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Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball

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Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
2024–25 Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Athletic directorTroy Dannen
Head coachAmy Williams (9th season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
ArenaPinnacle Bank Arena
(capacity: 15,500)
NicknameCornhuskers
ColorsScarlet and cream[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
2010, 2013
NCAA tournament second round
1993, 1998, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2024
Conference tournament champions
2014
Conference regular season champions
1988, 2010

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The program became a varsity sport in 1975 and has since made fifteen appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen twice. NU's longest-tenured head coach was Connie Yori, who led the Cornhuskers to a record-breaking 32–2 season in 2009–10.

The team has been coached by former Cornhusker player Amy Williams since 2016.

History

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Early years

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Nebraska's women's basketball program started as a club sport in 1970 and became a varsity sport five years later. In its first season, George Nicodemus led the team to a 22–9 record and the second round of the AIAW Tournament. NU cycled through five head coaches over the next fifteen years until Angela Beck was hired in 1986. In 1988, Beck led the Huskers to a Big Eight title and their first NCAA Tournament. Nebraska returned to the tournament two other times under Beck until she left the program in 1996. Paul Sanderford was hired to replace Beck and he took the Cornhuskers to the tournament in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Connie Yori (2002–16)

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When Sanderford resigned due to health concerns following the 2002 season, NU hired Connie Yori from Creighton to lead the program.[2] The Huskers struggled through Yori's first season, finishing 8–20 and last in the Big 12.[3] In Yori's second season, NU improved to 18–12 and was invited to play in the WNIT, the program's first postseason tournament since 2000. Yori coached the Huskers to the best season in school history in 2009–10. Led by national player of the year finalist Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska started 30–0 and finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the country, the highest ranking in school history. NU ended the year 32–2, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time, and Yori was named national coach of the year. Nebraska joined the Big Ten the following season. Yori's program won the Big Ten tournament in 2014.

Yori resigned in 2016 following an athletic department investigation into reports that she mistreated her players.[4] She left Nebraska as the program's all-time wins leader, coaching two AP All-Americans and twenty-one all-conference selections during her fourteen-year tenure.

Amy Williams (2016–present)

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Following Yori's departure, Nebraska hired Amy Williams to lead the program. Williams, who played at NU from 1994 to 1998, began her head coaching career at NAIA Rogers State, starting the program from scratch.[5] She spent four years at South Dakota, guiding the Coyotes to two Summit League titles, an NCAA Tournament berth, and the 2016 WNIT championship. After a 7–22 debut season at NU, Williams led Nebraska to a 21–11 record in 2017–18. The Cornhuskers tied for third place in the Big Ten and Williams was named the conference's coach of the year.[6]

Coaches

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Coaching history

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No. Coach Tenure Overall Conference[a] Accomplishments
1 Jan Callahan 1974–75 9–7 (.563)
2 George Nicodemus 1975–77 42–25 (.627)
3 Marcia Walker 1977–78 18–11 (.621)
4 Lorrie Gallagher 1978–80 46–30 (.605)
5 Colleen Matsuhara 1980–83 46–44 (.511) 5–9 (.357)
6 Kelly Hill 1983–86 37–47 (.440) 15–27 (.357)
7 Angela Beck 1986–96 191–128 (.599) 80–76 (.513) Big Eight champion (1988)
8 Paul Sanderford 1997–2002 88–69 (.561) 37–43 (.463)
9 Connie Yori 2002–16 280–166 (.628) 121–107 (.531) Big 12 champion (2010)
Big Ten tournament champion (2014)
10 Amy Williams 2016– 114–97 (.540) 58–65 (.472)

Coaching staff

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Name Position First year Alma mater
Amy Williams Head coach 2016 Nebraska
Julian Assibey Assistant coach 2023 William Penn
Jessica Keller Assistant coach 2022 Quincy
Tandem Mays Assistant coach 2016 Tulsa

Pinnacle Bank Arena

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Main article: Pinnacle Bank Arena

The program plays its home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena, a $181 million multi-use facility completed in 2013. The arena, located in Lincoln's Haymarket District, has a listed capacity of 15,500 for basketball games.[7] The team has finished in the top 25 in average home attendance every year since moving to Pinnacle Bank Arena.[8] Prior to the opening of Pinnacle Bank Arena, Nebraska's men's and women's basketball teams played their home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Players

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Retired numbers

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No. Player[9] Position Career Year retired
23 Kelsey Griffin F 2005–10 2014
30 Maurtice Ivy G 1984–88 2011
35 Jordan Hooper F 2010-14 2024
51 Karen Jennings F 1989–93 1994

