Nebraska
Nebraska Women’s Basketball Preview: Minnesota: The Sequel
The Nebraska women’s basketball team closes regular-season home action when the Huskers play host to Minnesota Saturday afternoon in Lincoln. The Huskers will celebrate Senior Day for Jaz Shelley, Maddie Krull, Annika Stewart, Darian White and managers Emily Aden, Cameron Eisenhauer and Emme Pruit in postgame ceremonies. (I promise you I will be shedding tears)
Nebraska, which has won four of its last five games including a 75-50 win over Northwestern on Tuesday, will be looking to avenge a 62-58 loss at Minnesota (Jan. 14).
Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) vs Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten)
Saturday, February 24, 2024, 4 pm (CT) Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln,
NebraskaTickets: Huskers.com / 1-800-8-BIG-RED
Television: B1G+
Live Radio: Huskers Radio Network (3:30 p.m.)Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst)B107.3 FM (Lincoln), 590 AM (Omaha), Huskers.com, Huskers App
Events: Senior Day / Retro Day
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten – NCAA NET 30)
22 – Natalie Potts – 6’2 – Fr. – F/G – 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg
40 – Alexis Markowski – 6’3 – Jr. – C/F – 16.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg
1 – Jaz Shelley – 5’9 – Gr. – G – 12.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg
2 – Logan Nissley – 6’0 – Fr. – G – 6.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg
15 – Kendall Moriarty – 6’1 – Jr. – G – 3.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Off the Bench
0 – Darian White – 5’6 – Gr. – G – 7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
14 – Callin Hake – 5’9 – So. – G – 6.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
12 – Jessica Petrie – 6’2 – Fr. – F – 4.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg
21 – Annika Stewart – 6’3 – Sr. – F – 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
42 – Maddie Krull – 5’9 – Gr. – G – 2.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg
32 – Kendall Coley – 6’2 – Jr. – F – 2.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998)
Eighth Season at Nebraska (132-108); 17th Season Overall (325-217)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten – NCAA NET 51)
24 – Mallory Heyer – 6’1 – So. – F – 10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg
1 – Ayianna Johnson – 6’3 – Fr. – F – 3.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg
3 – Amaya Battle – 5’11 – So. – G – 10.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg
25 – Grace Grocholski – 5’10 – Fr. – G/F – 11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
30 – Janay Sanders – 5’11 – Gr. – G – 7.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Off the Bench
52 – Sophie Hart – 6’5 – Jr. – C – 10.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg
41 – Niamya Holloway – 6’0 – RFr. – F – 3.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg
5 – Maggie Czinano – 6’0 – Jr. – G – 2.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg
10 – Mara Braun (OUT) – 6’0 – So. – G – 17.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Head Coach: Dawn Plitzuweit (Michigan Tech, 1995)First Season at Minnesota (15-11); 17th Season Overall (380-152)
Scouting the Gophers
The Gophers were 14-4 and 4-3 in the Big Ten after a 69-50 win over Michigan State (Jan. 20), but after a disappointing loss at Wisconsin (Jan. 23), Minnesota lost sophomore star Mara Braun to a foot injury in a 73-68 loss at Illinois (Jan. 28). The Gophers are 1-5 without her with the only win coming against Northwestern (88-63, Feb. 17).
Without Braun, freshman Grace Grocholski has taken over as a primary scorer for the Gophers. Grocholski, who went scoreless in the first meeting with Nebraska, is averaging 14.0 points the last six games, including a career-high 27 in the win over Northwestern (Feb. 17) and 23 in a loss at Rutgers (Feb. 13). She has hit 19-of-33 threes (.576) over the past five games.
Amaya Battle is averaging 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 5.7 assists. She also leads the Gophers with 41 steals. She had 11 points, four rebounds and five assists in the first meeting this season against Nebraska.
Mallory Heyer, is averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds as Minnesota’s most consistent player. She led the Gophers with 16 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting with the Huskers.
Husker Report
Jaz Shelley needs five assists to reach 600 in her college career. Only three other player have reached 600 assists in their career; Lindsey Moore (699, 2010-13); Meggan Yedsena (696, 1991-94); Rachel Theriot (626, 2013-16).
Markowski is 10 rebounds shy of her second straight 300 rebound season, it would be just the 13th in school history. Markowski would become just the fifth Husker to record two 300 rebound seasons.
Markowski’s next double double will be her 17th of the season, moving her ahead of Nafeesah Brown (1993-94) for the second-highest season total in school history. It will also be Markowski’s 38th career double double, trailing only first-team All-Americans Kelsey Griffin (2006-10) and Jordan Hooper (2011-14) at 40.
Nebraska
Big Ten coaches give strange quotes about Nebraska football
Athlon Sports has released its annual quotes from anonymous Big Ten coaches about the upcoming college football season. After reviewing the quotes, it’s clear that the Big Ten’s coaches don’t think very highly of the Huskers and even made several strange statements about the current state of the program.
One coach criticized Nebraska’s handling of the quarterback situation. Opening day starter Dylan Raiola transferred after two years with the program. He transferred to Oregon, where he could redshirt in 2026 now that the Ducks’ starting quarterback, Dante Moore, is returning to Eugene next season.
