Nebraska women’s basketball played the first of three exhibition games on its trip to Greece, starting off strong with a 101-49 win in Athens on Tuesday.
The Huskers scored 36 points in the first quarter and cruised from there against the Athens All Stars with the help of 14 made threes. They held the opposition to just 18 points in the second half while forcing 21 total turnovers in the game.
Three players were unavailable for Nebraska, leaving the team with 10 in the rotation. Junior guard Allison Weidner is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury last December, freshman forward Jessica Petrie recently played six games for Australia in the women’s FIBA U19 world cup and sophomore forward Maggie Mendelson’s absence likely relates to her also being on the volleyball team.
Of the players available, six scored in double-digits. That charge was led by Nebraska’s two veterans in the frontcourt, Alexis Markowski and Annika Stewart. The latter led the team with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while the former’s 18 points and 13 rebounds gave her a double-double. Markowski missed just one of her eight shot attempts.
These summer exhibitions can be used to experiment with different lineups, and that appeared to be the plan for Husker head coach Amy Williams. Nebraska’s starting lineup featured star players Jaz Shelley and Markowski alongside sophomore Callin Hake, junior Kendall Moriarty and freshman forward Natalie Potts. Every player played around 20 minutes, with none on the floor for less than 18.
With the exception of Petrie, this game and the next two provide the first opportunity to see the newcomers in action with the Huskers. The trio of Potts, freshman guard Logan Nissley and fifth-year transfer guard Darian White all made their mark in the contest, especially on the defensive end. They combined for 10 of the team’s 14 steals, led by both freshmen having four. White had two steals and otherwise filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Nissley, known as a sharpshooter, scored 10 points, shooting seven 3-pointers and making three. Potts was quieter in terms of scoring with three points, but tied Shelley with a team-high five assists. Nebraska shared the ball well overall, with 25 of its 37 makes coming off assists.
If there is any long-term takeaway from this exhibition, it’s likely a safe assumption that Nebraska will once again shoot plenty of threes in 2023-24. The Huskers launched 36 shots from deep in the game, accounting for nearly half of all their attempts. Last year, they led the Big Ten with just over 25 per game.
Nebraska’s next two exhibition games are Thursday and Monday in Patras and Crete, respectively. Both games will be played at 11 a.m. central time and be streamed for free on YouTube.
