Huskers Battle Boilermakers Wednesday

The Nebraska women's basketball team closes its two-game Big Ten home stand by battling Purdue on Wednesday night in Lincoln. Tip-off between the Huskers (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten) and the Boilermakers (12-7, 3-4 Big Ten) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena in the only scheduled meeting between the schools this season.

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

Live radio coverage for Wednesday's game can be heard on B107.3 FM and 1400 AM KLIN in Lincoln along with ESPN 590 AM in Omaha beginning at 6:45 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.

A live video stream will be available through BTN+ as a Student U production.

Nebraska and Purdue were on opposite ends of Big Ten momentum swings on Sunday afternoon. Purdue was tied with Minnesota at 43 late in the third quarter, before the Gophers erupted on a 19-0 run to beat the Boilermakers 72-59 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Two hours later in Lincoln, the Huskers trailed Michigan by 13 points (41-28) in the third quarter before outscoring the Wolverines 42-22 over a 16-minute stretch, as Nebraska rallied for a 74-71 win. 

Senior Hannah Whitish led the Big Red rally with a season-high 20 points while tying a career high with six three-pointers. Senior Nicea Eliely added all 11 of her points, including three threes, during the rally. Sophomore Sam Haiby added 18 points, including three threes of her own, as Nebraska tied a season high with 12 three-pointers.

Over the last five games, Nebraska is averaging 10.0 made threes per game, after averaging just 5.8 made threes through the first 13 contests this year.

Wednesday's game features two of the best shot-blockers in the nation and in the history of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue senior forward Ae'Rianna Harris leads the Big Ten with 62 blocks this season, including seven against Minnesota. She ranks No. 5 in Big Ten history with 346 career blocks. Nebraska junior center Kate Cain ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten this year with 50 blocks and ranks 18th in league history with 229. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, 7 p.m. (CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) - Lincoln, Neb.
Tickets: Huskers.com
Live Video: BTN+ (Student U)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (6:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln - B107.3 FM, 1400 AM KLIN; Omaha - ESPN 590 AM
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - So. - F - 8.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 9.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - So. - G - 11.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 9.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - So. - F - 13.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg
2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 2.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 1.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.5 ppg, 2.2 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 (56-53); 13th Season Overall (249-162)

Purdue Boilermakers (12-7, 3-4 Big Ten)
22 - Jenelle Grant - 6-0 - RJr. - F - 4.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg
32 - Ae'Rianna Harris - 6-1 - Sr. - F - 12.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg
1 - Karissa McLaughlin - 5-7 - Jr. - G - 12.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg
23 - Kayana Traylor - 5-9 - So. - G - 7.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg
11 - Dominique Oden - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 11.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg 
Off the Bench
3 - Lyndsey Whilby - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 3.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
5 - Cassidy Hardin - 5-10 - So. - G - 3.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg
45 - Fatou Diagne - 6-4 - RJr. - C - 1.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
12 - Roxane Makolo - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 1.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg
35 - Rickie Woltman - 6-4 - Fr. - F - 0.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg
30 - Nyagoa Gony - 6-2 - So. - F - 0.3 ppg, 0.1 rpg
Out for Season
25 - Tamara Farquhar - 6-0 - Jr. - G - 7.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg
Head Coach: Sharon Versyp (Purdue, 1989)
14th Season at Purdue (289-168); 20th Season Overall (405-234)

Scouting The Purdue Boilermakers
• Purdue comes to Lincoln in the middle of the meat grinder of the Big Ten schedule, looking to get back on track after losing four of its last five games.
• The Boilermakers opened Big Ten play with an impressive 66-50 road win at Ohio State, before notching a double-digit home win over Wisconsin to end the 2019 calendar year at 2-0 in conference play. Purdue then got three straight games against top-tier Big Ten teams with a 59-53 loss to Rutgers in West Lafayette, before back-to-back road losses at Indiana (66-48) and Northwestern (61-56).
• Purdue's three-game losing streak was made even worse with the loss of junior guard Tamara Farquhar to a season-ending knee injury after playing 11 minutes in the loss to Rutgers (Jan. 5). Farquhar averaged 7.3 points and 7.5 rebounds through Purdue's first 15 games.
• Purdue recovered with an 81-67 home win over Illinois, but watched 1-5 Minnesota erupt on a 19-0 run at Mackey Arena on Sunday to give the Boilermakers their second home loss of the season.
• In Purdue's four Big Ten losses (Rutgers, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota), the Boilermakers have failed to reach 60 points in each game, averaging just 54 points per contest.
• In recent years, Purdue has relied heavily on its defense, limiting possessions and controlling tempo to control the action. So far this season, Purdue ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (60.5 ppg), but last in the league in scoring offense (63.5 ppg). In Big Ten games only, Purdue ranks third in scoring defense (62.3 ppg) and 12th offensively (62.1 ppg).
• Purdue is 4-5 away from Mackey Arena this season, but four of those losses are to teams currently ranked in the top 25, including true road losses at No. 1 South Carolina, No. 17 Indiana and No. 22 Northwestern, along with a neutral site loss to No. 13 Gonzaga. The Boilers own a neutral site win over No. 16 Arizona State. 
• Junior guard Karissa McLaughlin leads the Purdue offense with 12.6 points and 3.3 assists per game, including 13.6 points and 3.6 assists in league play. McLaughlin has hit a team-best 41 threes on the season (.323) and is an 82.1 percent shooter at the free throw line. She was a first-team All-Big Ten choice as a sophomore when she ranked eighth in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg). McLaughlin (1,102 points) is one of three active career 1,000-point scorers in the Purdue starting five.
• Ae'Rianna Harris, an athletic 6-1 forward, was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season in 2019. Harris leads the Big Ten with 62 blocks this season and has 15 steals to go along with 124 defensive rebounds. She averages 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. She was a second-team all-conference selection last year. Harris ranks No. 5 in Big Ten history with 346 blocks and is 30 rebounds away from 1,000 in her career. She owns 1,330 career points.
• Dominique Oden, a 5-8 senior guard, has been a rock-solid player for Purdue for four years. The four-year starter is the No. 2 active scorer in the Big Ten with 1,579 career points, trailing only Maryland's Kaila Charles. Oden is averaging 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a team-best 1.4 steals per game.
• Kayana Traylor has been a reliable starter this season, as the sophomore guard is averaging 7.8 points and a team-best 4.0 assists. She has shot solid percentages from the field and the line, but she leads Purdue with 3.3 turnovers per game.
• With Farquhar out, Jenelle Grant has stepped into the Purdue starting five. The 6-0 redshirt junior transfer from Pacific is averaging 4.1 points and 2.1 rebounds on the year.
• Junior Lyndsey Whilby and sophomore Cassidy Hardin also see significant minutes in the Boiler backcourt. Whilby is averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds while hitting 7-of-17 threes on the season. She averaged 9.5 points in two regular-season games against Nebraska last year.
• Hardin has added 3.5 points and 1.2 rebounds while knocking down 16-of-45 threes on the year. Hardin is 3-for-8 on two-point shots on the season and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.
• Freshman Roxane Makolo has played all 19 games for the Boilers, managing 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds on the year. Makolo has not hit a three and is 7-for-16 at the free throw line.
• Fatou Diagne, a 6-4 redshirt junior center backs up Harris inside, while averaging 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds, along with 6-4 freshman Rickie Woltman (0.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and Lincoln High graduate Nyagoa Gony.

