Of course, the Nebraska women’s basketball team should be enjoying how it has started the season.
Nebraska won its first two games by margins of 58 and 55 points.
First, Nebraska should enjoy it because it had just a 13-13 record last season.
Second, fans are back in the seats, and everybody is thrilled about that. Husker guard Jaz Shelley said last season the games almost felt like scrimmages.
But Husker fans should also know that the schedule will get much more difficult and begin to consider how the Huskers will be suited for future success. On Wednesday, Nebraska plays a Creighton team that has defeated the Huskers in five straight seasons, and there are five ranked teams in the Big Ten.
On Sunday, Nebraska will finish the first week of the season against Alabama A&M at 2 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Alabama A&M is coached by former Husker Margaret Richards, and one of its starters is Lincoln Northeast graduate Nigeria Jones.
One thing that has commonly hurt the Huskers during the games it has lost in recent seasons is rebounding.
During the first two games, Nebraska had been good in that area. The Huskers outrebounded Maine 43-20. Against Prairie View A&M, the Huskers had a 62-36 advantage, although coach Amy Williams didn’t like that the Panthers got 15 offensive rebounds.
The Huskers have been together for a few months now with practices, two scrimmages and two games.
So far Williams feels good, but not great, about the Huskers' chance to be a better rebounding team.
“This team has really made it a huge part of their vision and the purpose of our team is to make that a big focus,†Williams said. “I don’t think we’ve arrived by any stretch of the imagination. … We’re seeing some improvement and I think we want to continue to emphasize, grow and be disciplined in that area.â€
What Williams likes is she gets the feeling the players know rebounding is important.
“They have a strong want-to, and that’s where everything starts,†Williams said. “If they’re serious about wanting to be competitive in the Big Ten Conference, they know that the top rebounding team is usually sitting right at the top of the Big Ten Conference. They have a strong want-to, and now it’s about developing that discipline.â€
Last season, Nebraska ranked sixth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin. Big Ten champion Maryland ranked second.
So far, Nebraska has four players averaging more than six rebounds per game — Alexis Markowski, Bella Cravens, Jaz Shelley and Allison Weidner.
“They’ve got kind of a healthy competition for who can be the leading rebounder, and I love it,†Williams said. “Everybody is raising their game. Normally it was Bella and (Isabelle Bourne and Sam Haiby), and now they’ve got to take Jaz seriously on leading the team in rebounding. It’s fun to see that.â€
High school recruiting: Nebraska signed just one player Wednesday — Callin Hake, a guard from Minnesota.
Nebraska is adding a smaller class of high school players in part because the Huskers signed five players last year. The Huskers have a scholarship limit of 15 players, and many of Nebraska’s current players will be able to return next season.
Adding players to the roster via transfer from other colleges is growing in women’s basketball, just like every sport.
Three of Nebraska’s starters are transfers — Cravens (Eastern Washington), Shelley (Oregon) and Ashley Scoggin (Salt Lake City Community College).
Nebraska will continue to recruit transfer players, Williams said, but won’t put less emphasis on recruiting the top high school players in the country.
“I think we’re going to always want to build our program on solid high school players that are going to be committed to the program for four years and understand what it means to be a Husker,†Williams said.
Photos: Huskers earn 2-0 start to season with win against Prairie View A&M
Prairie View A&M's Kennedy Paul (23) and Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski box out after a free throw in the first half on Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.