Huskers Shoot for Sweep at Minnesota

The Nebraska women's basketball team takes aim at a second straight Big Ten road win while shooting for a season series sweep of Minnesota on Thursday night in Minneapolis. Tip-off between the Huskers (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) and the Golden Gophers (12-8, 2-7 Big Ten) is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Williams Arena.

Live radio coverage for Thursday's game can be heard on B107.3 FM and 1400 AM KLIN in Lincoln and 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 on TuneIn.

A live video stream will be available for BTN+ subscribers.

Nebraska heads to Minnesota after earning its first Big Ten road win of the season with a 72-71 victory at Wisconsin on Saturday. The Huskers rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a four-point lead in the closing seconds before the Badgers hit a three at the buzzer for the final margin.

It marked the third consecutive game that Nebraska rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter. In a 74-71 win over Michigan (Jan. 19), the Huskers trailed by 13 points in the third quarter. In a 76-68 loss to Purdue (Jan. 22), the Huskers trailed by 21 in the second quarter and 13 in the third before taking a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, only to see Purdue answer down the stretch.

Junior center Kate Cain led the Huskers in the first meeting with Minnesota this season, a 72-58 Husker win at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln (Jan. 4). Cain notched her third straight double-double to open Big Ten play with 19 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Cain needs three blocks on Thursday to tie the Nebraska career block record (238, Janet Smith, 1979-82).

Sam Haiby, a sophomore from Moorhead, Minn., also had a big game for the Big Red in the first meeting with the Gophers. Haiby scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, while adding three assists and two steals. In Saturday's win at Wisconsin, Haiby finished with 11 points and a career-high five steals, including a key steal with 7.7 seconds left and a pair of free throws with five seconds left to seal the win.

Senior Hannah Whitish (Barneveld, Wis.) also had 17 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting in the first meeting with Minnesota.

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, 7 p.m. (CT)
Williams Arena (14,625) - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Live Video: BTN+
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (6:45 p.m.)
Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln - B107.3 FM & KLIN 1400 AM; Omaha - ESPN 590 AM
Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn

Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
13 - Ashtyn Veerbeek - 6-2 - So. - F - 8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Jr. - C - 9.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 8.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg
4 - Sam Haiby - 5-9 - So. - G - 11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 9.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Off the Bench
32 - Leigha Brown - 6-1 - So. - F - 13.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg
34 - Isabelle Bourne - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 5.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg
2 - Trinity Brady - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
14 - Grace Mitchell - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 1.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg
44 - Kayla Mershon - 6-3 - So. - F - 1.5 ppg, 2.1 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 (57-54); 13th Season Overall (250-163)

Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-8, 2-7 Big Ten)
5 - Taiye Bello - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 12.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg
4 - Jasmine Powell - 5-6 - Fr. - G - 9.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
14 - Sara Scalia - 5-10 - Fr. - G - 11.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg
21 - Jasmine Brunson - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 9.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg
24 - Gadiva Hubbard - 5-9 - Jr. - G - 11.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Off the Bench
25 - Klarke Sconiers - 6-2 - Fr. - C - 3.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg
23 - Masha Adashchyk - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg
2 - Barbora Tomancova - 6-2 - So. - F/C - 1.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
20 - Kehinde Bello - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 1.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg
Head Coach: Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota, 2004)
Second Season at Minnesota (33-19); Second Season Overall (33-19)

