. 3.  • Gustafson, a 6-3 senior forward, owns 2,542 career points and 1,332 career rebounds in her 126 career games. She is shooting a career-best 70.4 percent from the field and 78 percent at the free throw line. She is a 12-time Big Ten Player of the Week this season and has scored 30 or more points nine times this year, including a pair of 40-point performances.  • Over the last six games, Gustafson is averaging 30.7 points and 14.5 rebounds. In the first meeting with Nebraska this season, she had 28 points and 17 boards. • Last season, Gustafson averaged 27.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in a pair of losses to Nebraska. • Fellow senior forward Hannah Stewart is enjoying her best season, averaging 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 75 percent at the line in her first year as a starter. In the first meeting with Nebraska this season, Stewart scored 14 points. • Senior guard Tania Davis has had each of the last two seasons cut short by injuries but has started all 27 games for the Hawkeyes this year. She is averaging 10.8 points and 4.7 assists through 27 games.  The 5-3 Davis had 11 points and five rebounds in the first meeting with Nebraska this year. She is shooting 38.5 percent (42-109) from three-point range and 86 percent (49-57) from the free throw line. • Junior guards Kathleen Doyle and Mackenzie Meyer round out one of the Big Ten’s most experienced starting fives.  • Doyle, who missed all of November with a broken left hand, has averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.5 steals this season. She averaged 12.0 points and 4.5 assists in a pair of losses to Nebraska last year. In the first meeting with the Huskers this season, Doyle had 11 points, nine assists and four steals. • Meyer has pitched in 9.1 points and 4.2 assists despite battling a recent injury. Meyer has knocked down 41 threes (.323) for the Hawkeyes and is a nearly automatic 97 percent (32-33) at the free throw line. Meyer did not play against Nebraska in Lincoln last season because of an arm injury. She scored just two points in Iowa’s win in Iowa City earlier this season. • Sophomore guard Alexis Sevillian gives Iowa a sixth experienced player. In her first two seasons on the court, Sevillian has made 35 starts, filling in for all three of Iowa’s starting guards while they faced injuries. Sevillian is averaging 5.6 points per game this season and had eight points, three rebounds and three assists in the first meeting with the Huskers this year.  • Junior Amanda Ollinger has spelled Gustafson and Stewart inside throughout the season. Ollinger is averaging 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game in Big Ten play. Last year in Lincoln, Ollinger had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. She has not scored in her last two games against Nebraska and played just four minutes in the first meeting at Iowa City this season. • Iowa leads the Big Ten in scoring (80.6 ppg), field goal percentage (.519), free throw percentage (.762) and assists (21.9 apg) while ranking 11th in the conference in scoring defense (68.6 ppg) and ninth in field goal percentage defense (.405) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.319).

Nebraska vs. Iowa Series History • Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa, 14-13, including a season sweep of the Hawkeyes in two games last year, but Iowa worked its way to a 77-71 win over the Huskers in Iowa City to open the season series this year on Jan. 3. • Iowa led by 12 points with four minutes left this season in Iowa City before Nebraska rallied to cut the lead to 73-71 in the final minute. Although Megan Gustafson led Iowa with 28 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks, it was Hannah Stewart who made the two biggest plays for the Hawkeyes with a pair of offensive rebounds off missed free throws in the final 30 seconds. Stewart finished with 14 points. • Leigha Brown led Nebraska with 20 points at Iowa, while Hannah Whitish added 14 for the Huskers. • The Huskers are 5-5 all-time against Iowa in Lincoln, dating back to a 67-66 win over the Hawkeyes at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Dec. 22, 1979. • Nebraska defeated then-No. 20 Iowa 74-65 in last season’s meeting at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 16, 2018. The Huskers snapped Iowa’s five-game series winning streak despite 29 points and 18 rebounds from Hawkeye All-American Megan Gustafson. • The Huskers completed the sweep with a 92-74 win on Jan. 28, 2018, after the Huskers built a 36-point lead midway through the third quarter. Nebraska led 56-26 at the half, and the 56 points were the most ever allowed by the Hawkeyes in a first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. • Prior to last year’s rout by Nebraska in Iowa City, each of the previous seven meetings between the Huskers and Hawkeyes had been decided by single digits, including a 75-72 Iowa win at Carver-Hawkeye on Dec. 31, 2016. • The Huskers are 4-6 all-time against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City with five of the last seven games being decided by two possessions or less, including one overtime finish (Iowa 78, Nebraska 72, Jan. 26, 2015).  • Nebraska is 5-2 all-time against Iowa on neutral courts dating back to the first meeting in the series, a 71-63 Husker win at the Jennies’ Classic in Warrensburg, Mo., on Jan. 13, 1978. • The Huskers dominated the series in their first years in the Big Ten. From 2011-12 through 2013-14 (three seasons) the Huskers went 8-0 against the Hawkeyes, culminating with a 72-65 victory in the 2014 Big Ten Tournament Championship Game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Husker Nuggets • Senior Maddie Simon is coming off one of the best all-around games of her career with 15 points on 6-of-6 field goal shooting with a pair of threes at Northwestern (Feb. 21). Simon also led Nebraska with five rebounds. • The Husker bench has outscored opponent benches in 25 of 27 games this year with the only exceptions coming in losses at Michigan (37-20, Feb. 7) and at No. 7 Maryland (22-19, Feb. 14).   • Nebraska’s bench has outscored the opponent bench by double digits 19 times this year.  • In the first meeting between Nebraska and Iowa this season, the Husker bench outscored the Hawkeye bench, 37-11. • Overall, Nebraska’s bench has outscored opposition benches 847-440 (31.4-16.3 ppg) for a plus-15.1 margin. • Nebraska’s bench outscored the opposition 149-53 over the final four non-conference games, including a season-high 45 points at Arkansas. NU’s bench posted a season-best scoring differential (+37) in its last non-conference home game by outscoring Denver’s bench, 40-3.  • Nebraska’s bench has scored 40 or more points six times, including 45 at Arkansas, 42 points against San Jose State, 41 points against Drake, 40 against Denver, 40 at Illinois (1/17) and most recently 40 at Purdue (1/31). • In Nebraska’s Big Ten-opening win over Michigan (Dec. 28), the Husker bench outscored the Wolverine bench 28-10, including 14-0 in the fourth quarter. • In Big Ten play, NU’s bench has outscored opponent benches 490-282 (30.6-17.6, +13.0 ppg), including 39-12 (+27) and 40-14 (+26) edges against Purdue and a 34-9 margin (+25) in a win over No. 23 Minnesota (Jan. 20). • Nebraska’s bench has scored at least 15 points in each of its 16 Big Ten games, including at least 35 points on five occasions.

