After a 90-41 exhibition win over Wayne State, the Nebraska women's basketball team was ready to tip off the season Monday, hosting the San Jose State Spartans from the Mountain West Conference. In front of the second-largest opening-day crowd in school history, the Huskers led wire-to-wire and won their eighth-straight season opener and improved to 50-3 all-time in home season openers.
Led by Britt Prince's 23 points and Amiah Hargrove's 15, Nebraska utilized almost its entire roster as head coach Amy Williams substituted players in and out to give them time and experience with one another. The two who did not play, Arek Angui and Logan Nissley, sat out due to lingering health issues and are expected to play soon.
Early non-conference matchups are great opportunities for teams to learn a lot about themselves and where they can continue to grow. Read on for some key observations following the 81-54 win for the Huskers.
At Big Ten Media Days, head coach Amy Williams called out the team's rebounding. "We pulled up every offensive rebound that we gave up a year ago and tried to address, statistically speaking, how many times that it was more of a defensive rotation problem, we couldn't keep the ball in front, we were rotating over, pulling ourselves out of rebounding position. How much of it was a technique problem? How much was an effort or desire problem? It's something that we spent a lot of time as a coaching staff analyzing how can we get better in the rebounding, finishing defensive positions with rebounds."
Last season, Nebraska averaged 33.1 rebounds per game, with 10.25 offensive rpg and 22.8 defensive rpg. In Big Ten play, the Huskers averaged 29.4 rpg, 9.2 offensive, and 20.2 defensive rpg. During their six-game losing streak, Nebraska averaged 28.3 total rebounds per game but the opposition averaged 35.5. It gets worse when you look at defensive rebound numbers: 18 per game for the Huskers, 25 per game for their opponents.
It's only the first game. But Nebraska tallied 44 rebounds against San Jose State, 25 of them defensive. Prince had 8 rebounds (all defensive), Hargrove had 9 (mostly offensive) and Edessa Noyan
continued her impressive game by pulling down another 7 (mostly offensive).
The focus on rebounding will face stiffer challenges, especially as the Huskers enter the extremely competitive and physical Big Ten schedule.
Natalie Potts take shot against San Jose State. | Nebraska Athletics
After a nearly two-year hiatus from collegiate basketball following an ACL injury, no one was more ready for Natalie Potts to get back on the court than Natalie Potts. In her last full season, she averaged 10.2 points per game at a 48.9% field goal efficiency. But it was her spectacular defense that really earned her the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, 33 steals and a team-high 26 blocks. Potts' length and athleticism made her an absolute menace on defense and fans of the sport haven't forgotten it, since she was named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Preseason Watch List.
In the exhibition game, her first full competitive game since November 2024, Potts played a limited 17 minutes but still scored 12 points and had four steals. Any lingering questions about what she would look like once she came back didn't have to wait much longer.
Potts came off the bench with about 7 minutes to play in the first quarter and instantly settled into her familiar style of stifling defense, disrupting the San Jose State shooters and forcing turnovers. She contributed 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and a block in her 20 minutes of play. Williams will likely continue to ease Potts back into the rotation, but don't be surprised to see her as a part of the starting five soon.
Britt Prince chases down a San Jose State turnover. | Nebraska Athletics
Nebraska opened the game forcing a turnover, which led to Hargrove's first layup at the 9:45 mark in the first quarter. From there, San Jose State struggled to maintain possession against a gritty Husker defense. From travels to mistimed passes, Nebraska players were able to pester the Spartan's offense and take advantage of their opponent's mistakes.
The worst - or best, depending on how you read it - of the turnover party came in the third quarter. After Prince turned the ball over on an offensive foul, the Nebraska went on a 10-0 turnover run and scored 14 points off those plays alone. Overall, the Huskers scored 37 points off the 32 forced turnovers and turned the ball over just 14 times.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/nebraska as Three Key Takeaways from Nebraska Women's Basketball's Season-Opening Win .
