Huskers Back Home to Meet Michigan Sunday

The Nebraska women's basketball team opens a two-game Big Ten home stand by taking on Michigan on Sunday afternoon in Lincoln.

Tip-off between the Huskers (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) and the Wolverines (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten) is set for 4 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena in a game that features two teams in the midst of a five-way tie for fifth in the conference standings.

Tickets are on sale now at Huskers.com, and are available at the Pinnacle Bank Arena ticket office beginning 90 minutes prior to Sunday's game.

Live television coverage will be provided by the Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and Jantel Lavender on the call for BTN. 

Live radio coverage for Sunday's game can be heard on B107.3 FM in Lincoln along with ESPN 590 AM in Omaha beginning at 3:45 p.m. (CT). 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.

Nebraska suffered its second straight setback with an 87-69 loss at No. 20 Maryland on Thursday night. The Huskers trailed 61-55 at the end of three quarters but could not hang with the Terrapins down the stretch. Two of Michigan's three Big Ten losses have come to Maryland, including a 77-49 loss in Ann Arbor on Jan. 12.

Nebraska sophomore Leigha Brown is a leading contender for Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year honors. The 6-1 guard/forward is averaging a team-best 13.7 points per game and is the only Big Ten player without a start to rank among the top 30 in the league in scoring. Brown scored 19 points at No. 20 Maryland on Thursday night.

Michigan sophomore Naz Hillmon was the 2019 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and a member of the 2019 Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Husker senior Nicea Eliely tied a career high with 19 points at Maryland Thursday. Eliely, who is averaging 10.5 points in Big Ten play, was a key to Nebraska's 70-56 come-from-behind win last year over Michigan in Lincoln, scoring all 14 of her points in NU's 33-13 eruption in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Michigan Wolverines
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, 4 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) - Lincoln, Neb.
Tickets: Huskers.com
Promotion: Red Cross Appreciation Day
Live TV: BTN (Larry Punteney, Jantel Lavender)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (3:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln - B107.3 FM; Omaha - ESPN 590 AM
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn

Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten)
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - So. - F - 8.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 9.5 ppg, 7.7 ppg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 8.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - So. - G - 11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 9.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - So. - F - 13.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg
2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 2.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
11 - Kristian Hudson - 5-5 - RSr. - G - 1.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg
1 - Makenzie Helms - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 0.3 ppg, 0.5 rpg
Out for Season
33 - Taylor Kissinger - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 8.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Fourth Season at Nebraska (55-53); 13th Season Overall (248-162)

Michigan Wolverines (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten)
00 - Naz Hillmon - 6-2 - So. - F - 15.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg
5 - Kayla Robbins - 6-1 - Sr. - F - 12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg
15 - Hailey Brown - 6-1 - Jr. - F - 7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
1 - Amy Dilk - 6-0 - So. - G - 10.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg
14 - Akienreh Johnson - 6-0 - Sr. - G - 9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Off the Bench
24 - Michelle Sidor - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 5.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg
34 - Izabel Varejão - 6-4 - Fr. - F/C - 4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg
33 - Emily Kiser - 6-3 - So. - F - 4.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
2 - Priscilla Smeenge - 6-0 - Jr. - G - 2.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg
3 - Maddie Nolan - 5-9 - Fr. - G - 1.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg
23 - Danielle Rauch - 5-8 - So. - G - 0.9 ppg, 0.6 rpg
Head Coach: Kim Barnes Arico (Montclair State, 1993)
Eighth Season at Michigan (168-90); 24th Season Overall (438-296)

Scouting the Michigan Wolverines
• Michigan is 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten following a 68-56 win at Wisconsin on Thursday. Two of Michigan's three league losses came to Maryland, while the other came at Ohio State.
• Coach Kim Barnes Arico is in her eighth season leading the Michigan program and her 24th year overall as a head coach. The Wolverines finished 22-12 and 11-7 in the Big Ten last year, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan is led by sophomore forward Naz Hillmon, who is averaging team bests of 15.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Hillmon was the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season.
• Fellow sophomore Amy Dilk has been solid at the point for the Wolverines, averaging 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds to go along with a team-best 3.9 assists. Dilk was voted the Indiana High School Player of the Year in 2018 - just ahead of Nebraska's Leigha Brown.
• Seniors Kayla Robbins (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Akienreh Johnson (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) give the Wolverines solid upperclass leadership, along with junior Hailey Brown (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg).
• Michigan has gotten reliable contributions off the bench from Michelle Sidor (5.1 ppg), Izabel Varejão (4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Danielle Rauch and Priscilla Smeenge.
• Michigan is shooting 45.2 percent from the field, but just 30.2 percent from three and 67.1 percent from the free throw line this season.
• Michigan's scoring and defensive numbers are strikingly similar to Nebraska's. The Wolverines average 72.7 points per game (Nebraska, 72.6) while Michigan has allowed 61.8 points per contest (Nebraska, 62.6).
• In the possession game, the Wolverines own a Big Ten-best plus-7.6 rebound margin and a plus-1.1 turnover margin.
• Michigan is last in the Big Ten in three-pointers made per game (4.4) and 13th in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.302) ahead of only Wisconsin (.293).

