Huskers Set for Showdown with USD in Sioux Falls
The No. 21/20 Nebraska women’s basketball team hits the road for the first time in the regular season to clash with South Dakota in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
Tip-off between the Huskers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) and the Coyotes (0-3, 0-0 Summit League) at the Sanford Pentagon is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT).
A live video stream of the game will be provided to subscribers of B1G+ with David Brown and Shimmy Gray-Miller on the call. Nebraska fans can listen across the Huskers Radio Network, including 105.3 FM in Lincoln, the Huskers App and Huskers.com. Nate Rohr will fill in for the legendary Matt Coatney alongside Jeff Griesch for the game, as Coatney covers his duties on the Nebraska football radio broadcast, including Big Red Reaction. Women’s basketball pregame starts at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Nebraska, which opened the season at No. 23 in both polls, owns three double-digit home victories to begin the season and has climbed to its highest positions in the national polls since 2015. The Huskers are coming off a solid 84-58 win over a Southern just days after the Jaguars took an 84-56 loss at No. 8 Iowa State. SU opened with a 76-44 loss at No. 10 Oklahoma.
The Huskers, who advanced to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament after fighting their way to the Big Ten Championship Game, have featured a strong inside game with three-time All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski and 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Natalie Potts.
Markowski, who is a Naismith, Wooden and Lisa Leslie Award candidate, led Nebraska with 22 points against Southern. She opened her senior season with a school-record breaking 41st career double-double to lead the Huskers to a 40-point win over Omaha. The 6-3 center out of Lincoln Pius X High School led the Big Red with team highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Mavs, surpassing the previous school record of 40 double-doubles that she shared with first-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2006-10) and Jordan Hooper (2011-14). Markowski needs 22 rebounds to become the sixth player in Husker history to achieve 1,000 career boards.
Potts leads Nebraska in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) through three games after notching her sixth career double-double with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the win over Southern. The 6-2 forward from O’Fallon, Mo., is the only Husker to score in double figures in all three games, including 17 points against Southeastern Louisiana and 14 points in the win over Omaha. She has knocked down 6-of-9 three-point attempts early this season.
Fellow Big Ten All-Freshman selection Logan Nissley is one of four Huskers averaging double figures with 10.3 points off the bench. She and Potts lead the Big Red with six three-pointers apiece. Nissley, who is still recovering from offseason foot surgery, averaged 7.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 2023-24. She started Nebraska’s final 10 games and led the Big Red with 16 points in a first-round NCAA win over Texas A&M.
Senior Alberte Rimdal, who has joined Nissley in coming off the bench in two of NU’s first three games, gives the Big Red four players averaging double figures. The 5-9 transfer from Florida is averaging 10.7 points and is coming off a 13-point effort against Southern.
Freshmen Britt Prince (Omaha, Neb.) and Petra Bozan (Split, Croatia) have added dynamic presences. Prince, the two-time Nebraska High School Player of the Year at Elkhorn North, has started two of NU’s first three games at point guard and is averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals, despite missing the win over Southeastern Louisiana with a lower leg injury. Bozan, a member of the Croatian U18 National Team, has averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in less than 14 minutes per game off the bench. The 6-3 post is shooting 73.3 percent from the field, including 4-for-4 from long range.
21/20 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)
vs. South Dakota Coyotes (0-3)
Saturday, November 16, 2024, 7 p.m. (CT)
Sanford Pentagon - Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Live Video: B1G+ (subscription)
PBP-David Brown; Analyst-Shimmy Gray-Miller
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (6:30 p.m.)
