Huskers Tangle with Doane in Sunday Exhibition

Markowski Earns Preseason All-Big Ten Honors
• Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski captured Preseason All-Big Ten honors for the third consecutive season when the conference announced its annual awards on Thursday, Sept. 26.

• Markowski, a 6-3 center from Lincoln, Neb., was one of 10 players across the conference’s 18 teams to earn preseason recognition from both the Big Ten coaches and media. She also earned preseason All-Big Ten honors as a junior in 2023-24 and as a sophomore in 2022-23, after being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year following the 2021-22 season.

• A two-time Lisa Leslie Award candidate, Markowski claimed first-team All-Big Ten honors at the conclusion of a 2023-24 season when she led Nebraska to an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• Markowski, who led Nebraska with team-best averages of 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds while starting all 35 games for the 23-12 Huskers in 2023-24, produced 19 double-doubles a year ago to push her career total to 40. She has matched Husker first-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2006-10) and Jordan Hooper (2011-14) for Nebraska’s career double-doubles record.

• Markowski earned a spot on the 2024 Big Ten All-Tournament Team by averaging 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists over four games, including 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the Big Ten Championship Game.

• Markowski enters the 2024-25 season just 44 rebounds away from becoming the sixth player in school history with 1,000 career rebounds. She is 324 rebounds away from Janet Smith’s more than 40-year-old Nebraska career rebound record (1,280). Markowski, who had 369 rebounds last season, is also within striking distance of one of the top-five rebounding totals in Big Ten Conference history.

• Markowski, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore in 2022-23, owns 1,363 points entering her senior season.

• USC’s JuJu Watkins was the only unanimous choice of the coaches and media to earn preseason All-Big Ten honors. The sophomore was the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by both.

• The coaches and media were also in agreement on the top five teams in preseason voting, beginning with No. 1 USC, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Maryland and No. 5 Indiana.

Huskers Beat Bison in Sioux Falls Scrimmage
• Alexis Markowski scored a game-high 23 points to lead Nebraska to an 84-67 win over North Dakota State in a scrimmage at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday, Oct. 19.

• Markowski hit 9-of-11 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free throws in an efficient effort.

• In a well-played scrimmage that did not include many fastbreak baskets for either team, the Huskers shot nearly 60 percent from the field while connecting on 25-of-29 free throws against the Bison. North Dakota State countered by hitting 50 percent of its shots, including 42.9 percent of its threes, while going 13-of-20 at the free throw line.

• Freshmen Britt Prince and Amiah Hargrove each added nine points and three rebounds for the Huskers, while junior Callin Hake contributed nine points and three assists.

• Senior transfer Alberte Rimdal score eight points, while sophomore forwards Natalie Potts and Jessica Petrie each pitched in six points along with senior guard Kendall Moriarty.

• Allison Weidner returned to the court with four points and four assists for the Huskers, while freshman Petra Bozan added four points and four rebounds.

• Avery Koenen was the only North Dakota State player in double figures, as the sophomore forward led the Bison with 17 points. Marisa Frost and Abby Graham each pitched in eight points.

• Nebraska will return to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Saturday, Nov. 16 to take on South Dakota with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.

Opener with Omaha to Feature Life Skills Pep Rally
• The Nebraska Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Nov. 4 promises to be the largest rally associated with the Husker women’s basketball season opener since the event helped open the doors to Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013.

• As of Tuesday, Oct. 22, a record 74 schools from around the state have registered to participate with more than 3,750 students and accompanying adults committed to attending the event, which will take place prior to the Nebraska women’s basketball team’s season-opening game against Omaha on Monday, Nov. 4.

• Last season, the pep rally welcomed more than 3,300 students and accompanying adults from 62 middle grades schools from across the state of Nebraska.

• The pep rally helped the Huskers attract the second-largest opening-day crowd in program history with 7,065 fans on hand at PBA, trailing only the 9,750 fans on hand for the opening game in the history of the building against UCLA in 2013.

• The event, which is co-sponsored by the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame, features positive messages from Husker student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators. This year’s Pep Rally will mark the sixth time since 2013 (also 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) the event has been paired with Nebraska’s season-opening women’s basketball game.

• The 2022 Nebraska Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally included 2,200 students and more than 200 accompanying staff members from 42 schools across the state of Nebraska for the season opener with Omaha.

• The Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally, which is focused on 4th through 8th grade students across the state of Nebraska, not only includes inspiring messages from current and former Nebraska student-athletes and staff members, it also includes complimentary pizza from Nebraska Athletics and water provided by Pepsi for students and accompanying school staff members.

• The 2024 Pep Rally is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at approximately 10:45 a.m., prior to Nebraska and Omaha taking the court for pregame warm-ups ahead of their noon tip-off.

