TAYLOR KISSINGER

REDSHIRT JUNIOR / MINDEN, NE

As a native Nebraskan, Taylor Kissinger knows “There Is No Place Like Nebraska.” It is not just a slogan, or a motto, it is also the first line in a nearly 100-year-old school song also known as “Dear Old Nebraska U.”

Within the 10 simple lines of one of Nebraska’s most beloved songs, the final three lines resonate for all Huskers during this unique time in history: “We’ll all stick together, in all kinds of weather, for dear old Nebraska U.”

Kissinger, who missed nearly all of her third season at Nebraska in 2019-20 after undergoing hip surgery, knows a lot about weathering the storm as a basketball player and as a world citizen working together remotely to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The 6-1 shooter from Minden, Nebraska, has remained in Lincoln to continue her rehabilitation with hopes of returning to the court as a fourth-year junior with her beloved Huskers in 2020-21.

“My rehab has been slowed due to things closing down with COVID-19, but I have been able to continue with most of the exercises,” Kissinger said. “It is hard to have a positive mindset with everything going on now, but I am trying to do my best so I can get back on the court with my teammates whenever we are allowed to again.”

Kissinger, who led the Big Ten and ranked No. 4 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.456) as a sophomore for the Big Red in 2018-19, has continued to work with guidance from Husker Women’s Basketball Athletic Trainer Ashley Rudolph and Husker Women’s Basketball Strength Coach Stuart Hart to prepare for her return to action.

The mathematics education major who has been an Academic All-Big Ten selection and a regular on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll is also working hard to complete her coursework for the spring semester.

“I have been spending all of my free time doing my rehab, and doing at-home workouts that Stuart has sent to us,” Kissinger said. “I also have picked back up on my hobby of cooking and trying new meals.”

While Kissinger is focused on returning to her role as one of the nation’s top shooters, she knows she still has a lot of work to do in order to be ready for 2020-21. Just over three months since her hip surgery, Kissinger has increased her activity to a fast walk, but is still not able to run. Because of COVID-19, she also doesn’t have access to a gym or weight room.

As she methodically gets her legs back underneath her through rehab, Kissinger expects her life-long ability as a shooter to shine again for the Huskers.

“I know every day that my shooting ability is something I can bring to the table for my team,” Kissinger said. “Whether I am shooting the ball well or not, I am always continuing to work on it. I get in the gym almost every day of the week and either shoot by myself or with one our coaches or one of my teammates. I would not be where I am at without practicing my shot every day consistently since I was a little girl.”

She honed her skills playing with her older twin sisters, Jamie and Brooke, and older brother, Derek, on their home court in Minden. The three-quarter court has two hoops and a “Gun” ball return/passer to help the shooter. Kissinger worked on her shot every day in the summer and fall, and was back on the outdoor court after her school practices during the winter.

Kissinger’s exploits as a shooter placed her in an elite class as a competitor. She was rated as the No. 38 player in the nation by ESPN coming out of Minden High School, despite having multiple seasons shortened by injury. As a senior, she was a first-team Super-State selection after averaging 24.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while recovering from a wrist injury.

As a junior, she averaged 28.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Whippets following her return to the court from a broken wrist. As a sophomore in 2015, Kissinger averaged 25.6 points and 10.0 rebounds. In her four seasons of varsity basketball at Minden, Kissinger totaled 1,751 points, 611 rebounds, 310 assists and 202 steals despite missing 27 combined games as a junior and senior.

Kissinger missed seven games as a Husker freshman because of a pair of injuries, before playing all 30 games for the Huskers as a sophomore. In addition to hitting 45.6 percent of her threes in 2018-19, she also connected on 88.2 percent of her free throws.

She missed four games after the 2019-20 season opener as part of the concussion protocol following a collision in practice.

Kissinger returned to play four games, capping her 2019-20 season by tying her career highs with six three-pointers and four assists on her way to 19 points in a win over Duke on Dec. 4. Kissinger’s performance against Duke was a magical moment in a personally challenging season.

“That game reminded me why I chose to play in front of my home state,” Kissinger said. “It still gives me chills when I think about our fan base that night and how loud that gym was. It was also mainly an offensive game for both teams, so being able to have a high-scoring game made the game that much more fun. Unfortunately, it was also the last game I played as a junior, but I am glad I have that memory as the last game I played with my seniors (Hannah Whitish, Nicea Eliely, Grace Mitchell, Kristian Hudson).”

