Nebraska Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament Game Day vs. Oregon State
No. 6 Nebraska Women’s Basketball is dancing into the next round of the NCAA Tournament. In the round of 32, they face No. 3 Oregon State on the Beavers’ home court in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Huskers are aiming to advance to their third NCAA Sweet 16 in program history. If they do so, NU will play in Albany, New York.
Nebraska captured their first NCAA tournament win since 2014 with a 61-59 win over No. 11 Texas A&M in the first round. Oregon State dominated No. 14 Eastern Washington 73-51 to advance.
Here is what to know about the matchup:
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Who, What, Where, When
No. 6 Nebraska Cornhuskers (23-11, 11-7 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Oregon State (25-7, 12-6 Pac-12)
Sunday, March 24, 2024 – 3:00 p.m. CT
Gill Coliseum – Corvallis, Oregon (9,300)
TV: ESPN
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Internet: NCAA March Madness App
Nebraska Projected Starters
| Natalie Potts | F/G | Fr. | 6-2 | Big Ten Freshman of the Year by coaches and unanimous All-Freshman Team selection. Averages 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds per game |
| Alexis Markowski | C/F | Jr. | 6-3 | 2023-24 All-Big Ten Second Team pick. 2022-23 First Team pick. Averages 13.5 points, 5.6 assists per game. Team-leading 82 three-pointers with 34 percent from range. |
| Jaz Shelley | G | Sr. | 5-9 | 2023-24 All-Big Ten Second Team pick. 2022-23 First Team pick. Averages 13.5 points, 5.6 assists per game. Team-leading 82 three-pointers with 34 percentage from range. |
| Logan Nissley | G | Fr. | 6-0 | Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick. Had 14 points and four three-pointers in win over Texas A&M. Averages 7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. |
| Kendall Moriarty | G | Jr. | 6-1 | 2023-24 All-Big Ten First Team selection. Her 40 career double-doubles tied for first in Nebraska history. Averages a team-high 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds per game. |
Oregon State Projected Starters:
| Raegan Beers | F | So. | 6-4 | Third Team AP All-American, two-time All-Pac-12 selection, All-Pac-12 team. Leads the team with 17.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Injured right ankle in first round, expected to play on Sunday. |
| Timea Gardiner | F | Fr. | 6-3 | Pac-12 Sixth Player-of-the-Year. All-Pac-12 team, Averages 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds per game. Added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists vs. Eastern Washington |
| Donovyn Hunter | G | Fr. | 6-0 | All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention. Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Averages 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds per game. |
| AJ Marotte | G | Jr. | 6-1 | Averages 5.4 points per game and 1.9 rebounds. Is 14-for-14 from free-throw line. |
| Talia von Oelhoffen | G | Jr. | 5-11 | Two-time All-Pac-12 team selection. Adds 10.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on average. Has 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. |
Storylines to watch:
Shelley familiar with Oregon State, Oregon:
Husker guard Jaz Shelley started her college basketball career at Oregon. She was with the Ducks for two seasons but three at Nebraska. Oregon went 3-2 against the Beavers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Shelley said spending time in Oregon has been “a full-circle moment” for her. Although her college career began in Oregon, she doesn’t want it to end there.
“Oregon State is a really high IQ team, well-coached team,” Shelley said on Saturday. “They have an insane big that (Alexis Markowski) is about to go up against that we just looked at some film this morning. So they have a really good balance of players on and off the bench. We’re excited for the matchup.”
Markowski vs. Beers in the paint:
Markowski and Beers will have a great battle in the center. Both are some of the best centers in their respective conferences.
Beers went down with a right ankle injury against Eastern Washington at the end of the third quarter. She did not play the rest of the game but said postgame that her ankle is “good,” and she’ll be ready to practice on Saturday. She had 19 points and nine rebounds in the first three quarters.
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Beers will be one of the best post players Markowski has faced this season.
“I’m really excited,” the junior center said. “This is what it’s about, playing the best players in the country, and I’m really excited to go up against Raegan. She’s a really talented player, really physical. Finishes really well around the rim. Really good offensive rebounder. So I’m excited for that matchup.”
Two deep benches:
Just like many teams need in the NCAA Tournament, Nebraska and Oregon State are not afraid to use their benches. NU uses six bench players and OSU has five bench players regularly play.
Dominika Paurova and Kelsey Rees both average over five points per game. Darian White and Callin Hake led Nebraska with over six points per game each.
Nebraska Women’s Basketball Head Coach Amy Williams said her team needs a special defensive effort on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16. Their deep bench, smart passing and strong inside-outside will be a focus for the Huskers.
“What an outstanding and balanced attack,” she said. “Oregon State has so many players who can really come in and contribute and really make a huge impact for their team. We’re fortunate that we played against some teams like that in our conference. So we know there are lots of weapons here, and it’s going to take a full and complete team effort, really high IQ and disciplined defensive intensity for 40 minutes in order to give ourselves a chance.
“I think we’ve been quite impressed the more we’ve been able to study and learn this team. They’re a really good passing team. Because they have such great passers, I think that’s why their post players are so dangerous and their shooters are so dangerous, and they can kill you in transition, and they can inside-outside you to death. They play on ball screen action, and it doesn’t matter how you defend their ball screens. They’re going to find a way to attack that.”
