Huskers Celebrate Champs, Alumni Sunday

Nebraska continues its four-game home stand by battling the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars on Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Tip-off between the Huskers (3-0) and the Cougars (1-2) is set for 2 p.m., and tickets are available now through the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at Huskers.com.

Live radio coverage (beginning at 1:45 p.m.) can be heard in Lincoln on B107.3 FM, in Omaha on ESPN 590 AM, and across central Nebraska on 880 AM KRVN in Lexington. Stations across the state will also carry the broadcast on the Learfield-IMG College Husker Sports Network. Free live audio can be found at Huskers.com, the Huskers App and TuneIn.

A live video stream will be provided by BTN+ as part of Nebraska's BTN Student U telecasts.

Sunday's game will include Alumni Day, as approximately 30 former Husker players and coaches will be honored at halftime, including members of the 2010 Big 12 Champion Huskers who are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their championship season.

Nebraska is coming off a 78-55 win over Morgan State on Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers struggled to heat up from the field until the fourth quarter, when they went 11-for-16, including 2-of-3 from three-point range to outscore the Bears 26-7 in the final period.

Leigha Brown led the Huskers with 16 points and a career-high-tying five assists off the bench. The 6-1 sophomore from DeKalb, Ind., is averaging a team-best 16.7 points while adding 5.0 and 2.3 assists. She is the only Husker to produce double figures in all three games.

Senior wing Nicea Eliely added the first double-double of her career with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Morgan State. Eliely, whose previous career best was nine rebounds, is averaging 8.7 points and 7.0 boards on the year.

Junior center Kate Cain added a strong game inside with 13 points, five rebounds, four blocks, three assists and a steal while going 4-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. The 6-5 Cain is averaging 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while ranking among NCAA leaders with 4.7 blocks.

Ashtyn Veerbeek continued her strong play as a starter with 13 points and six boards. The 6-2 sophomore is averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Sam Haiby ranks second among the Huskers with 14.7 points per game, including a career-high 28 in a win at Missouri last Sunday.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)
vs. SIUE Cougars (1-2)
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019, 2 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) - Lincoln
Live Video: BTN+ (Brennan Wohlford, Grace Harmon)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (1:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln-B107.3 FM; Omaha-ESPN 590 AM; Lexington-KRVN 880 AM
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn

Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - So. - F - 10.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 8.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 8.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - So. - G - 14.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 8.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - So. - F - 16.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 4.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 3.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - So. - F - 2.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
11 - Kristian Hudson - 5-5 - RSr. - G - 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
1 - Makenzie Helms - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Fourth Season at Nebraska (45-49); 13th Season Overall (238-158)

SIUE Cougars (1-2, 0-0 Ohio Valley)
23 - Allie Troeckler - 5-10 - Jr. - G/F - 10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg
25 - Zaria Whitlock - 6-0 - Jr. - G/F - 7.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
1 - Christen King - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 10.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg
11 - Mikia Keith - 5-4 - So. - G - 7.7 ppg, 0.0 rpg
13 - Bria Stallworth - 5-6 - Sr. - G - 11.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Off the Bench
0 - Mikayla Kinnard - 5-11 - Fr. - F - 9.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
5 - Ajulu Thatha - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg
20 - Kaitlin Lee - 6-1 - RFr. - F - 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
35 - Mikala Hall - 5-5 - So. - G - 3.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg
21 - Alek Akuen - 6-3 - Sr. - C - 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
54 - Kelsie Williams - 5-10 - So. - F - 1.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
4 - Tori Handley - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 1.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
22 - Madison Hackstadt - 6-0 - RFr. - F - 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Paula Buscher (Missouri State, 1986)
Eighth Season at SIUE (109-109); 23rd Season Overall: (319-335)

Scouting the SIUE Cougars
• The SIUE Cougars come to Lincoln fresh off an 85-74 win over Evansville on Wednesday in Edwardsville, Ill. Sunday's game with Nebraska will be the first road game of the season for the Cougars.
• SIUE is led by former Husker Bria Stallworth. The 5-6 point guard who graduated from Nebraska in May, is averaging a team-best 11.3 points while sharing the team lead with 2.3 assists per game. Stallworth helped the Huskers advance to the NCAA Tournament as a junior in 2018. In her first game as a Husker, she scored a game-high 21 points against SIUE at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Nov. 11, 2017. Stallworth leads the Cougars by hitting 4-of-9 three-pointers.
• Allie Troeckler and Christen King have joined Stallworth in the starting five for each of SIUE's first three games. Troeckler is averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds while leading the Cougars with 1.7 blocks per game. King is also averaging 10.7 points, while pitching in 4.0 rebounds and a team-best 2.7 assists. King is SIUE's top returning scorer, after averaging 8.6 points last season, while Troeler added 8.1 points and 6.0 boards last year. Troeckler and fellow junior Zaria Whitlock are the only two Cougars to play for SIUE in the meeting between the Huskers and Cougars in 2017-18. 
• Mikia Keith has also started all three games, averaging 7.7 points per game. She leads SIUE with 2.0 steals per contest, but has also committed team highs of 10 turnovers and 11 fouls. She has matched Stallworth with a team-best four threes, but is shooting 23.5 percent (4-17) from long range.
• Alek Akuen has made two starts but is averaging just 7.1 minutes per game while contributing 1.0 point and 3.0 rebounds. Zaria Whitlock owns the other start for the Cougars and is averaging 7.7 points and 1.7 rebounds while shooting a team-best 68.8 percent (11-16) from the field.
• Mikayla Kinnard (9.0 ppg, 2.3 rpb) and Ajulu Thatha (5.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) have been reliable contributors off the bench, along with Mikala Hall (3.7 ppg).
• As a team, SIUE is shooting 40.8 percent from the field, including 26 percent (13-50) from three-point range. The Cougars have hit just 62.9 percent (44-70) of their free throws and have been out-rebounded 40.3-36.3 (-4.0).
• SIUE opened with a five-point loss to Quincy (70-65, Nov. 5), before suffering a 103-67 setback to Southern Illinois (Carbondale). Cougar opponents are shooting 47 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from three-point range (26-71) and 76.6 percent (49-64) at the free throw line.
• The Cougars are coached by Paula Buscher, who is in her eighth season at SIUE and carries a 109-109 record. Buscher, who is a 1986 Missouri State grad, carries a 319-335 record in her 23rd season overall as a head coach.
• Sunday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between the Huskers and Cougars. Nebraska defeated SIUE, 62-53, in the season opener at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Nov. 11, 2017.

