SEASON REVIEW HAILIE SAMPLE SOPHOMORE l FORWARD FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS 108 | nebraskA women'S BASkETBALL | 2012-13 Young Huskers MAkE History in First BIg Ten Season herself from a Big 12 All-Freshman selection into an All- America contender. After the team returned for the fall semester, Nebraska's youngsters grew closer together while Yori tried to overcome her own injury. "We were really fortunate to have that time in Europe to come together as a team," Yori said. "With my health situation and limitations in the fall, we would have been way behind entering a typical season. Instead, we were probably several months ahead. We got lucky, but we also made our own luck." As Yori battled her way back to the floor, her players formed a similar fighting mentality. The Huskers faced every challenge as a group, learning as a team and growing together. By the time the season started in early November, the Huskers were ready to show how far they had come in a short time. After opening the regular season with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State, the Huskers faced their first true test against No. 23 USC. Hooper made a statement on the national stage with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Moore added 22 points of her own to go along with six assists. True freshmen starters Emily Cady and Hailie Sample both added 10 boards, as Nebraska grabbed 66 rebounds against the Trojans. The 66 boards marked the highest total ever by a Husker team against a Division I opponent, as NU owned a plus-26 rebound margin on the night. Lindsey Moore (left), Emily Cady (center) and Jordan Hooper (right) captured All-Big Ten honors in 2011-12, as the Big "Coming into the season, we thought rebounding Red's "Big Three" made up the nucleus of a consistent starting five for all of Nebraska's 33 games in a 24-9 season. might be our greatest weakness, and at times it was during the year," Yori said. "But our players made a Nebraska spent the 2011-12 season proving itself to new conference opponent every night of the season. commitment to working hard and getting better every the women's basketball world. The Huskers, who produced Nebraska just wasn't good enough -- at least that day and for the most part, we turned that weakness the second-most victories in school history with a 24-9 seemed to be the preseason opinion of the college into one of the strengths of our team. That is no small overall record that included a 10-6 mark in their first Big basketball community before NU's first Big Ten campaign. accomplishment." Ten campaign, advanced to their fourth NCAA Tournament "The Big Ten doesn't really do a true preseason poll, The Huskers carried the momentum of four home in the past six years. but I would guess that the coaches would have picked wins with them to Florida, where they defeated a Florida NU also finished No. 17 in the final Associated Press us 10th or 11th if there was one," Yori said. "We knew A&M team that went on to win 22 games. Following the Poll, marking the school's second top-25 final national we had some great senior leaders, but we weren't sure win over FAMU, the Huskers knocked off USA Today No. ranking in the last three seasons. they could play. We knew we had some really talented 25 and perennial ACC power Florida State, 66-63, on the Junior point guard Lindsey Moore and sophomore players in Jordan and Lindsey who worked really hard Seminoles' home court to improve to 6-0. forward Jordan Hooper burst onto the national landscape in the offseason. We knew we had some talented young Moore had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists as national player-of-the-year and All-America freshmen, but we didn't know how it would all fit together. and three steals, while Hooper managed 12 points and candidates, while Emily Cady proved herself as one of We just had a lot of unknowns." eight boards against FSU All-American Cierra Bravard. the Big Ten's best freshmen in 2011-12. Nebraska was coming off an injury-ravaged season Cady stepped up with 14 points and five rebounds, while Hooper, who led NU with 18.9 points and a Big Ten- when the Huskers finished last in the Big 12. NU's roster freshman guard Brandi Jeffery pumped in 12 points and leading 9.3 rebounds per game, finished as an honorable- featured only 12 total players and just two seniors. grabbed three steals. Both freshmen joined Moore in mention All-American by the Associated Press while Burke was challenged by injuries throughout her making huge plays down the stretch in the win. earning first-team WBCA All-Region 6 honors. She also career and would manage multiple injuries again in The Huskers suffered their first loss of the season three became Nebraska's first first-team All-Big Ten selection. 2011-12. In fact, during the Huskers' 2011 summer tour nights later as they continued their road trip at Georgia Along the way, Hooper earned spots on both the Wade and of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, Burke played sparingly. Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Yellow Jackets Naismith National Player-of-the-Year watch lists. NU's other senior, Harleen Sidhu, underwent offseason went on to the NCAA Sweet 16. Moore, who added 15.7 points, 5.1 assists and 2.2 knee surgery and did not play at all in Europe. Nebraska responded from its first loss by reeling off steals per game, joined Hooper on the Naismith list and One of the Huskers' two juniors, Meghin Williams, had five straight wins to close non-conference play, including was one of eight finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award battled a foot injury her first two years and was limited in wins over a pair of conference champions and 2012 NCAA presented to the nation's top point guard. Moore added offseason training. Tournament qualifiers Creighton and South Dakota State. second-team All-Big Ten honors. While the Huskers had an experienced floor general in Against SDSU, Hooper poured in 30 points and grabbed Cady, who averaged 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per Moore and a rising star in Hooper, they lacked a proven 11 rebounds, while Moore added 27 points and six assists. game, ranked among the top six freshmen in the Big Ten scorer in the post. The tallest player and the only center The stretch also featured a 97-88 double-overtime win in every major statistical category on her way to earning on the roster was 6-3 sophomore Adrianna Maurer, who at Northern Arizona. Hooper had 32 points and Moore 31 a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She added played just 190 minutes in 2010-11. Two redshirts and against the Lumberjacks to become the first teammates honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from the media. four true freshmen filled out the 2011-12 roster. in Husker history to score 30 points in the same game. Senior guard Kaitlyn Burke, a candidate for the Lowe's In addition to the injuries and youth among the Unfortunately, the win over NAU would be the last Senior CLASS Award and Nebraska's Student-Athlete players, Husker Coach Connie Yori was sidelined for six appearance by Nebraska's lone center, Adrianna Maurer, Advisory Committee President, proved herself as one of weeks after NU's return from Scandinavia in August. who succumbed to a back injury that eventually required the nation's top student-athlete leaders by helping the Complications to a relatively routine knee surgery left season-ending surgery. Huskers advance to their first Big Ten title game. Yori in the hospital for nearly all of September. When she At 11-1 overall and No. 23 in the AP Top 25, the Nebraska's success came without any preseason returned for the start of practice in early October, Yori was Huskers headed to University Park, Pa., to face No. 16 hype. The Huskers weren't big enough to win against the limited in both her time and physical ability on the court. Penn State in NU's first-ever Big Ten Conference game. traditional powerhouse teams in the Big Ten. They weren't The Huskers had used 10 days of summer practice and Hooper powered the Huskers again, scoring 30 points for experienced enough to find success against the best the 11-day trip to Europe to bond in a big way, developing the third time in a four-game stretch, finishing with 31 teams in the conference. They weren't healthy enough, outstanding team chemistry while Burke, Sidhu and Moore points and 12 boards in NU's 71-63 win over the eventual strong enough or tough enough to take the physical established themselves as leaders. Hooper also showed an NCAA Sweet 16 participants. pounding of a Big Ten campaign that would feature a expanded game at both ends of the court, transforming REVIEW | HOOPER, MOORE, CADY CLAIM ALL-BIG TEN HONORS IN 2011-12 HUSkERS.COM | 109 NebraskA Claims 24 Wins, Races to NCAA Tournament In just over a three-week span in December, the With the injuries mounting, the Huskers tried to dig as the Big Ten's hottest team, reeling off eight straight Huskers had gone from unknown and unproven to deep in their first-ever road trip to Michigan State on Feb.