Huskers to Host NCAA Watch Party at PBA

Coach Amy Williams and the Huskers invite all fans to join them for the Nebraska Women’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Selection Show at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, March 17.

Doors to Pinnacle Bank Arena will open at 6 p.m., with a program hosted by Huskers Radio Network personality Matt Coatney beginning at 6:30, which will include special videos, full introductions of the Huskers and messages from Coach Williams and select players. Admission to the event will be free. No concessions will be available.

The 30-minute program will build up to the official NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Selection Show televised live on ESPN, which will be shown inside PBA on a lowered center video cube beginning at 7 p.m. The Selection Show will unveil the 68-team bracket for NCAA Division I women’s basketball, while announcing seeds and game locations for participating teams.

Nebraska, which is coming off a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, produced a 22-11 overall record that included an 11-7 Big Ten mark heading into the NCAA Selection Show. The Huskers are No. 26 in the NCAA NET rankings.
 
The Big Red are led by Big Ten All-Tournament selections Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski, who both earned their third All-Big Ten honors during the regular season. Markowski, a 6-3 junior center from Lincoln, Neb., captured first-team All-Big Ten honors by averaging 15.9 points and 10.8 rebounds on the season, including 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the conference tournament in Minneapolis. Markowski also set the Nebraska record for most rebounds in history at a conference tournament with 45, while ranking among NU’s all-time top five in a conference tournament points (66) and assists (15).
 
Shelley (Moe, Australia), who earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades for the second time in 2024 after claiming first-team honors a year ago, led the Huskers with Nebraska conference tournament records of 82 points (20.5 ppg), 34 assists (8.5 apg) and three-pointers made (16). The 5-9 graduate guard is averaging 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists heading into the postseason.
 
Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Natalie Potts (O’Fallon, Mo.) also enjoyed a strong tournament, including a 21-point, nine-rebound effort in the championship game. The 6-2 forward averaged 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while tying the Nebraska conference tournament record with nine blocked shots. Potts averaged 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while starting all 33 games during the season.
 
Fellow Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection Logan Nissley (Bismarck, N.D.) added 13 points and five assists in the championship game.

All members of Nebraska’s roster contributed to an outstanding regular season, including graduate starters Maddie Krull (Omaha, Neb.) and Darian White (Boise, Idaho) and junior starter Kendall Moriarty (Wheaton, Ill.), along with graduate captain Annika Stewart (Plymouth, Minn.), senior Kendall Coley (Minneapolis, Minn.), sophomore Callin Hake (Victoria, Minn.), freshman Jessica Petrie (Gold Coast, Australia) and redshirting junior Allison Weidner (Humphrey, Neb.).

Following the full announcement of the bracket, Nebraska players will be available for approximately 15 minutes to thank fans for their support during a 2023-24 season in which the Huskers ranked No. 14 nationally in total attendance (97,411) and 15th in average home attendance (6,088/game).