In 22 career games at Nebraska, he threw for 4,819 yards, 31 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while completing 69.1% of his passes. The 2025 season was cut short after suffering an injury in a loss against USC. In nine games this season, Raiola threw for 2,000 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.
One coach believes Raiola’s departure could be the end for Nebraska football. The anonymous coach believes that Raiola was the glue that held Husker football together.
“They’re in a ton of denial with the quarterback situation. Dylan Raiola is as good as they get as a player and as a person; losing him, I thought he was their last hope. He was the pin that was holding that thing together.”
Nebraska will have a new opening day starter in 2026. The Huskers have a QB room that includes TJ Lateef, UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea and Virginia transfer Daniel Kaelin.
Colandrea comes to Nebraska following a breakout junior year with the Rebels. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native finished the 2025 season throwing for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a 65.9 completion percentage.
The former Rebels’ play earned him the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year award. Before UNLV, Colandrea played two seasons at Virginia. In 19 games, he totaled 4,083 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Another Big Ten Coach went after coach Matt Rhule, saying the Husker staff has too much turnover to maintain continuity.
“(Head coach) Matt Rhule has some great aspects. He can make you run through a wall, but there’s just always so much turnover with his staff. I know that it’s a tough environment for those coaches to be in. Rhule makes it like that on purpose because he doesn’t want you to get comfortable. I don’t want to say his model isn’t going to work, but I don’t know.”
Rhule is breaking in several new staff members in 2026. Geep Wade (offensive line), Rob Aurich (defensive coordinator) and Tyler Yelk (safeties coach) join the Huskers this season.
Nebraska opens the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the Ohio Bobcats visit Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time is set for 11 a.m. CT and the game can be seen on FS1.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
Nebraska
Miss Nebraska festivities kick off with opening ceremonies
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) -The Miss Nebraska festivities kicked off tonight at Venue 304 with opening ceremonies.
The week-long event began with a ceremony to give the delegates a chance to introduce themselves to the community before official competition begins.
Each contestant was joined alongside a young girl, where they had the opportunity to be given a crown and sash by a Miss Nebraska member.
Officials say the event is about inspiring young women across the state.
“What it does is it helps them really build that stage presence confidence, and it really allows them to see kind of what we’re all about. We’re more than crowns; we’re more than sashes, but really about building confidence in young women. And they get to see that, and they leave with that confidence after their week-long journey with their candidate,” said Audri Pelton-Johnson, co-director of Miss Nebraska.
The first night of official competition begins Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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Copyright 2026 KNOP. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Three-Time Nebraska State Champion Eje Kim Sends Commitment to Yale for 2027
Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.
Three-time Nebraska High School State champion Eje Kim has announced his verbal commitment to the admissions process at Yale University as a part of the Bulldogs 2027 recruiting class.
Kim wrote the following about his commitment.
I’m extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to the admissions process at Yale University! I want to thank my coaches, Pat, Miranda, Gaby, Randy, Katie, Uriah, and Emma for creating my love for swimming and pushing me to the limits. I also want to thank the Yale coaching staff, Jim, Kyle, Joey, and Dana for giving me this amazing opportunity. Thank you to my teammates, Mason, Mason, Ryan, Quinn, Bennett, and Nolan for making practice fun and becoming such good friends. Lastly, thank you to my parents. GO BULLDOGS! 🐶💙
Kim hails from Lincoln, Neb., where he represents Club Husker and Lincoln East High School. As a junior, Kim secured a pair of Nebraska State championship titles, winning both the 100 backstroke in 48.32 and the 100 fly in 47.95. As a sophomore, he claimed his first state championship title in the 100 back, clocking 49.73.
A few weeks after those championships, he raced at the Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, where he won the 50 fly in 21.63, and set a plethora of lifetime bests in the process, including the 50 free (21.22), 100 back (47.83), 200 back (1:44.17), and the 100 fly (47.81).
Best Times SCY:
- 100 Back: 47.83
- 200 Back: 1:44.17
- 100 Fly: 47.81
- 50 Free: 21.22
- 100 Free: 46.44
- 200 Free: 1:40.60
- 200 IM: 1:52.82
Kim is set to join a Yale men’s program that finished just under 200 points behind Ivy League Champions Princeton at the 2026 Men’s Ivy League Championships.
Based on Kim’s best times, he would have finished tied for 11th in the 200 back, 14th in the 100 back, and 20th in the 100 fly.
Kim’s immediate scoring ability is a major upside, and in the highly competitive Ivy League, Yale could use all of the points they can get to creep up to the top of the Ivy League.
With another year until he makes his collegiate debut, Kim still has plenty of time to build up his base times and make an even more significant impact on the Ivy League stage from year one.
Yale was productive in all of Kim’s events at the 2026 Ivy League Championships, including 51 points in the 100 back, 55 points in the 100 fly, and another 74 in the 200 back.
Kim joins Fin McLane, Charles Knoepp, Evan Pan-Wang, and Edward Zhang in Yale’s 2027 recruiting class.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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