Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
2023–24 Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
Founded1974 (1974)
Athletic directorTrev Alberts
Head coachAmy Williams (8th 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
NCAA tournament appearances
1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022
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

Early years

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)

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)

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

Coaching history

No. Coach Tenure Overall Conference[lower-alpha 1] Accomplishments
1 Jan Callahan1974–759–7 (.563)
2 George Nicodemus1975–7742–25 (.627)
3 Marcia Walker1977–7818–11 (.621)
4 Lorrie Gallagher1978–8046–30 (.605)
5 Colleen Matsuhara1980–8346–44 (.511)5–9 (.357)
6 Kelly Hill1983–8637–47 (.440)15–27 (.357)
7 Angela Beck1986–96191–128 (.599)80–76 (.513)Big Eight champion (1988)
8 Paul Sanderford1997–200288–69 (.561)37–43 (.463)
9 Connie Yori2002–16280–166 (.628)121–107 (.531)Big 12 champion (2010)
Big Ten tournament champion (2014)
10 Amy Williams2016–114–97 (.540)58–65 (.472)

Coaching staff

Name Position First year Alma mater
Amy WilliamsHead coach2016Nebraska
Julian AssibeyAssistant coach2023William Penn
Jessica KellerAssistant coach2022Quincy
Tandem MaysAssistant coach2016Tulsa

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

Retired numbers

No. Player[9] Position Career Year retired
23Kelsey GriffinF2005–102014
30Maurtice IvyG1984–882011
51Karen JenningsF1989–931994

Huskers in the WNBA

NCAA tournament results

The Cornhuskers have appeared in the NCAA tournament fifteen times with a combined record of 8–15.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
19885 WSecond round(4 W) USCL 100–82
19936 WFirst round
Second round		(11 W) San Diego
(3 W) USC		W 81–58
L 78–60
19969 WFirst round(8 W) Colorado StateL 66–62
19989 EFirst round
Second round		(8 E) New Mexico
(1 E) Old Dominion		W 76–59
L 75–60
199911 WFirst round(6 W) KentuckyL 98–92
200012 MEFirst round(5 ME) Boston CollegeL 93–76
20079First round(8) TempleL 64–61
20088First round
Second round		(9) Xavier
(1) Maryland		W 61–58
L 76–64
20101First round
Second round
Regional semifinals		(16) Northern Iowa
(8) UCLA
(4) Kentucky		W 83–44
W 83–70
L 76–67
20126First round(11) KansasL 57–49
20136First round
Second round
Regional semifinals		(11) Chattanooga
(3) Texas A&M
(2) Duke		W 72–59
W 74–63
L 53–45
20144First round
Second round		(13) Fresno State
(12) BYU		W 74–55
L 80–76
20159First round(8) SyracuseL 72–69
201810First round(7) Arizona StateL 73–62
20228First round(9) GonzagaL 68–55

Season-by-season results

Regular season champion Tournament champion
Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Independent (1974–1982)
1974–75Jan Callahan9–7
1975–76George Nicodemus21–9NWIT Fifth Place
1976–7721–16
1977–78Marcia Walker18–11
1978–79Lorrie Gallagher23–13AIAW Regional
1979–8023–17AIAW Regional
1980–81Colleen Matsuhara18–13AIAW Regional
1981–8214–17
Big Eight Conference (1982–1996)
1982–83Colleen Matsuhara14–145–95th
1983–84Kelly Hill16–126–86th
1984–8510–185–96th
1985–8611–174–104th
1986–87Angela Beck16–138–64th
1987–8822–711–31stNCAA Division I Second Round
1988–8914–145–97th
1989–9010–182–12T–7th
1990–9117–118–63rd
1991–9221–119–53rdNWIT Fourth Place
1992–9323–810–42ndNCAA Division I Second Round
1993–9417–137–74th
1994–9513–144–107th
1995–9619–108–6T–3rdNCAA Division I First Round
Big 12 Conference (1996–2011)
1996–97Angela Beck19–98–86th
1997–98Paul Sanderford23–1011–5T–3rdNCAA Division I Second Round
1998–9921–128–8T–5thNCAA Division I First Round
1999–0018–1310–65thNCAA Division I First Round
2000–0112–184–1210th
2001–0214–164–1211th
2002–03Connie Yori8–201–1512th
2003–0418–127–9T–7thWNIT Second Round
2004–0518–148–8T–6thWNIT Second Round
2005–0619–138–8T–6thWNIT Quarterfinals
2006–0722–1010–6T–4thNCAA Division I First Round
2007–0821–129–76thNCAA Division I Second Round
2008–0915–166–10T–7thWNIT First Round
2009–1032–216–01stNCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
2010–1113–183–1312th
Big Ten Conference (2011–present)
2011–12Connie Yori24–910–66thNCAA Division I First Round
2012–1325–912–42ndNCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
2013–1426–712–43rdNCAA Division I Second Round
2014–1521–1110–87thNCAA Division I First Round
2015–1618–139–9T–7thWNIT First Round
2016–17Amy Williams7–223–13T–11th
2017–1821–1111–5T–3rdNCAA Division I First Round
2018–1914–169–9T–6th
2019–2017–137–1110thCanceled[lower-alpha 2]
2020–2113–139–109th
2021–2224–911–76thNCAA Division I First Round
2022–2318–158–108thWNIT Super 16

[11]

Notes

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

References

  1. ↑ Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide (PDF). July 1, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  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. ↑ "Huskers in the WNBA". Huskers.com. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  11. ↑ "Media Guide". University of Nebraska. Retrieved 10 Aug 2013.
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