When the five freshmen for the Nebraska women’s basketball team arrived on campus in the summer, coach Amy Williams got a good feeling about the group.
She liked their attitudes, how focused they were and how much energy they had.
“I think we started to quickly raise our expectations for what we thought they were going to be able to bring to the table for us,†Williams said. “And they have not disappointed. I think in different ballgames already up to this point, each one of those kids has really stepped in and really sparked us.â€
Those freshmen have played a part in Nebraska’s 7-0 record to start the season. The Huskers will take on another undefeated team when they play at Wake Forest (7-0) on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Just two nights in Lincoln after playing two games on the West Coast last weekend, the Huskers are off to play on the East Coast against a squad Williams says looks like it will be the best team Nebraska has played this season. Wake Forest played in the NCAA Tournament last season.
None of Nebraska’s five true freshmen — Alexis Markowski, Allison Weidner, Kendall Coley, Kendall Moriarty and Tatiana Popa — are starters. That’s not a surprise after Nebraska returned most of its lineup from last season.
But the freshmen are definitely helping the cause, especially on defense. Markowski, Weidner and Coley are each playing about 15 minutes per game.
Williams loves how relentless Markowski is at working to get a shot opportunity inside the paint.
“I thought there were games where Kendall Coley was our best defensive player out there, and played probably her best game in a uniform,†Williams said. “Alexis Markowski has given us real big sparks at times. Allison Weidner has been the definition of spark at times. Just really coming in and being aggressive-minded.â€
Williams also likes how hard Moriarty plays on defense, and that she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.
“I think they’ve all at times really brought something to the table, and have not disappointed myself or our staff,†she said.
Popa, a 6-foot-5 center, will probably redshirt. She’s isn’t injured but will use the year for development.
Weidner had to make a big jump from playing Class D-2 high school basketball at Humphrey St. Francis. She had played a lot of club ball, but it’s still a big jump.
But a strong work ethic and desire to not make the same mistake over and over has helped Weidner begin to make the transition to the college game.
“She just has that work ethic,†Williams said. “This summer I just loved it. Every time we ran a sprint she sets out to be first. So much so I noticed (Monday) during the sprints at the end of practice that (Isabelle Bourne) was grabbing (Weidner's) jersey trying to hold her back. She’s competitive and she wants to win every sprint and she wants to compete. She’s upset or frustrated when she makes a mistake. She wants to learn from that and wants to get better. I think that’s really helped her transition to the college game. And also she’s just received great coaching.â€
Weidner is averaging 5.3 points per game, but one of the most impressive things about her is she only has four turnovers in 100 minutes of action while recording 23 assists.
Williams said such a small amount of turnovers is "very uncharacteristic" of a first-year player.
“That’s usually where you see it manifest itself is that you’re not quite ready for how quick the backline defense is going to move,†Williams said. “So you might think a pass is open that’s not.â€
Photos: Nebraska women blow past North Carolina Central to improve to 5-0
Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski (40) defends North Carolina Central's Taylor Williams (2) as teammates Nebraska’s Kendall Moriarty (15) and Nebraska’s Kendall Coley (right) help in defense in the first half Nov. 20 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.