Nebraska vs. Purdue Series History
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 8-6, including a 75-71 win over the Huskers at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (March 7, 2019) to end Nebraska's 2018-19 season.
• Last year's win by Purdue snapped a three-game series winning streak by the Huskers that included a 67-61 win in Lincoln (Feb. 10) and an 84-64 win at Purdue (Jan. 31). 
• The series is tied 3-3 in Lincoln. 
• In the last meeting with Purdue at Pinnacle Bank Arena, Indiana native Leigha Brown erupted for a career-high 30 points. In the first meeting last year in West Lafayette, Hannah Whitish poured in a season-high 28 points while tying a career high with six threes and dishing out a career-high 12 assists.
• Purdue is 3-0 against Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 74-70 (2OT) win in the Big Ten Championship Game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 4, 2012. Purdue's other league tournament win over Nebraska came at the Sears Center Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., March 9, 2013.
• Nebraska, which is 3-2 all-time in West Lafayette, escaped with a 62-61 win over the Boilermakers on Jan. 20, 2016. 
• Each of the last two meetings have been decided by two possessions, but the four previous games were all decided by double digits. The first three games in the series were all two-possession thrillers that went a combined six overtimes. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools in Nebraska's inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Huskers defeated Purdue 93-89 in triple-overtime on Feb. 2, 2012.
• In the first meeting between the two teams in Lincoln, Purdue notched a 69-66 overtime win over Nebraska on Jan. 5, 2013.

Nebraska Streaks
• Kate Cain owns Nebraska's longest streak of consecutive starts (79).
• Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska's second-longest streak of starts (74).
• Nicea Eliely and Leigha Brown are the only Huskers to score points in each of Nebraska's first 18 games this season.
• Kate Cain and Isabelle Bourne are the only Huskers to record at least one rebound for Nebraska in all 18 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 52 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, 73 games) that Eliely was shut out.
• Nebraska has hit seven or more three-pointers in five consecutive games.
• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 360 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 239 consecutive games.

Numbers to Watch 
 (1) Hannah Whitish is one point away from the top 20 on the Nebraska career scoring list (1,133). She enters the game ranked 21st on the career list with 1,132 points.
 (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).
 (9) Kate Cain is nine blocked shots away from matching the Nebraska career block record held by Janet Smith (238, 1979-82).
 (13) Hannah Whitish is 13 assists away from No. 6 on the Nebraska career assist list (444, Amy Stephens, 1986-89).

Husker Nuggets
• Nebraska ranks No. 14 nationally in total home attendance (51,631).
• Nebraska is No. 32 in the Massey Ratings (Jan. 20). A total of 11 Big Ten teams are in the top 50, including: Maryland (10), Northwestern (12), Iowa (15), Indiana (16), Rutgers (30), Nebraska (32), Ohio State (38), Purdue (40), Michigan (41), Minnesota (47) and Michigan State (50).
• Through 18 games, Nebraska is allowing an average of 63.1 points per game, after allowing 70.1 points per game last season. NU's 2018 NCAA Tournament team allowed 63.6.
• Opponents are shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 29.8 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 16 of 18 games (not Michigan State, Maryland) in 2019-20. The Husker bench has outscored opposing benches in 44 of the last 48 games, including double-digit edges 32 times.
• This season, NU's bench has outscored opposing benches 462-269 (25.7-14.9 ppg).
• Nebraska has hit 10 or more threes 19 times in the last three seasons (79 games), including four times in the last nine 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).