Huskers in the WNBA

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NCAA tournament results

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The Cornhuskers have appeared in the NCAA tournament sixteen times with a combined record of 9–16.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1988 5 W Second round (4 W) USC L 100–82
1993 6 W First round
Second round		 (11 W) San Diego
(3 W) USC		 W 81–58
L 78–60
1996 9 W First round (8 W) Colorado State L 66–62
1998 9 E First round
Second round		 (8 E) New Mexico
(1 E) Old Dominion		 W 76–59
L 75–60
1999 11 W First round (6 W) Kentucky L 98–92
2000 12 ME First round (5 ME) Boston College L 93–76
2007 9 First round (8) Temple L 64–61
2008 8 First round
Second round		 (9) Xavier
(1) Maryland		 W 61–58
L 76–64
2010 1 First round
Second round
Regional semifinals		 (16) Northern Iowa
(8) UCLA
(4) Kentucky		 W 83–44
W 83–70
L 76–67
2012 6 First round (11) Kansas L 57–49
2013 6 First round
Second round
Regional semifinals		 (11) Chattanooga
(3) Texas A&M
(2) Duke		 W 72–59
W 74–63
L 53–45
2014 4 First round
Second round		 (13) Fresno State
(12) BYU		 W 74–55
L 80–76
2015 9 First round (8) Syracuse L 72–69
2018 10 First round (7) Arizona State L 73–62
2022 8 First round (9) Gonzaga L 68–55
2024 6 First round
Second round		 (11) Texas A&M
(3) Oregon State		 W 61–59
L 51-61

Season-by-season results

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Regular season champion Tournament champion
Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Independent (1974–1982)
1974–75 Jan Callahan 9–7
1975–76 George Nicodemus 21–9 NWIT Fifth Place
1976–77 21–16
1977–78 Marcia Walker 18–11
1978–79 Lorrie Gallagher 23–13 AIAW Regional
1979–80 23–17 AIAW Regional
1980–81 Colleen Matsuhara 18–13 AIAW Regional
1981–82 14–17
Big Eight Conference (1982–1996)
1982–83 Colleen Matsuhara 14–14 5–9 5th
1983–84 Kelly Hill 16–12 6–8 6th
1984–85 10–18 5–9 6th
1985–86 11–17 4–10 4th
1986–87 Angela Beck 16–13 8–6 4th
1987–88 22–7 11–3 1st NCAA Division I Second Round
1988–89 14–14 5–9 7th
1989–90 10–18 2–12 T–7th
1990–91 17–11 8–6 3rd
1991–92 21–11 9–5 3rd NWIT Fourth Place
1992–93 23–8 10–4 2nd NCAA Division I Second Round
1993–94 17–13 7–7 4th
1994–95 13–14 4–10 7th
1995–96 19–10 8–6 T–3rd NCAA Division I First Round
Big 12 Conference (1996–2011)
1996–97 Angela Beck 19–9 8–8 6th
1997–98 Paul Sanderford 23–10 11–5 T–3rd NCAA Division I Second Round
1998–99 21–12 8–8 T–5th NCAA Division I First Round
1999–00 18–13 10–6 5th NCAA Division I First Round
2000–01 12–18 4–12 10th
2001–02 14–16 4–12 11th
2002–03 Connie Yori 8–20 1–15 12th
2003–04 18–12 7–9 T–7th WNIT Second Round
2004–05 18–14 8–8 T–6th WNIT Second Round
2005–06 19–13 8–8 T–6th WNIT Quarterfinals
2006–07 22–10 10–6 T–4th NCAA Division I First Round
2007–08 21–12 9–7 6th NCAA Division I Second Round
2008–09 15–16 6–10 T–7th WNIT First Round
2009–10 32–2 16–0 1st NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
2010–11 13–18 3–13 12th
Big Ten Conference (2011–present)
2011–12 Connie Yori 24–9 10–6 6th NCAA Division I First Round
2012–13 25–9 12–4 2nd NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
2013–14 26–7 12–4 3rd NCAA Division I Second Round
2014–15 21–11 10–8 7th NCAA Division I First Round
2015–16 18–13 9–9 T–7th WNIT First Round
2016–17 Amy Williams 7–22 3–13 T–11th
2017–18 21–11 11–5 T–3rd NCAA Division I First Round
2018–19 14–16 9–9 T–6th
2019–20 17–13 7–11 10th Canceled[b]
2020–21 13–13 9–10 9th WNIT Second Round
2021–22 24–9 11–7 6th NCAA Division I First Round
2022–23 18–15 8–10 8th WNIT Super 16
2023–24 23-12 11–7 5th NCAA Division I Second Round

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Notes

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  1. ^ Nebraska competed as an independent until 1982
  2. ^ Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

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  1. ^ "The Power of Color" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "NU women's baseketball coach resigns". dailynebraskan.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  3. ^ "Connie Yori". Huskers.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  4. ^ Star, Brian Rosenthal | Lincoln Journal Star, Brent Wagner | Lincoln Journal. "Yori out as Nebraska women's basketball coach". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2016-04-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Amy Williams - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site". www.huskers.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15.
  6. ^ "Big Ten Womens Basketball Honors Announced on BTN :: Big Ten Conference". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  7. ^ "Pinnacle Bank Arena :: History". www.pinnaclebankarena.com. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  8. ^ "Women's Basketball Attendance". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  9. ^ Nebraska Women's Basketball History
  10. ^ "Media Guide". University of Nebraska. Retrieved 10 Aug 2013.
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