Soon after the 83-79 win over Duke, Kissinger made the difficult decision to undergo hip surgery and plan on a medical redshirt for the season. She underwent hip surgery on Jan. 3, 2020.

“It was tough to make the decision to sit out and not play again with the seniors,” Kissinger said. “That was the hardest part of my decision. After the Duke game, I only slept for about two hours that night because my hip was throbbing and keeping me up. I knew then that I had a hard decision to make. It was hard to sit through this past season knowing that I could not really help my teammates during some of the tough games.”

Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said Kissinger’s absence affected the team’s progress during the season.

“Losing Taylor was a tough blow for our team last season, particularly after coming off her six three-point makes in a big win over Duke,” Williams said. “I think our team was really coming together and feeling very confident in playing to each other’s strengths. We had to adjust without Taylor’s talents as a basketball player, but also without her vocal leadership on the court.”

Kate Cain, a two-time Big Ten All-Defensive player who joined Kissinger in a top-25 national recruiting class for Nebraska in 2016-17, echoed Williams’ sentiments about Kissinger’s absence in 2019-20.

“We really missed Taylor last season. She’s such a talented three-point shooter, and having her on the court not only is an offensive threat in itself, but she also helps spread the floor since teams have to prepare for her,” Cain said. “People also underestimate how much of a rebounding asset she is. I am really looking forward to having her back on the court next season.”

Within a week of her hip surgery, Kissinger also had her appendix removed in an emergency procedure. Although she has plenty of experience dealing with injuries, it doesn’t make missing time with her teammates on the court any easier. Her personal disappointment and frustration in missing games is also helping to fuel her fire to return to the court.

“I want to put in all the effort I can the next couple years for my team and for my state. My time as a Husker is quickly coming to an end, whether I want it to or not. I want to make the most out of my last two years because these past three years have been so special to me. I am happy with my decision to stay in Nebraska and play because there is no place like it.”

Williams, Cain and the rest of the Huskers will be looking forward to having Kissinger back, too.

“In the upcoming season we will rely on Taylor to be a vocal presence who understand what being a Husker is about,” Williams said. “I think Taylor’s injury and time out this past season has allowed her to become clear on what needs to happen for our team to reach our ultimate goals. Her leadership will be critically important in this coming season.”

Kissinger said she used the second half of the season at Nebraska trying to become a better leader.

“I was able to watch from more of a coaching standpoint this year. I think I learned what we need on the court for our team to be successful, and the main thing is leadership. I am willing to step into that role,” Kissinger said. “I am ready for the challenge of being the leader for my team. I have always led by example, but I have sometimes lacked the vocal part of it. That will be a difficult challenge for me. I want what is best for the team and what is best for my teammates.”

KATE CAIN

SENIOR / MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.

The center of the Nebraska women’s basketball defense the past three seasons, Kate Cain found herself at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak at her family’s home in New York in early April.

The 6-5 center from Middletown, New York, returned to her family home as soon as the college basketball season and on-campus classes at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln officially ended in mid-March.

While home is usually a sanctuary and relaxing environment for college students to reconnect with family, and recharge their minds and bodies during breaks from school, Cain knew this trip home might be a bit more risky because of the virus.

“It was definitely weird for the season to end the way it did, especially since we were still practicing in hopes of making a run in the WNIT,” Cain said. “Once we learned that the tournament was canceled and school was going online, I did my best to get home quickly. I didn’t know what would be closing and if flights would get canceled, so I tried to get back quickly. Going home, I knew I was walking into a mess with the coronavirus being so prominent. It was kind of unnerving just because everything was so out of whack, but I tried to stay optimistic.”

While Cain, who was a CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee as a junior after earning Academic All-Big Ten honors for the second time in 2020, tried to make sense out of the sudden change in the world, the virus soon hit her family directly.

“A few weeks after I got home, we learned that one of my dad’s co-workers had tested positive with minor symptoms,” Cain said. “While everyone in New York was quarantined, my father was deemed essential, since he works at West Point for the Army Corps of Engineers. Soon after his co-worker tested positive, my father began to feel sick, followed by my mom and older brother. In the end, my entire immediate family had been exposed to and tested positive for the virus.”