Nebraska Streaks   • Kate Cain owns Nebraska’s longest streak of consecutive starts (58).   • Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska’s second-longest streak of starts (53). • Eliely is the only Husker to score in all 27 games this season, and the only Husker to score in each of Nebraska’s 16 Big Ten Conference contests. She has scored in 31 consecutive games overall. She did not score in a win over Penn State on Feb. 22, 2018, the only time in the past two seasons (56 games) that she has been shut out.   • Junior Hannah Whitish scored in double figures seven straight games for Nebraska from Jan. 17 (at Illinois) to Feb. 7 (at Michigan) - the longest streak of the season for any Husker. • The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 339 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 218 consecutive games.

Nebraska Numbers to Watch • (3) Nicea Eliely needs three steals to reach 50 on the year. No Husker has recorded 50 steals in a season since All-American Lindsey Moore (60) in 2012-13.  • (3) Hannah Whitish is three steals away from 100 in her career. • (4) Kate Cain is four blocks away from tying Catheryn Redmon (77, 2010-11) for the No. 3 single-season block total in Husker history. Cain owns 73 blocks through 27 games this season. • (5) Cain is five blocks away from tying Danielle Page (78, 2007-08) for the No. 2 season block total at Nebraska. Cain owns the single-season school record with 100 blocks last year. • (5) Senior Maddie Simon is five points away from 700 in her career. • (6) Ashtyn Veerbeek needs six blocks to tie for the No. 5 total by a freshman in school history (31). She enters the Iowa game with 25 blocks on the season. • (15) Taylor Kissinger is 15 points away from 500 in her career. • (17) Nicea Eliely is 17 points away from 700 in her career.