Nate Rohr (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)
Lincoln (105.3 FM), Huskers.com, Huskers App
Live Stats: Huskers.com
21/20 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
22 - Natalie Potts - 6-2 - So. - F - 16.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg
40 - Alexis Markowski - 6-3 - Sr. - C/F - 15.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg
3 - Allison Weidner - 5-10 - RJr. - G - 5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
14 - Callin Hake - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg
23 - Britt Prince - 5-11 - Fr. - G - 8.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Off the Bench
5 - Alberte Rimdal - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 10.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
2 - Logan Nissley - 6-0 - So. - G - 10.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg
44 - Petra Bozan - 6-3 - Fr. - F/C - 9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
15 - Kendall Moriarty - 6-1 - Sr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
33 - Amiah Hargrove - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
12 - Jessica Petrie - 6-2 - So. - F - 1.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
32 - Kendall Coley - 6-2 - Gr. - F/G - 1.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg
4 - Kennadi Williams - 5-4 - Fr. - G - Redshirt
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Ninth Season at Nebraska (140-111); 18th Season Overall (333-220)
South Dakota Coyotes (0-3, 0-0 Summit League)
20 - Carley Duffney - 5-10 - RJr. - F - 14.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg
41 - Alexi Hempe - 6-0 - 6th - F - 6.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
0 - Olivia Kieffer - 5-10 - So. - G - 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
10 - Adara Groman - 5-8 - 5th - G - 4.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg
21 - Grace Larkins - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 23.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg
Off the Bench
25 - Cassidy Carson - 6-1 - Jr. - G - 9.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
3 - Coral Mason - 5-10 - So. - G - 5.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
1 - Gabby Wilke - 6-2 - Fr. - F - 3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
11 - Addison Klosterbuer - 5-11 - RFr. - G - 3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Head Coach: Carrie Eighmey (Hastings, 2004)
First Season at South Dakota (0-3); 13th Season Overall (248-124)
Williams to Face Coyotes for First Time
• Nebraska Coach Amy Williams will face South Dakota for the first time as a head coach since leaving the Vermillion school to return to her alma mater as head coach following the 2015-16 season.
• Now in her ninth season at Nebraska, Williams was the head coach at her home-state school from 2012-13 through the 2015-16 season. In her final year at USD, the Spearfish, S.D., native led the Coyotes to a 32-6 overall record and the WNIT Championship.
• The Summit League Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016 after leading the Coyotes to back-to-back regular-season conference championships, Williams also guided South Dakota to the 2014 NCAA Tournament after winning the 2014 Summit League Tournament title.
• In her second season at South Dakota, Williams brought her Coyotes to Pinnacle Bank Arena to face Nebraska, falling to the No. 19 Huskers, 87-53, on Dec. 21, 2013.
• Williams posted a 96-44 record in four seasons as South Dakota’s head coach, including 58-14 in her final two years before taking over the top job at Nebraska.
Markowski Ties to South Dakota
• Alexis Markowski also sports ties to the state of South Dakota. Markowski’s mother, Jaime, is a life-long friend of Becky Hammon - the South Dakota Girls High School Player of the Year at Rapid City Stevens and current head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Hammon was also the first full-time female coach in NBA history (San Antonio Spurs).
• Hammon was in the wedding party of Alexis’ parents, Jaime and Andy, who was a forward on the men’s basketball team at Nebraska.
• Hammon, who was a six-time WNBA All-Star and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2023, is featured prominently in several displays inside the Pentagon, which is also home to the South Dakota High School Hall of Fame.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
• Coach Carrie Eighmey is in the early stages of her first season leading the South Dakota program. Eighmey (Hofstetter), who won four state championships as a player under Coach Russ Ninemire at Sandy Creek High School, has strong ties to Nebraska. She was an All-America point guard at Hastings, leading the Broncos to a pair of national championships in 2002 and 2003 before graduating in 2004. A decade later, she led Hastings to the 2015 NAIA semifinals in her third season as head coach for the Broncos. She also took Hastings to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament in 2014.
• She made the short drive down I-80 to Kearney after three years at Hastings, and led UNK to eight successful seasons from 2015-16 to 2022-23. Eighmey took the Lopers to three straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2020-21 to 2022-23, amassing a 74-16 record during that stretch, before taking her first NCAA Division I job at Idaho. She led the Vandals to a 15-16 mark last season.