Cain, who is the leading shot-blocker in Nebraska history and one of the top-10 shot-blockers in the history of Big Ten women’s basketball as she enters her senior season, was thankful that her own immune system recorded a big block to stop the virus, but not everyone in her family was so lucky.

“My father (Tim) and older brother (John) had minor symptoms, and my little brother (Chris) and I were asymptomatic,” Cain said. “Unfortunately my mother (Alison) was hit extremely hard by the virus because she has a compromised immune system.”

Cain’s mother, Alison, who was a 1,000-point scorer and one of the leading shot-blockers in Fairfield women’s basketball history, has a genetic kidney disorder and was the recipient of a kidney transplant during Kate’s freshman season at Nebraska. Medication associated with Alison’s condition actually weakens her immune system, making her more vulnerable to the coronavirus. A nurse herself at an elementary school, Alison was hospitalized for a day because she developed coronavirus-induced pneumonia. Alison was able to fight through the illness, although everyone in the Cain family knew they were in a serious situation.

“While my family was sick, it was very scary and our daily activities were very unpredictable, especially since my mother was struggling so much,” Cain said. “But after a few weeks of remaining quarantined in the house, my entire family was cleared of the virus.”

As soon as they learned the news from Cain, Nebraska Coach Amy Williams and the Huskers were extremely worried for the entire family.

“We were obviously very concerned when we heard that Kate and her family were impacted by the virus, especially when we found out how severely it was affecting Alison,” Williams said. “We immediately wrapped Kate and her entire family in our thoughts and prayers. We felt such a strong sense of relief for the Cain family, as their symptoms began to subside and their health returned to normal.”

With the direct effects of the virus behind them, life has returned to a new version of normal for the Cain family, and Kate is completing final projects and exams before focusing on the summer.

“Now that everyone is better and stable at home, it has been pretty boring,” Cain said. “Although I enjoy getting to see my family at home, since we don’t get those opportunities often, we are all getting really stir crazy.”

The Cain family is athletic, competitive and hard working. They are not at all accustomed to sitting around the house. Kate’s father, Tim, was an All-American basketball player at Manhattan, while Alison starred for the Fairfield women’s basketball team in college. Kate’s older brother, John, is a 6-10 left-handed pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization, while her younger brother, Chris, a high school basketball player, plans to compete at Cushing Academy this season.

“It’s been frustrating trying to work out. I can’t see friends, and even the hassle of going to the store, but I understand the precautions needed to prevent people from becoming ill,” Cain said. “I feel very fortunate that my family got through the sickness.”

While she hasn’t been able to go to a gym, Cain has benefited from the family hoop at home, and she has worked to stay on task with individual workouts provided by Nebraska Women’s Basketball Strength Coach Stuart Hart.

“Since all the gyms are closed I am really fortunate to have a hoop in my driveway,” Cain said. “Other than shooting when it is nice outside, I’ve been doing the home workouts that Stuart sent the team. I have been doing just about any athletic activity I can do just to keep moving. It’s been kind of difficult to create the most normal and structured workouts right now, but I’ve been working with what I have.”

Now that Cain and her family have moved past their own bouts with the coronavirus, she is ready to focus on being a leader for Nebraska on the court as a senior in 2020-21.

A two-time Big Ten All-Defensive selection, Cain wants to work to get her game to an All-Big Ten level overall. More importantly, she wants to help carry Nebraska back to the NCAA Tournament – a feat she helped the Huskers accomplish as a true freshman in 2017-18.

“Plain and simple, I want to play in the NCAA Tournament again. I am going to have to be a leader and perform consistently on both ends of the floor in order to do that,” Cain said. “Despite the adversity that may come our way, I need to remain mentally tough and push our team to overcome the obstacles we may face. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get us back to the tournament, and I am ready to push myself to be the best player and best teammate I can be.”

Cain is no stranger to facing challenges on the court. Originally signed to play at Delaware after being ranked as one of the top-100 players in the nation by ESPN out of high school, a coaching change for the Blue Hens sent her in search of a new place to play even before she ever arrived on campus at Delaware.

“My college experience has definitely had its share of adversity. Even from the beginning, committing to Nebraska after a quick recruiting process after de-committing from Delaware was very stressful, and the adjustment was not easy,” Cain said. “I dealt with a lot of homesickness, especially my first two seasons, but I’ve grown up a lot being far from home.”

