Kayla Mershon Season 2019-20

Q&A with Kayla Mershon

Honors & Awards

• Academic All-Big Ten (2020)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2018; Spring 2020)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2019, 2020)
• No. 132 Player in the Nation (Prospects Nation, 2018)
• No. 14 Wing in the Nation (ESPN)
• USA Basketball Team Tryout (2016)

Sophomore (2019-20)
Kayla Mershon (pronounced MER-shawn) played in all 60 games in her two seasons at Nebraska, providing a steady and consistent presence at both ends of the court.

As a sophomore, Mershon averaged 1.6 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing in all 30 games with one start (Manhattan, Dec. 22) in place of an injured Ashtyn Veerbeek. Mershon had four points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal against the Jaspers.

Mershon scored a season-high five points in a win over Illinois (Feb. 22). She grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and tied a career high with two steals at Ohio State (Feb. 19). 

She opened the season with four points, five rebounds and a block in 15 minutes off the bench in a win over Alabama A&M (Nov. 6). She added four rebounds and a block in a win at Missouri (Nov. 10), before getting two points, four rebounds and another block in a win over Morgan State (Nov. 14).

Mershon had four points in a win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 30), before getting four more points in a win over Oral Roberts (Dec. 14). Mershon had six rebounds vs. Creighton (Nov. 24) and five boards in a win over No. 24 Minnesota (Jan. 4).

Freshman (2018-19)
Mershon earned her way into the starting lineup for the final 14 games of the season, after coming off the bench in her first 16 games as a true freshman.

A solid defender and good facilitator who rarely turns the ball over, Mershon averaged 3.2 points and 3.0 rebounds on the season.

Over the final seven games, Mershon averaged 4.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals, including a career-high-tying eight points in a win at Penn State to close the regular season (March 2). She added four rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals against the Lady Lions.

Mershon established her career high with eight points, while adding four boards off the bench against No. 9 Maryland (Jan. 8). She added seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal the next time out against Rutgers (Jan. 13), before making her first career  start in a win at Illinois (Jan. 17). She scored five points against the Illini, including NU’s final points at the free throw line.

Mershon grabbed a season-high seven rebounds off the bench in a win over Kansas (Dec. 5), before matching that total with seven boards against Northwestern (Jan. 24).

She established a career best with three assists in Nebraska’s Big Ten-opening win over Michigan (Dec. 28), before matching that mark with three assists against No. 12 Iowa (Feb. 25).

She notched two steals on seven occasions, including at Arkansas (Dec. 18) when she also blocked a career-high two shots.

Mershon played a career-high 30 minutes in a win over Purdue (Feb. 10). 

In Big Ten play, Mershon hit 36.4 percent of her threes (8-22) and 75 percent (18-24) of her free throws, while averaging 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Her 15 steals tied for third on the team in league play, while her eight blocks ranked fourth among the Huskers.
    
Before Nebraska
A six-time high school basketball letterwinner, Mershon was a four-time first-team All-Lake Conference for Coach Leah Dasovich. Mershon averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a junior in 2016-17. She helped Minnetonka to its first state title in 2016.

She capped her high school career by averaging 12.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks as a senior.

She was ranked the No. 132 overall player in the country by Prospects Nation and was rated as the No. 14 wing nationally by ESPN.

Mershon also has played club basketball at the highest level for Coach Gerard Coury and the North Tartan program, which won the Minnesota State AAU title seven years in a row. Mershon, who played for North Tartan alongside current Husker Sam Haiby, was  all-tournament at the Georgia Super Showcase. 

She was also invited to Nike All-American National Elite Camp in 2014, and advanced to the second round of tryouts for USA Basketball in 2016. She also competed internationally with North Tartan in Europe against national teams from France and the Netherlands.

Personal
The daughter of Rick and Leslie Mershon, Kayla was born May 30, 1999, in Royal Oak, Mich. She has two sisters, Lauren and Ally. Kayla majored in marketing and earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020. She also claimed spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2020. She was a two-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2019, 2020).

Kayla chose Nebraska over Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Oregon, DePaul, Utah, Minnesota, Princeton, Wake Forest, Colorado, Creighton, Saint Louis, Drake and South Dakota State.

Kayla Mershon's Career Bests
Points - 8 at Penn State, March 2, 2019; vs. Maryland, Jan. 8, 2019 
Rebounds - 9 vs. Ohio State, Feb. 19, 2020 
Assists - 3 vs. Iowa, Feb. 25, 2019; vs. Michigan, Dec. 28, 2018
Steals - 2 Eight Times, most recent, at Ohio State, Feb. 19, 2020
Blocks - 2 vs. Penn State, Feb. 13, 2020; at Arkansas, Dec. 18, 2018
FGM - 3 at Penn State, March 2, 2019
FGA - 6 vs. Purdue, March 7, 2019
3FGM - 1 12 times, most recent, vs. Michigan, March 5, 2020 
3FGA - 3 at Maryland, Feb. 14, 2019
FTM - 4 at Northwestern, Feb. 21, 2019; at Arkansas, Dec. 18, 2018
FTA - 6 at Arkansas, Dec. 18, 2018

Mershon's Career Statistics

Year	G-GS	FG-FGA	Pct.	3FG-3FGA	Pct.	FT-FTA	Pct.	TRB-Avg.	PF-D	A	TO	Blk	ST	Pts-Avg.
2018-19	30-14	31-85	.365	9-29	.310	26-41	.634	90-3.0	41-0	27	12	11	21	97-3.2
2019-20	30-1	17-49	.347	3-11	.273	10-20	.500	76-2.5	29-1	14	13	7	10	47-1.6
Career	60-15	48-134	.358	12-40	.300	36-61	.590	166-2.8	70-1	41	25	18	31	144-2.4