On Monday, Nebraska women’s basketball player Alexis Markowski was named Freshman of the Week from the Big Ten, her third such honor of the season with the first two coming on Nov. 29 and Dec. 20. On Tuesday, the Lincoln Pius X graduate hauled in another accolade.
Markowski was named the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association. In two games last week against ranked opponents in No. 8 Michigan and No. 22 Iowa, which were the first starts of her young career, Markowski averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting an efficient 68% (13-of-19) from the field. On the season, the 6-foot-3 forward is averaging 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Markowski, the 2021 Nebraska High School Player of the Year and two-time Class A state champ, got the first start of her career last Tuesday against Michigan due to an injury to forward Bella Cravens. Markowski provided a jolt of energy to the Huskers’ lineup by scoring a career-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on a night she played a career-high 27 minutes. The win over the Wolverines was the Huskers’ first against a top-10 opponent since 2014. The 21-point margin of the win tied the largest in school history by a Husker women’s basketball team over a top-10 foe.
“I just really felt like she took advantage of an incredible opportunity and she was the one on the sideline that I could just hear her voice talking about, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ and just being gritty and tough,” Nebraska head coach Amy Williams said of Markowski after the Michigan game. “She just really believes. I love that spirit and I love having her as a Husker.”
In a loss to No. 22 Iowa on Sunday, Markowski poured in 14 points and eight boards in 18 minutes.
Markowski is shooting 64% (46-of-71) at the free-throw line this season and is even showing she can be a threat from behind the arc, making 3-of-5 3-point attempts.
From day one, Williams was impressed with the drive that Markowski had. Before the season, Williams said she had just finished up individual meetings with each player, and noted Markowski’s was one of her favorite player meetings of all time.
“At least 15 times in that meeting she said, ‘I just want to win,’ and she means it,” Williams said. “She’s a very competitive young lady and wants to do whatever she can do to help our team win. And it doesn’t matter if it’s in a rebounding drill in practice or if it’s going to be against Maryland in Big Ten play.”
Nebraska (13-2 overall, 2-2 in Big Ten play) is back in action on Thursday as it travels to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers (12-2, 4-0), the Huskers’ third consecutive game against a ranked opponent. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m., and fans can watch on the Big Ten Network.