Nebraska vs. Michigan Series History
• Nebraska owns a 13-5 edge in the all-time series with Michigan, including a 70-56 win in the last meeting at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Dec. 28, 2018). The Huskers outscored Michigan 33-13 in the fourth quarter to rally to victory, led by Nicea Eliely's 14 points in the final period.
• Nebraska is 6-3 all-time against Michigan in Lincoln, but the Wolverines have won two of the last three meetings at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
• The series has been evenly matched as Big Ten foes, with Nebraska owning a 7-5 edge since joining the conference in 2011-12. The teams have split the last four meetings.
• Nebraska was 6-0 against Michigan as non-conference foes dating back to the first meeting between the two teams on Nov. 28, 1980 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. The Huskers won 118-92 in the highest scoring game in Nebraska women's basketball history.
• Nebraska is 6-2 all-time in Ann Arbor, including a 67-61 victory by the Wolverines in the last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 7, 2019.
• The Huskers own a 61-54 victory over the Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on March 2, 2018, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis - the only neutral site meeting between the schools.

Nebraska Streaks
• Kate Cain owns Nebraska's longest streak of consecutive starts (78).
• Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska's second-longest streak of starts (73).
• Kate Cain had her streak of 18 consecutive games with at least one block snapped at Maryland on Thursday night.
• As a team, Nebraska had its streak of 85 consecutive games with at least one block snapped at Maryland.
• Nicea Eliely and Leigha Brown are the only Huskers to score points in each of Nebraska's first 17 games this season.
• Kate Cain, Nicea Eliely and Isabelle Bourne are the only Huskers to record at least one rebound for the Huskers in all 17 games this season.
• 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 51 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, 72 games) that Eliely was shut out.
• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 359 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 238 consecutive games.

Numbers to Watch 
 (2) Kristian Hudson needs two assists to reach 400 in her career (383 at FIU).
 (7) Kristian Hudson needs seven rebounds to reach 400 in her career (372 at FIU).
 (12) Kate Cain is 12 blocked shots away from matching the Nebraska career block record held by Janet Smith (238, 1979-82).
 (12) Sam Haiby is 12 points away from 500 in her career.
 (21) Hannah Whitish is 21 points away from the top 20 on the Nebraska career scoring list (1,133). She enters the game tied for 22nd on the career list with 1,112 points.

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska ranks No. 17 nationally in total home attendance (46,601).
• Nebraska is No. 38 in the Massey Ratings (Jan. 17). Ten other Big Ten teams are in the top 64, including: Indiana (13), Northwestern (15), Maryland (17), Iowa (18), Northwestern (19), Rutgers (23), Purdue (36), Nebraska (38), Ohio State (42), Michigan (43), Minnesota (52) and Michigan State (60).
• Through 17 games, Nebraska is allowing an average of 62.6 points per game, after allowing 70.1 points per game last season. NU's 2018 NCAA Tournament team allowed 63.6.
• Opponents are shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from three-point range against NU. Last year, Husker foes hit 41.1 percent, including 33.4 percent from three. In 2017-18, Nebraska led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.371) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.299).
• Nebraska has held eight opponents to 55 points or less this season. Last year, NU held only two foes (Radford-39, Kansas-52) to 55 or less. NU held 11 opponents to 55 or less in 2017-18.
• NU's bench has outscored opponent reserves in 15 of 17 games (not Michigan State, Maryland) in 2019-20. The Husker bench has outscored opposing benches in 43 of the last 47 games, including double-digit edges 32 times.
• This season, NU's bench has outscored opposing benches 445-253 (26.2-14.9 ppg).
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 18 times in the last three seasons (78 games), including three times in the last eight contests. Through the first 20 seasons with the three-point shot in women's basketball (1988-2007), Nebraska hit 10 threes in a game just six times (311 games).