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 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.

Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
2024–25 Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team
University	University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Founded	1974 (1974)
Athletic director	Troy Dannen
Head coach	Amy Williams (9th season)
Conference	Big Ten
Location	Lincoln, Nebraska
Arena	Pinnacle Bank Arena (capacity: 15,500)
Nickname	Cornhuskers
Colors	Scarlet and cream
Uniforms
Home 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 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. The Huskers struggled through Yori's first season, finishing 8–20 and last in the Big 12. 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. 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. 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.

Coaches

Coaching history

No.	Coach	Tenure	Overall	Conference	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

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

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. The team has finished in the top 25 in average home attendance every year since moving to Pinnacle Bank Arena. 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	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

• Nicole Kubik – Phoenix Mercury (2000–01)
• Anna DeForge – Detroit Shock (2000, 2009), Phoenix Mercury (2003–05), Indiana Fever (2006–07), Minnesota Lynx (2008)
• Danielle Page – Connecticut Sun (2008)
• Kelsey Griffin – Connecticut Sun (2010–14)
• Cory Montgomery - New York Liberty (2010)
• Lindsey Moore – Minnesota Lynx (2013–14)
• Jordan Hooper – Tulsa Shock (2014–15), Dallas Wings (2016), Connecticut Sun (2017), Atlanta Dream (2017), Chicago Sky (2017)
• Yvonne Turner – Phoenix Mercury (2017–19)
• Jaz Shelley – Phoenix Mercury (2024)

NCAA tournament results

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

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
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

External links

• Official website