Jessica Petrie Season 2024-25

Sophomore (2024-25)
Australian National Program member Jessica Petrie expanded her strengths to help the Huskers as a sophomore in 2024-25. Petrie joined returning starting center Alexis Markowski on the blocks for the Big Red, after 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Natalie Potts was lost for the season to a knee injury against North Alabama (Nov. 19).

Petrie, a 6-2 power forward, produced three solid efforts in the Big Ten Tournament, including 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in a win over Illinois (March 6). Petrie scored nine points in the fourth quarter including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:36 left to help the Huskers rally from a nine-point third-quarter deficit.

She averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in the tournament while hitting 12-of-19 shots (.632) from the field.

Petrie capped her season with six points, two rebounds, three assists and a block against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament first round at Fort Worth, Texas (March 21). For the season, Petrie averaged 6.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 33 games with 23 starts.

Petrie surged in the heart of conference play. She produced her third straight double-figure scoring effort with a career-high 15 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists in a win over Wisconsin (Jan. 20). Petrie hit 6-of-8 shots, including a career-best 3-of-4 three-pointers against the Badgers.

It followed a 13-point, six-board effort in a road win at Iowa (Jan. 16). She started the stretch with 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds in a win at Rutgers (Jan. 12). She closed the regular season with back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts, including 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists in a win at Northwestern (March 2). It followed her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against Washington (Feb. 23).

Petrie had an 11-point, six-rebound effort in NU's upset at No. 17 Maryland (Feb. 13). She added a career-high five blocks - all in the second half - to go with three points and six rebounds in NU's win over Oregon (Feb. 19).

She ranked second among the Huskers in conference-only rebounding (5.4 rpg) while adding 7.4 points per game.

Petrie put up 14 points and two blocks to go with five rebounds in just 16 minutes in a win over North Alabama (Nov. 19) in the moments after the season-ending knee injury to Potts. Petrie followed with her first career start in place of the injured Potts at Creighton (Nov. 22). Petrie finished with nine points, two rebounds and two assists against the Jays. She added her second start against Kansas City (Nov. 26), before making her third start at No. 1 UCLA. She finished with seven points against the Bruins, while wearing jersey No. 45 instead her red No. 12, which was damaged.

Petrie, who wears her No. 12 in honor of her mother who was a professional player in Australia, was surprised by her parents who made the trip to Los Angeles to watch the Huskers over the holidays. A replacement No. 12 made it to Los Angeles for the next game at No. 4 USC (Jan. 1). She had eight points, three rebounds and a career-high two steals in a start against the Trojans.

Petrie added six points and three rebounds while making a third consecutive start in a Big Ten win over Penn State (Jan. 5). Petrie put up six more points and three rebounds in NU's win over No. 20 Michigan State (Jan. 8). She scored all six points in a 15-0 second-quarter Big Red run.

Freshman (2023-24)
Petrie produced back-to-back career-high 11-point efforts in wins over UNCW and Michigan State. She scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 12 first-half minutes in a win at MSU (Dec. 9). Petrie’s production came in place of All-Big Ten post Alexis Markowski, who missed much of the first half with foul trouble.

Petrie established her career high with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal in a win over UNCW (Dec. 5).

She had nine points and her first career steal in a win over Florida Atlantic (Nov. 29). She added eight points and a career-best six rebounds in a win over Alcorn State (Nov. 14), after tipping the season with seven points and three boards in a win over Northwestern State.

She averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in nearly 11 minutes per game on the season. She had a strong seven-point effort in a road win at Michigan (Feb. 6). It came after a solid nine-point performance against Rutgers (Feb. 3).

Petrie closed the regular season with a solid seven-point performance at Illinois (March 3).

She competed for Australia in three different age divisions (U16, U17, U18) in the summer of 2022 and at the U19 World Cup in Madrid, Spain (July 15-23, 2023).

Petrie, from Gold Coast, Queensland, averaged 17.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals through seven games for the Basketball Centre of Excellence in Australia’s semi-professional NBL1 East Division in 2023.

“Husker fans are going to love watching this exciting young woman grow in her time here in the United States. She is one of the most talented and promising women’s basketball players in Australia, and we are very excited to have her joining the Huskers,” Williams said. “She has already played with and against some of the best in the world. She has a tremendous work ethic, and she matches the competitive desires we have in this program.”

High School
Petrie starred at three levels for the Australian National Team in the summer of 2022. She averaged 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over five games for the Australian U18 National Team at the FIBA Asian Championship in Bengaluru, India in September. She helped the Australia Gems to a gold medal with a championship game win over China. In a semifinal victory over Taipei, Petrie produced 11 points and three rebounds, after getting eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in a win over Korea.

Her performance at the U18 level followed a seven-game stint with the Australian U17 National Team at the World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, July 9-17, 2022. She averaged 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists, posting double-doubles against both Belgium and Spain before capping the World Cup with 15 points and nine rebounds in a win over Hungary.

At the 2022 FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan, June 24-30, Petrie averaged eight points, five rebounds and four assists. In the championship game against Japan, Petrie finished with 12 points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists to help the Sapphires to a 59-58 victory. Her performance against Japan followed a near triple-double in a semifinal win over Korea, when she produced 13 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

Petrie also starred at Lake Ginninderra College, leading the Lakers to the Australian Schools Championship at Gold Coast in December of 2022. Petrie was named to the tournament's all-star five and was the Defensive MVP of the tournament. She averaged 23.8 points, 16.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists at the tournament.

Personal
The daughter of Anthony and Sarah (Berry) Petrie, Jessica was born May 17, 2005. Her father was a long-time forward (2007-18) in Australia's NBL, helping the Adelaide 36ers to NBL Grand Final appearances in both 2014 and 2016. In 2009-10, he was second-team All-NBL and was named the NBL's Most Improved Player. He is currently coaching for the Gold Coast Rollers in NBL1. Her mother, Sarah, was a two-time WNBL champion with the Canberra Capitals. Jess has younger sisters, Emma and Holly, and a younger brother, William.

Jess is majoring in communication studies and earned CSC Academic All-District VII and Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2025. She is a three-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection. She is also a two-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.