She made her decision to join the Huskers in June of 2017, just a few months after Nebraska completed its worst season in school history at 7-22. She made her collegiate debut with 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks off the bench in a win over SIU-Edwardsville in Lincoln on Nov. 11, 2017. She started the next 31 games for the Huskers, helping them produce the biggest turnaround in the nation in 2017-18, posting a 14-game improvement in the win column to finish 21-11 and advance to the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Cain earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and the Big Ten All-Freshman Team by averaging 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds while adding a then-Nebraska school-record 100 blocked shots. Along the way, she created an unforgettable moment in Husker history by recording the first points-rebounds-blocks triple-double in school annals with a career-high 22 points, 14 rebounds and a school-record 11 blocks in a win over Florida Atlantic at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Dec. 19, 2017.

“On the court there have been so many great moments and games at Nebraska. From beating Duke in a close game this past season to beating Iowa at Iowa my freshman year, there have been so many games where our team really rallied together and played for each other. I love those games,” Cain said. “Personally, I also really enjoyed getting the triple-double my freshman year, too. It really helped me realize that I’m capable of playing a big role in this program and definitely boosted my confidence as a freshman.”

As a sophomore, Cain’s production slipped slightly to 7.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 79 blocks, and the Huskers lost more games (10) by two possessions or less than any team in school history.

The frustration of a mediocre sophomore season helped fuel Cain during the summer of 2019. She started her junior season stronger and quicker than her first two college seasons. After she extended her streak of consecutive starts in a Nebraska uniform to 91 games, Cain closed the year averaging 9.3 points, a career-best 7.2 rebounds and a school-record 101 blocks. She claimed her second spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, and helped Nebraska to a three-game improvement in the win column with a 17-13 overall record.

Still, as the season came to its unexpected close before Nebraska could compete in the postseason, Cain was not satisfied with the way the year ended on the court.

“I’ve always wanted to be a great basketball player, since I was little,” Cain said. “Growing up in such an athletic and competitive family, I’ve always been encouraged to do my best and push myself to win and succeed. There is so much I can do to elevate my game to an All-Big Ten level, and I’m going to work my hardest to reach that goal. I think in general, I need to be more consistent with my scoring. I’d have games where I’d be a scoring threat and others where I wouldn’t score at all, so I need to work on my consistency. I need to make sure I’m staying in the weight room so I can get stronger down low. I also need to develop more post moves going toward the basket, so I can draw more fouls and get closer shots. There are so many things I need to work on, but I think those are very important.”

Cain has shown throughout her career that she is not afraid to work on weaknesses in her game. She has proven that with physical and mental focus she can create positive results. As a freshman, Cain hit just 42.9 percent (24-56) of her free throws. As a junior, Cain hit 68.3 percent (28-41) of her attempts at the line and gained confidence throughout the season, which is helping to encourage her to attack the rim more.

“Basketball-wise, I’ve really struggled through periods where I lacked confidence and began to question my abilities and my role on the team,” Cain said. “I’ve always been really hard on myself in a lot of different areas in and out of basketball, but I’m extremely fortunate to have had the continuous support of my family, teammates, coaches and our team’s sports psychologist to help me through the highs and lows. The struggles have taught me a lot about myself and what I can overcome. I will continue to learn from the obstacles I face.”

Cain knows that Nebraska’s success in 2020-21 will require more than just her own increased individual production on the court. The Huskers will lose senior leaders and four-year starters Hannah Whitish and Nicea Eliely to graduation, along with seniors Grace Mitchell and Kristian Hudson. Like hundreds of schools around the nation, the Huskers also lost several transfers. Those departures have opened the door for a large group of first-year players who will be looking for leadership in Lincoln this coming season.

Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said Cain has the tools to elevate her play and become a stronger leader for the Huskers.

“I’m proud of the growth Kate has made in her first three seasons at Nebraska, and looking for her to have a great senior season,” Williams said. “Kate is very motivated to make her senior year her best. She has always had a very high basketball IQ and the ability to pick things up quickly, but she is starting to really understand the importance of the other aspects of the mental side of the game. She is working hard to do the things that keep her confidence high and allow her to stay focused through challenges.”