Simon Striving for Leadership as a Senior • Maddie Simon is trying to help lead a young Husker team in 2018-19. The only active senior on Nebraska’s roster, Simon is averaging 7.0 points and 3.1 rebounds after a strong 15-point, five-rebound performance off the bench in a win at Northwestern (Feb. 21). She was 6-for-6 from the field with a pair of threes in Evanston. • Simon, who has scored double figures nine times this season, matched her season high with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a road win at Ohio State (Dec. 31). She set her season high with 16 points at No. 5 Louisville (Nov. 29).  • She scored 10 points off the bench in a win over No. 24 Michigan State (Feb. 17). • She owns 28 career double-figure efforts, including 12 points and a season-high seven boards vs. Indiana (Feb. 3). • Simon had 15 points and a season-high seven rebounds at Washington State (Nov. 16). She played a career-high 40 minutes in the double-overtime game against the Cougars. • She put up 13 points in just 18 minutes in a win over Radford (Nov. 25) and had 10 points and four rebounds in just 18 minutes in a win over USC Upstate (Nov. 11). • Simon opened Big Ten play with 10 points in Nebraska’s comeback win over Michigan (Dec. 28). • Simon moved from guard to power forward permanently for the start of the 2017-18 season. • The 6-2 Lincoln Pius X High School grad was a significant contributor in the NU backcourt her first two years, including a starting role late in the regular season of 2015-16. • Through two seasons, she averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. She made five starts as a freshman, before coming off the bench in all 29 games in 2016-17. • With the loss of Nebraska’s starting frontcourt, and inexperience and injuries challenging the inside game, Simon ran into a more prominent role at power forward in 2017-18. • In 28 games with 27 starts at power forward, Simon was one of the most improved players in the Big Ten by averaging 10.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2017-18. The Huskers went 20-8 with Simon on the court with their only losses to No. 11/13/17 Maryland (3), No. 12 Ohio State, No. 23 Michigan, Arizona State in the NCAA Tournament, at WNIT Champion Indiana, and Washington State. • Statistically, Simon was one of the Big Ten’s most improved players, increasing her scoring (+6.0 ppg) and rebounding averages (+3.0 rpg) from 2016-17. She more than doubled her points (282-118), rebounds (147-67) and assists (55-24) and nearly doubled her steals (23-12) from 2016-17. • Simon produced double figures 14 times in 2017-18. She entered the season with five career double-figure scoring efforts in 50 games. • She had the best game of her career with 18 points, eight rebounds, a career-high five assists and a career-high-tying three steals in a win at Minnesota (Dec. 31). Simon scored 16 of her team-high 18 points in the second half, including the go-ahead shot in the lane with 29.8 seconds left, before grabbing a defensive rebound, getting fouled and making two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to help seal a 79-74 win in which Nebraska trailed by eight points late in the third quarter on the road.  • Simon erupted for a team-high 19 points including a season-best 3-for-4 three-point shooting in a win over No. 20 Iowa (Jan. 16). She added 19 more points and a team-best eight rebounds to complete a season sweep of the Hawkeyes at Iowa (Jan. 28). • Simon scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting at San Jose State (Dec. 17, 2018). Her 20 points at San Jose State came in just 24 minutes. • Her effort at San Jose State followed 17 points, six boards, four assists and two steals in a win at Drake (Dec. 9, 2017). She added 13 points against Florida Atlantic (Dec. 19, 2017). • The Big Red opened 3-0 with Simon as a starting in 2017-18. She averaged 6.7 points and a team-high 9.3 rebounds through three games. She had 11 points and eight boards in a win over UMKC (Nov. 14, 2017), before getting five points and a career-high 12 rebounds vs. Arkansas (Nov. 16, 2017).   • She suffered an ankle sprain in pregame warmups prior to Nebraska’s game with Creighton (Nov. 19, 2017) and did not play against the Bluejays. Simon missed four straight games with the injury. • The 2015 Nebraska High School Player of the Year, Simon was a two-time first-team Super-State selection while leading Lincoln Pius X to the 2015 Class B state championship. She was the No. 149 player in the nation according to Blue Star and the No. 22 guard by ESPN in 2015. A tremendous all-around athlete, Simon won the Class A 100- and 300-meter hurdles championships at the 2015 Nebraska State Track & Field Championships.  • Simon earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the second time in 2018. • Her mother, Nicole Ali Simon, was a CoSIDA Academic All-American as a member of Coach Gary Pepin’s national champion Huskers in 1983 and 1984. She was also a four-time first-team All-American on the track.

Whitish Heating Up in Big Ten Play • Preseason All-Big Ten guard Hannah Whitish is catching fire in conference action, including a season-high 28-point performance at Purdue (Jan. 31). Whitish added a career-high 12 assists to notch her first career double-double. She also tied a career high with six threes in the win over the Boilermakers. • Whitish’s 12 assists tied for the ninth-best total by a Husker in school history. Only three players in Nebraska history [Rachel Theriot (4), Kathy Hawkins (3), Stacy Imming (1)] have had more than 12 assists in a game. • Whitish’s career high of 29 points came last season in back-to-back non-conference wins at Kansas and Drake. • Whitish owns a team-best 48 career double-figure scoring efforts, including a team-high 17 in 2018-19 and 18 in 2017-18. She owns five career 20-point performances, including three in 2017-18. • Whitish is averaging a team-best 11.8 points per Big Ten game this season, and 10.4 points overall on the year, following her 19-point effort in a win at Northwestern (Feb. 21).  • She has climbed to No. 3 on the Nebraska career three-point list with 189, moving ahead of current WNBA guard Yvonne Turner (183, 2007-10). • Whitish leads the Huskers with 59 three-pointers on the season, which ranks as the fourth-best total by a junior in school history. • Whitish scored in double figures for seven straight games before being shut out by a focused defensive effort from Purdue (Feb. 10). In the seven-game stretch, Whitish averaged 15 points per game and shot 43.6 percent (24-55) from three-point range. She also averaged 5.3 assists over those seven contests. • Whitish has climbed to No. 9 on the Nebraska career assist list with 354, and she is 38 away from catching fellow Wisconsin native and state player of the year Anna DeForge at No. 8 on that list (392, 1995-98). • Nebraska’s growth in the backcourt in 2017-18 started with Whitish, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore in her first full season as a starter. The 5-9 guard from Barneveld, Wis., led the Huskers in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), steals (1.3 spg) and three-pointers (2.3 pg), as the only Husker to start all 32 games in 2017-18. • She scored in double figures a team-leading 18 times in 2017-18 for a balanced Big Red attack. • Whitish helped power Nebraska to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals by scoring 17 points while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds in a win over Michigan in the quarterfinals (March 2). • In her first NCAA Tournament appearance, Whitish scored 12 points and hit a pair of three-pointers against Arizona State (March 17) in Austin, Texas. • Whitish tied a career high with eight rebounds while adding nine points and a game-high five assists in the win over Penn State (Feb. 22, 2018).