• Her first South Dakota team is off to an 0-3 start with an 85-83 overtime loss to Saint Louis in Vermillion (Nov. 4), a 73-66 road loss at Air Force (Nov. 8) and a 71-67 overtime loss to Loyola Marymount in Vermillion on Wednesday. The Coyotes led by 21 in the first half against LMU.
• The Coyotes feature an experienced lineup led by senior Grace Larkins. The 5-9 guard from Altoona, Iowa, is averaging 23.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists through three games, after averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the 23-13 Coyotes a year ago. The two-time first-team All-Summit League performer was also a member of the All-Summit League Defensive Team as a sophomore in 2022-23, when she averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals for a 14-16 USD squad. She was the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year as a freshman in 2021-22, when she helped USD to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Larkins has scored more than 1,400 points, grabbed more than 600 rebounds and dished out more than 350 assists in her career.
• Larkins opened the season with 27 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in a loss to Saint Louis, and had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists against LMU. She is averaging 41.0 minutes per game.
• Carley Duffney has added double figures in each of USD’s first three games. The 5-10 forward from Green Bay, Wis., ranks second on the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). She opened the season with 18 points and seven rebounds while playing nearly 42 minutes before fouling out in a loss to Saint Louis. She is averaging 40.0 minutes per game and is USD’s top three-point threat. Duffney averaged 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds as a part-time starter a year ago but scored a season-high 20 against Wyoming in the WNIT Super 16. She averaged 10.4 points and 3.6 rebounds as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23, but increased those averages to 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds over the final 12 games of the season as a starter.
• Alexi Hempe begins her sixth season as a Coyote averaging 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. The 6-0 forward played in all 36 games with six starts a year ago, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds. In 30 games in 2022-23, Hempe produced 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds while making 18 starts.
• Adara Groman is in her first year at South Dakota but her fifth season overall. The 5-8 guard joined the Coyotes after spending her first four seasons at New Hampshire, where she was a member of the America East All-Rookie Team in 2021. She averaged 6.3 points and 2.1 rebounds while making 22 starts last season, after averaging 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds while making 27 starts in 2022-23. She has played in 107 career games with 81 starts.
• Addison Klosterbuer rounds out South Dakota’s probable starting five. The 5-11 redshirt freshman from Little Rock, Iowa, made her first collegiate start in the loss at Air Force (Nov. 8), producing three points and four steals. She started in place of Cassidy Carson, who had nine points and five rebounds in the opener but did not play at Air Force. Klosterbuer opened the season with six points off the bench in the loss to Saint Louis (Nov. 4). She appeared in two games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. She had 10 points against Northern State in last year’s season opener.
• Only nine Coyotes have seen action early this season, including Olivia Kieffer (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), who started in place of Klosterbuer and Carson in the loss to LMU. Kieffer had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists against the Lions. Coral Mason (5.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Gabby Wilke (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg) round out the USD contributors.
• As a team, South Dakota is averaging a solid 72 points per game, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 31.8 percent (21-66) from three-point range. The Coyotes have hit just 64.4 percent of their free throws. However, they have surrendered 76.3 points per game, despite holding opponents to 40.6 percent shooting, including 20.5 percent (15-73) from beyond the arc. The opposition has hit 74.5 percent (38-51) of their free throws. The Coyotes have have allowed 9.7 offensive rebounds per game and carry a minus-1.3 rebound margin (42.3-41.0). They also have been strapped with a minus-5.3 turnover margin (17.0-11.7).
Nebraska vs. South Dakota Series History
• Nebraska leads the all-time series with South Dakota 10-1, but the two teams have not met in over a decade. The Huskers won the last match-up between the schools, 87-53, at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Dec. 21, 2013. Nebraska entered that game ranked No. 19 by the Associated Press. Current Nebraska Head Coach was the head coach of South Dakota in that game.