Huskers to Honor 2010 Champions Sunday
• The Huskers will celebrate Alumni Weekend against the Cougars, while honoring the 10th anniversary of Nebraska's Big 12 Championship team in 2010. That group of Huskers posted the first unbeaten regular season in school history and the first unbeaten conference season by any school in Big 12 history. 
• The 2010 Huskers were led by first-team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, Senior CLASS Award winner and Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year Kelsey Griffin. Griffin, who is currently one of the top professional players in Australia, will be at the game. She returned to Nebraska earlier in the week and was in attendance for the Huskers' Thursday night win over Morgan State.
• Other standout members of the 2010 team planning to attend are first-team All-Big 12 forward Cory Montgomery (Barrett), first-round WNBA Draft pick Lindsey Moore, Dominique Kelley (Johnson), Nikki Bober (Marcoe), Kala Kuhlmann (Preister), Jess Periago and Layne Reeves (Mulamba).
• Former Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori will also be on hand at Pinnacle Bank Arena with her team. Former Assistant Coach Tory Verdi, who is now the head coach at UMass, will attend a team banquet Friday night. Midland Head Coach Shawn Gilbert, who was the video coordinator for the 2010 team, will be at the weekend events, along with team managers Cliff Countryman and Kevin Dickens.

Nebraska Streaks
• Kate Cain owns Nebraska's longest streak of consecutive starts (64).
• Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska's second-longest streak of starts (59).
• Eliely was the only Husker to score in all 30 games last season, and the only Husker to score in all of Nebraska's games against Big Ten Conference foes. She has scored in 37 consecutive games overall. She did not score in a win over Penn State on Feb. 22, 2018, the only time in the past three seasons (including 2019-20, 60 games) that Eliely was shut out.
• Leigha Brown has scored in double figures in all three games to open the season. She has scored in double figures in four consecutive games overall - the longest active streak by a Husker.
• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 345 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 224 consecutive games.

Numbers to Watch 
(1) Kristian Hudson is one game away from the 100th of her collegiate career.
(2) Hudson is two points away from 1,100 in her career (1,076 at Florida International prior to Hudson transferring to Nebraska ahead of the 2018-19 season).
(5) Sam Haiby is five rebounds away from 100 in her career.
(6) Leigha Brown is six rebounds from 100 in her career.
(7) Junior Kate Cain is seven blocks away from 200 in her career. Only three other Huskers in history have achieved 200 career blocks.
(8) Kristian Hudson needs eight assists to reach 400 in her career (383 at FIU).
(10) Hannah Whitish needs 10 points to become the 33rd 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska women's basketball history.
(14) Kristian Hudson needs 14 rebounds to reach 400 in her career (372 at FIU).
(27) Hannah Whitish is 27 assists away from becoming just the eighth Husker in history with 400 career assists.

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska will try to open the season 4-0 for the first time under Coach Amy Williams in her fourth season at Nebraska. The last Husker team to open 4-0 was the 2015-16 Nebraska team that advanced to the Postseason WNIT. The 2014-15 Huskers started 7-0 on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Huskers will be shooting for their 13th consecutive home game No. 3 victory. The last time Nebraska lost its third home game of the season was Dec. 5, 2006 (Minnesota, 74-65).
• Hannah Whitish needs 10 points to become the 33rd player in Nebraska history to reach 1,000 career points. 
• Whitish pulled down the 300th rebound of her career in Thursday's win over Morgan State. She needs 27 assists to achieve 400 in her career.
• Nebraska's bench has outscored the opposing bench in all three games this season. The Huskers have outscored the opponent bench in 31 of the last 33 games.
• The Husker bench has outscored the opponent bench by double digits 23 times in the last 33 games, including a 30-1 edge in a loss to 2019 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Iowa (Feb. 25, 2019).
• Overall, Nebraska's bench outscored opposition benches 950-492 (31.7-16.4 ppg) for a plus-15.3 margin in 2018-19.
• Nebraska's bench scored 40 or more points seven times last season, including  a season-high 45 in a loss at Arkansas.
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 15 times in the last three seasons (including 2019-20, 65 games). Through the first 20 seasons with the three-point shot in women's basketball (1988-2007), Nebraska hit 10 threes in a game only six times (311 games).