in Win Over Waves
 Jeffery |  Havers |  Kalenta |
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1 2 total
Pepperdine (NR) 44 22 65
NEBRASKA (16) 56 44 100
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Nebraska won its eighth consecutive season opener while improving to 33-1 in home openers since 1981. NU's 100-point performance marked the first time that the Huskers had reached the century mark since a 107-54 win over Washington State on Nov. 22, 2009.
"That was pretty fun," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "It was exciting to see some of the things that are players did, and I don't just mean scoring. We don't care about scoring a hundred points, in fact we didn't really try to get those final points. But I thought our players did some good things, made some nice adjustments at halftime, and played pretty hard. It was also nice to hit some shots."
Allie Havers scored point No. 100 for the Huskers with eight seconds left after she was fouled away from the ball by Krista Pettepier. Havers, a 6-5 sophomore center from Paw Paw, Mich., hit the second of two free throws to finish with eight points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 25 strong minutes off the bench.
Nebraska had pulled the ball out and was content to end the game with a 99-63 win. NU had taken a 97-60 lead with 3:04 left after a pair of free throws by Anya Kalenta. The 6-3 junior forward from Minsk, Belarus produced 14 points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes off the bench in her first regular-season game as a Husker. She went 6-for-7 from the field.
Havers and Kalenta combined for 22 points and 12 rebounds to power a strong effort by the Husker bench, which combined for 33 points and 15 rebounds in 81 total minutes. Freshman guards Natalie Romeo (7 points) and Jasmine Cincore (4) also gave the Huskers major sparks off the bench in their first games at Nebraska.
As well as Nebraska's reserves performed, the starters were nearly off the charts. NU's starting five combined for 67 points, 26 rebounds and 17 assists while going 25-of-36 (.694) from the field.
Jeffery, a 5-7 senior guard from Vacherie, La., poured in a career-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-4 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Jeffery's previous career high was 12 points, which she set on two occasions (Florida State, Nov. 27; Mississippi Valley State, Nov. 15) as a true freshman in 2011. Her eight rebounds also surpassed her previous career high of six boards against Ohio State as a freshman on Feb. 26, 2012.
"I'm excited for Brandi because she played really well," Yori said. "If she keeps hitting shots like that and playing with the confidence she is right now, it is going to be really hard to get her out of the starting lineup. She has been putting in a lot of extra work in the gym recently, and you can see it paying off for her."
Jeffery, who made her 10th career start in her 96th career game for the Huskers, added three assists, one block and one steal.
All-American point guard Rachel Theriot finished with 16 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal while going 7-for-9 from the field. Senior guar Tear'a Laudermill added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a pair of threes. She added two assists and a block.
Senior forward Hailie Sample added six points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal and a career-high three blocked shots while going 3-for-3 from the field.
Sample made her 101st consecutive career start alongside fellow senior Emily Cady, who produced arguably the game's most impressive stat line. Cady, a 6-2 forward from Seward, Neb., put up her 23rd career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She just missed the first triple-double of her career, adding a career-high eight assists, while contributing a block and a steal. She went 4-of-7 from the floor including a three-pointer of her own.
"Our starters were really good today. They shot almost 70 percent from the field. Then you look at our 19 assists and just nine turnovers as a team, with as many kids and as many freshmen as we played, that's encouraging."
As a team, Nebraska shot 56.9 percent (37-65) from the field, including 6-of-19 from three-point range. The Huskers were also 20-of-27 (.741) at the free throw line. NU outrebounded Pepperdine, 45-32, for the game and won the turnover battle, 14-9.
The Waves finished just 38.9 percent from the floor, including just 27 percent in the second half. Pepperdine hit 37.5 percent of its threes but went 0-for-8 from long range after halftime, and the Waves were just 3-of-4 at the foul line.
Ea Shoushtari led Pepperdine with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Allie Green contributed 12 points and a team-high six rebounds. Kietra Wallace contributed 11 points and four boards.
In a high-scoring first half that featured lots of shot-making by both teams, Nebraska led 56-43 after leading by as many 18 points.
The Huskers hit a sizzling 68.8 percent (22-32) of their first-half shots, including 5-of-11 threes. NU also connected on 7-of-10 free throws. Cady and Theriot each scored 12 points to fuel the Huskers, while Jeffery added nine and Romeo pitched in seven off the bench.
The Waves hit 51.4 percent (18-35) of their shots, including a scorching 6-of-8 threes and their only free throw. Shoushtari led the Waves with 13 points despite picking up three first-half fouls.
The Huskers return to home action at Pinnacle Bank Arena tomorrow when they play host to Alcorn State. Tip-off between Nebraska and the Lady Braves is set for 5 p.m. Fans are encouraged to bring a new and unwrapped toy or a cash donation for the Marines Toys for Tots program.