• The only other meeting between the two schools since the 1984-85 season came with a 77-38 Nebraska victory over USD at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Dec. 3, 2009. The 2009-10 Husker team went undefeated during the regular season on its way to the Big 12 Championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Huskers and Coyotes have never met on a neutral court.
• Nebraska faced South Dakota in just the 11th game in the official records of Husker women’s basketball as a varsity sport on March 14, 1975. The Huskers defeated the Coyotes in Lincoln, 98-26, in just the third game against an out-of-state opponent for the Big Red.
• The Huskers reeled off six straight wins to open the series before South Dakota defeated Nebraska 87-85 in overtime in Vermillion on Feb. 14, 1981. That was the last meeting between the teams outside of Lincoln.
• Nebraska has won four straight in the series dating back to a 94-76 win in Lincoln on Dec. 5, 1981. All four Husker wins came in Lincoln.
Husker History of Home-Opening Success
• Nebraska owns a history of season-opening success on the Huskers’ home court. NU improved to 48-3 in home season openers with its 88-48 win over Omaha on Nov. 4, 2024.
• NU is 11-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in season openers, including a 100-36 victory over Omaha (Nov. 7, 2022). Nebraska’s lone loss came on Nov. 7, 2018, with an 83-77 setback to Drake. In the first regular-season game in the history of Pinnacle Bank Arena, Nebraska powered its way to a 77-49 win over UCLA on Nov. 8, 2013, in front of a Husker opening-day record crowd of 9,750 in the first Nebraska Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally associated with women’s basketball.
• Nebraska’s only season-opening home losses have come to Drake (2018), South Dakota State (Nov. 19, 2005) and Kansas (Nov. 21, 1980).
• Nebraska has been strong in its first four home games every season. In fact, NU is 177-26 (.872) over 50 seasons in its first four home contests, including 44-7 in Game No. 2, 41-10 in Game No. 3 and 44-6 in Game No. 4.
Markowski Named to Naismith, Wooden Watch Lists
• Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski was among the 50 women’s college basketball players named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Watch List, announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Oct. 28) and the Wooden Award Watch List by the Los Angeles Athletic Club (Nov. 7).
• Markowski, a 6-3 center out of Lincoln Pius X High School, earned her third consecutive appearance on the Naismith Trophy preseason list.
• A three-time preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection, Markowski earned first-team All-Big Ten honors a year ago after averaging 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds in 2023-24. She also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team after powering the Big Red to the Big Ten Championship Game.
• A three-time Lisa Leslie Center-of-the-Year Award candidate, Markowski was a second-team All-Big Ten choice as a freshman and sophomore. She was also the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
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 Sept. 26.
• The 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 three-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.
• She 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 South Dakota game just 22 rebounds away from becoming the sixth player in school history with 1,000 career rebounds. She is 302 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 1,408 career points to rank 16th all-time in scoring at Nebraska.
• 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 scored 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 returns to the Sanford Pentagon Saturday, Nov. 16 to take on South Dakota.
Huskers Climb to No. 21/20 in National Rankings
• With wins over Omaha and Southeastern Louisiana, Nebraska moved up to No. 21 in the first regular-season Associated Press Poll (Nov. 11) and No. 20 in the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 (Nov. 12). The Huskers were ranked No. 23 in both preseason polls.
• The No. 21/20 rankings were the highest for the Huskers in the national polls since coming in at No. 21 in the AP on Feb. 16, 2015. The last time the Big Red was ranked higher than 20th came with a No. 19 AP ranking on Feb. 2, 2015.
• The 2024-25 season marked 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 seven Big Ten teams ranked in the national polls, joining No. 3/3 USC, No. 5/6 UCLA, No. 11/14 Maryland, No. 12/12 Ohio State, No. 23/24 Illinois and No. 25/RV Oregon. Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana and Penn State give the Big Ten 12 teams receiving votes among the top 40 in at least one of the polls.
• Last season, Nebraska finished No. 25 in the final NCAA NET rankings.