Freshmen Contributing Early for Huskers

• Nebraska has received production early and often from its 2018-19 freshman class. The four-player class, which was ranked among the top 20 recruiting classes in the nation by ESPN last season, features Leigha Brown (9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg), Sam Haiby (9.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.6 apg), Ashtyn Veerbeek (7.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Kayla Mershon (3.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg). • Leigha Brown, who earned Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors (Jan. 7) and a spot on the Big Ten Honor Roll after her 30-point outburst against Purdue (Feb. 10), ranks second among the Huskers with 9.9 points per game, including 10.8 points per Big Ten game. She added 20 points at No. 19 Iowa (Jan. 3). It was her second straight game leading the Huskers, after scoring a then-career-high 19 points at Ohio State (Dec. 31). She added 18 points and a career-high six rebounds against Rutgers (Jan. 13). She also had 18 points in the win over San Jose State (Dec. 8), before adding 17 points and a career-high five assists in the win over Denver (Dec. 15).  • Brown, a 6-1 wing from Auburn, Indiana owns 10 double-figure scoring efforts and has led the Big Red in scoring six times this season, including four Big Ten games. • Haiby, a 5-9 guard from Moorhead, Minn., ranks third overall among the Huskers with 9.7 points per game off the bench. Haiby, who was the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (Feb. 4), has led Nebraska in scoring in seven games, including 17 points against Indiana (Feb. 3). She also had 13 points in a road win at Purdue (Jan. 13). Haiby added 16 in a win over No. 23 Minnesota (Jan. 20). She scored a season-high 20 points at Washington State (Nov. 16), while also leading the Huskers with 16 at Arkansas (Dec. 18). She put up a 17-point effort at Creighton (Dec. 2), 14 at Miami (Nov. 23) and 13 against Drake (Nov. 7).  • Haiby owns 12 double-figure scoring efforts overall, including 12 points at No. 5 Louisville (Nov. 29), 12 more in a win over Michigan (Dec. 28), 11 at No. 7 Maryland (Feb. 14) and 11 more at Northwestern (Feb. 21). • Haiby also ranks second among the Huskers in assists (2.6 apg). • Ashtyn Veerbeek ranks third among the Husker freshmen in scoring with 7.0 points per game, while leading the freshmen and ranking second on the team with 5.3 rebounds. Veerbeek erupted for a career-high 19 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds in the win at Illinois (Jan. 17). She produced her first career double-double with 14 points and  a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over San Jose State (Dec. 8). Veerbeek just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds in a road win at Purdue (Jan. 31). She had 14 points in 14 minutes in a win over Denver (Dec. 15) and added 14 points for the third straight game at Arkansas (Dec. 18). She owns six double-digit scoring efforts on the year. She also ranks second among the Huskers with 25 blocks. • Kayla Mershon has pitched in 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She has made 11 consecutive starts. Mershon scored a career-high eight points against No. 9 Maryland (Jan. 8) and added seven points against the Terps (Feb. 14). She also had seven points against Rutgers (Jan. 13). She had a career-high seven rebounds in a win over Kansas (Dec. 5) and matched that total against Northwestern (Jan. 24). The 6-3 forward from Chanhassen, Minn., owns 21 assists and has committed just 10 turnovers through 27 games. • The freshmen have combined for 40.7 percent (798-of-1,963) of Nebraska’s points in just 36.3 percent of the team’s total minutes (1,978-of-5,450) on the season. They also have accounted for just 29.8 percent (124-of-416) of Nebraska’s turnovers. • Nebraska’s four freshmen are combining to average 29.6 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.