Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball

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 14 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.

Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
2019–20 Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
Head coachAmy Williams (4th season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
ArenaPinnacle Bank Arena
(Capacity: 15,500)
NicknameCornhuskers
ColorsScarlet and Cream[1]
         
Uniforms
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
2010, 2013
NCAA Tournament Second round
1993, 1998, 2008, 2010, 2013
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018
Conference Tournament Champions
2014
Conference Regular Season Champions
1988, 2010

The team is currently coached by former player Amy Williams.

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 15 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 21 all-conference selections during her 14-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 Accomplishments
1 Jan Callahan1974–759–7 (.563)
2 George Nicodemus1975–7742–25 (.627)WNIT (1976)
3 Marcia Walker1977–7818–11 (.621)
4 Lorrie Gallagher1978–8046–30 (.605)AIAW Tournament (1979,1980)
5 Colleen Matsuhara1980–8346–44 (.711)5–9 (.357)AIAW Tournament (1981)
6 Kelly Hill1983–8637–47 (.440)15–27 (.357)
7 Angela Beck1986–96191–128 (.599)80–76 (.513)NCAA Tournament (1988,1993,1996)
NWIT (1992)
Big Eight champion (1988)
8 Paul Sanderford1997–200288–69 (.561)37–43 (.463)NCAA Tournament (1998–2000)
9 Connie Yori2002–16280–166 (.628)121–107 (.531)NCAA Tournament (2007,2008,2010,2012–15)
NWIT (2004–06,2009,2016)
Big 12 champion (2010)
Big Ten Tournament champion (2014)
10 Amy Williams2016–59–60 (.496)30–38 (.441)NCAA Tournament (2018)

Coaching staff
Name Position First year Alma mater
Amy WilliamsHead coach2016Nebraska
Tom GoehleAssistant coach2016Augustana
Chuck LoveAssistant coach2016Northwestern Oklahoma State
Tandem MaysAssistant coach2016Tulsa
Stuart HartStrength coach2017Saint Leo

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

Season-by-season results
Conference champion Conference tournament champion
Year Coach Overall Conf. 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 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 Second Round
1993–9417–137–74th
1994–9513–144–107th
1995–9619–108–6T–3rdNCAA First Round
Big 12 Conference (1996–2011)
1996–97Angela Beck19–98–86th
1997–98Paul Sanderford23–1011–5T–3rdNCAA Second Round
1998–9921–128–8T–5thNCAA First Round
1999–0018–1310–65thNCAA First Round
2000–0112–184–1210th
2001–0214–164–1211th
2002–03Connie Yori8–201–1512th
2003–0418–127–9T–7thWNIT Sixteen
2004–0518–148–8T–6thWNIT Sixteen
2005–0619–138–8T–6thWNIT Quarterfinals
2006–0722–1010–6T–4thNCAA First Round
2007–0821–129–76thNCAA Second Round
2008–0915–166–10T–7thWNIT First Round
2009–1032–216–01stNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–1113–183–1312th
Big Ten Conference (2011–present)
2011–12Connie Yori24–910–66thNCAA First Round
2012–1325–912–42ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013–1426–712–43rdNCAA Second Round
2014–1521–1110–87thNCAA First Round
2015–1618–139–9T–7thWNIT First Round
2016–17Amy Williams7–223–13T–11th
2017–1821–1111–5T–3rdNCAA First Round
2018–1914–169–9T–6rd
2019–2017–137–1110thCanceled

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References
  1. The Power of Color (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. July 1, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  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.
  5. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=210881343
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-03-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  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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