 

Nebraska Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rallies at Women’s Basketball
2024 - TBA (attendance) / 3,500+ (students/staff - 65 schools) vs. Omaha
2023 - 7,065 (attendance) / 3,300 (students/staff - 62 schools) vs. Northwestern State
2022 - 6,233 (attendance) / 2,500 (students/staff - 40 schools) vs. Omaha
2021 - 4,476 (attendance) / 1,600 (students/staff - 30 schools) vs. Maine
2019 - 5,250 (attendance) / 2,000 (students/staff - 27 schools) vs. Alabama A&M
2013 - 9,750 (attendance) / 4,000 (students/staff - 45 schools) vs. UCLA

 

Huskers Ranked No. 23 in Preseason Polls
•  Nebraska opens the 2024-25 season at No. 23 in both the Associated Press Poll released on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 announced on Thursday, Oct. 24.

•  The Huskers are coming off a trip to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament and an appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. The Big Red, which finished with a 23-12 record a year ago that included an 11-7 Big Ten regular-season mark, returns first-team All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski (Lincoln, Neb.) and Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Natalie Potts (O’Fallon, Mo.), along with Big Ten All-Freshman selection Logan Nissley (Bismarck, N.D.).

•  Returning starters Kendall Moriarty (Wheaton, Ill.) and Callin Hake (Victoria, Minn.) are also back, along with contributors Kendall Coley (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Jessica Petrie (Gold Coast, Australia).

•  Nebraska also hopes to be bolstered by the return of redshirt junior guard Allison Weidner (Humphrey, Neb.), who missed last season with an injury. The Huskers also look forward to showcasing two-time Nebraska High School Player-of-the-Year Britt Prince (Elkhorn, Neb.), one of the nation’s top recruits, alongside fellow freshmen Amiah Hargrove (Christopher, Ill.), Petra Bozan (Split, Croatia) and Kennadi Williams (Lincoln, Neb.) as well as senior transfer Alberte Rimdal (Koge, Denmark).

•  The 2024-25 season marks the second time in the past three years that Nebraska has opened in the AP Top 25. In 2022-23, the Huskers began the season at No. 22 in the AP Poll.

•  The Huskers are one of six Big Ten Conference teams ranked in the preseason polls, joining No. 3/3 USC, No. 5/6 UCLA, No. 14/14 Ohio State, No. 18/18 Maryland and No. 25/24 Indiana. Iowa (26/30) led the next group of Big Ten teams receiving votes, while Illinois (29/37), and Michigan State (AP 31) give the Big Ten nine teams among the top 32 nationally in the polls. Michigan (T48 USA) also received one vote in the coaches poll.

•  Defending national champion South Carolina earned the No. 1 spot in both polls, while UConn starts the season at No. 2 in both national rankings.

•  Last season, Nebraska finished No. 25 in the final NCAA NET rankings.

 

Huskers Win Women’s Four-Sport Attendance
• Nebraska was the top draw in NCAA Division I women’s team sports in 2023-24, attracting a nation-leading 418,198 total fans to women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer and softball home games.

• Nebraska’s four-sport total was 19,090 more than South Carolina’s 399,108, while LSU finished third with 328,380 fans across the same four sports.

• Iowa finished fourth with 280,773 to rank second in the Big Ten - nearly 138,000 fans behind the Huskers, while Texas ranked fifth nationally with 270,757.

• Nebraska was the only school in the country to rank in the top 15 nationally in average home attendance in all four major women’s team sports in 2023-24, including No. 1 in volleyball (264,665), No. 10 in softball (38,919), No. 15 in women’s basketball (97,411) and No. 15 in soccer (17,203).

• Overall, Nebraska ranked third nationally in seven-sport attendance (football, men’s basketball, baseball) with a school-record 1.49 million fans attending Husker home events in 2023-24. Only LSU and Tennessee attracted more fans than the Big Red.

Huskers Celebrate 50 Years of Women’s Sports
• Nebraska Athletics will be celebrating 50 years of women’s varsity athletics throughout the 2024-25 season across its sports.

• The first season that varsity letters were distributed to Husker women’s athletes was 1975-76.

• The first partial season for women’s basketball came with a 16-game schedule under Coach Jan Callahan in 1974-75, before the first women’s basketball players earned varsity letters in 1975-76.

• Nebraska women’s basketball has advanced to 16 NCAA tournaments. The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament did not exist until 1982. It was a 32-team field.

• Nebraska women’s basketball has won conference titles in the Big Ten (tournament, 2014), Big 12 (regular season, 2010) and Big Eight (regular season, 1988).

• Husker women’s basketball players have claimed 14 All-America awards, including Wade Trophy winner and first-team All-American Karen Jennings (1993), Senior CLASS Award winner and first-team All-American Kelsey Griffin (2010) and first-team All-American Jordan Hooper (2014). Nebraska’s other All-Americans include Lindsey Moore, Rachel Theriot, Kiera Hardy, Nicole Kubik, Anna DeForge and Amy Stephens.

• Eight Husker women’s basketball players have earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Communicators, led by three-time first-team Academic All-American and two-time Academic All-American of the Year Karen Jennings, who was the first Husker female athlete inducted into the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2008.

• A total of 38 Huskers have scored 1,000 points in their women’s basketball careers.

• A total of 247 Nebraska women’s basketball players have earned varsity letters.