Scouting The Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Head coach Lindsay Whalen's Minnesota team has experienced turmoil since the first meeting with the Huskers in Lincoln on Jan. 4. Nebraska knocked off then-No. 24 Minnesota, 72-58, to drop the Golden Gophers to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten.
• While Nebraska knocked the Gophers out of the top-25 in the AP rankings for the second straight season, Minnesota's 2020 campaign took a step in a more negative direction with the departure of leading scorer Destiny Pitts (16.3 ppg), who chose to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after playing just one more game with the Gophers.
• Although Minnesota is just 1-6 in its last seven games, four of the losses are by one possession, including a one-point loss to No. 18 Iowa (76-75), a two-point loss to No. 23 Northwestern (56-54), a three-point loss to Ohio State (66-63) and a three-point loss at Illinois (74-71)
• Minnesota has shown plenty of fight, including a 72-59 win at Purdue (Jan. 19). The game was tied at 43 late in the third quarter when Minnesota erupted on a 19-0 run to surge to victory.
• Minnesota is 0-4 at Williams Arena in Big Ten play this season.
• Minnesota slipped to 12-8 overall and 2-7 with a 65-52 loss at No. 20 Indiana on Monday.
• Although the Gophers have had to make up for the loss of Pitts' 16.3 points per game, their offense without Pitts over the last five games is averaging 66.3 points. In Minnesota's first three Big Ten losses with Pitts, the Gophers averaged just 58.3 points per game.
• All five of Minnesota's guards have stepped up their production without Pitts. Junior Masha Adashchyk started the four games after Pitts' departure. Adashchyk has averaged 4.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal the last five games. In her first four Big Ten games, she totaled just four points, seven boards and one steal. She had no stats in five minutes off the bench in Lincoln.
• Freshman guard Jasmine Powell drew her first start at Indiana on Monday night. She has increased her production, averaging 11.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals the last five games. Through the first four Big Ten games, Powell averaged 5.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists. Powell had eight points and four rebounds in the first meeting with the Huskers.
• Senior guard Jasmine Brunson has stepped up big, averaging 13.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals. Through the first four Big Ten games, Brunson averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and no steals. She had seven points and an assist in the first meeting with Nebraska.
• Junior Gadiva Hubbard has increased her averages to 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals the last five games. She averaged just 8.8 points through Minnesota's first four Big Ten games. Hubbard had 10 points and four boards in Lincoln (Jan. 4).
• Freshman guard Sara Scalia is averaging a team-best 14.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals the last five games. She averaged 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds through the first four Big Ten games. Scalia had five points and seven rebounds in the first meeting with Nebraska.
• Senior Taiye Bello continues to be the focus inside for Minnesota. The athletic 6-2 forward is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.2 points and 9.9 rebounds, including 10.5 points and 9.6 boards in Big Ten play. Bello also has 35 blocks. She led Minnesota with 16 points in the first meeting at Nebraska. 
• Kehinde Bello, a 6-2 forward and twin sister of Gopher starter Taiye Bello, has managed 1.1 points and 2.1 rebounds on the year. 
• Sophomore Barbora Tomancova has also provided more for Minnesota the last five games, averaging 1.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. Tomancova did not play at all in the first four Big Ten contests.
• In Big Ten play, Minnesota is shooting just 38.7 percent from the field, but a strong 35.6 percent (62-174) from three-point range. The Gophers also excel at the free throw line on the season (.753). They have been even in turnovers but a minus-1.2 boards per game in Big Ten play.

Nebraska vs. Minnesota Series History
• Nebraska leads the all-time series with Minnesota 14-9, including a 72-58 Husker win in Lincoln (Jan. 4, 2020) in the first meeting between the two schools this season. 
• Kate Cain led Nebraska with 19 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, while Sam Haiby and Hannah Whitish each pitched in 17 points in the win. Taiye Bello led Minnesota with 16 points.
• Nebraska owns three straight series wins, including a 79-74 victory in Minneapolis (Dec. 31, 2017) in the last meeting at Williams Arena.  
• Minnesota's last win was a 79-69 OT victory at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Feb. 4, 2017).
• Nebraska owns a 9-4 edge as Big Ten foes.
• Nebraska is 11-3 all-time against Minnesota in Lincoln.The Huskers are 2-6 against Minnesota in Minneapolis and 1-0 against the Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament (March 7, 2014).
• Although women's basketball was not a full varsity sport at Nebraska until 1975-76, a women's team from Nebraska suffered its first defeat at Minnesota in 1904 after going unbeaten between 1897 and 1903. Two weeks after the first meeting with Minnesota, Nebraska beat the same team in Lincoln.
• Minnesota's Laura Coenen scored 42 points for the Gophers in a 90-79 win over the Huskers on Nov. 30, 1984. That effort is tied for the most points by any opponent in a game against the Huskers.

Nebraska Streaks
• Kate Cain owns Nebraska's longest streak of consecutive starts (81).
• Nicea Eliely owns Nebraska's second-longest streak of starts (76).
• Nicea Eliely and Leigha Brown are the only Huskers to score points in each of Nebraska's first 20 games this season.
• Kate Cain and Isabelle Bourne are the only Huskers to record at least one rebound for Nebraska in all 20 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 54 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, 74 games) that Eliely was shut out.
• The Huskers have knocked down at least one three in 362 straight games dating back to a loss at UTEP on Dec. 20, 2008. Nebraska has hit at least two three-pointers in 241 consecutive games.

Numbers to Watch 
(2) Kristian Hudson needs two assists to reach 400 in her career (383 at FIU).
(3) Kate Cain is three blocked shots away from matching the Nebraska career block record held by Janet Smith (238, 1979-82).
(7) Kristian Hudson needs seven rebounds to reach 400 in her career (372 at FIU).
(12) Hannah Whitish is 12 assists away from No. 6 on the Nebraska career assist list (444, Amy Stephens, 1986-89).
(16) Nicea Eliely is 16 points away from 900 in her career.
(100) Grace Mitchell's next appearance will be the 100th game of her Husker career.