Cain, who expects to earn her bachelor’s degree as a management major from Nebraska in August before beginning pursuit of her MBA, will be the only returning senior on the Husker roster. She knows leadership and team chemistry will play key roles in Nebraska’s success.

“I’m definitely prepared to take a bigger leadership role this year,” Cain said. “Although I try to be helpful off the court and give consistent efforts to lead by example in practices, I’ve never been the most vocal leader. I’m going to have to be more comfortable expressing my opinions and pushing myself and my teammates to make sure we can accomplish our goals.”

Cain knows she won’t be alone in providing leadership. She is looking forward to the return of fellow fourth-year Husker Taylor Kissinger to the court, after Kissinger redshirted in 2019-20 with a hip injury. Cain also knows she can rely on the presence of junior-to-be Sam Haiby, who started all 30 games for Nebraska at guard as a sophomore.

“I’m definitely going to feed off of teammates like Taylor, who has been here just as long as me and brings a new perspective by playing a different position and having a redshirt season,” Cain said. “Great teams have great leaders, so I know how important it is to really step up this year.”

Cain is also expecting to have help inside with the return of sophomore-to-be Isabelle Bourne. The 6-2 forward from Canberra, Australia, played in all 30 games for the Big Red last season and capped her freshman campaign with a career-high 16 points, six rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.

“I was really impressed with Issie’s play last year. It was easy to see the raw talent she had with her moves and the athleticism she brought to the table,” Cain said. “With a year of experience playing in the Big Ten, Issie is going to be able to bring so much more to the team next season, which is exciting to think about.”

Cain is also excited about the opportunity to work with a large group of newcomers to the Nebraska program, who are hopeful about the chances of learning and growing together on and off the court in 2020-21.

“We have a lot of new faces coming in this year, and I’m very excited to see how all of these pieces come together. We have a lot of players who want to win and play together as a unit, and with so many weapons it’s exciting to see what the future will hold. I’m really excited to help get our team back to the NCAA Tournament, and I’m very optimistic when thinking about the future and the pieces being brought in. I want to end my career at Nebraska in the most positive way possible, and I want to put Nebraska on the path to remain successful after I leave.”

TRINITY BRADY

SOPHOMORE / INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

Competition. It is the fuel that drives Husker women’s basketball players. Trinity Brady knows she is a tough competitor. The sophomore-to-be from Indianapolis loves to compete and win, even during shelter-in-place restrictions with her family in Indiana caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

“The coronavirus has had a huge effect on my day-to-day life because for the most part, I do not leave the house,” Brady said. “I have struggled with finding things to do. At this point, I think that I have done everything possible. One activity that I have really enjoyed is playing cards with my family. Beating everyone has for sure been the highlight of staying home.”

But the 5-11 guard has not limited her competitiveness to the card table, she has also gone to work on her basketball game.

“I have not been able to go to any gyms in Indianapolis, but I have been able to work out and go on runs,” Brady said. “I have a basketball hoop in my backyard, so that has been great. I honestly don’t think it got that much use over the years, but now my brother (Vincent II) and I are shooting pretty much every day.”

Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said Brady’s competitiveness is contagious on and off the court.

“One of the things I love the most about Trinity is that she loves to compete,” Williams said. “If we put a challenge in front of her group in skill work or to the team as a whole, she is going to rally the troops to accomplish the goal. Off the court, she also has to have the best TikToks!”

With the sudden end to her freshman season at Nebraska caused by COVID-19, Brady has turned free time at home with family into a focus for her second season with the Big Red.

“This offseason my focus is staying healthy, working on ball-handling and shooting, and finishing around the basket. I feel like those are all areas I can improve.”

While her parents, Vincent and Jamie, and her younger brother Vincent II may not appreciate her success at cards as much as Trinity does, they easily recognize her competitiveness, determination, toughness and resiliency on the basketball court and in life.

They are also cherishing time together during the pandemic, especially considering the life-altering events they began to face as a family just over four years ago.

On Sunday morning, Feb. 7, 2016, less than 24 hours after helping Lawrence North to a sectional title as a high school freshman, Brady was riding in the passenger seat of a black Lincoln MKT driven by her cousin Garrett Holland on I-65 South outside of Indianapolis. Her brother was also in the backseat along with her cousin’s friend.

They were in the left lane next to a semi-truck, when the trailer of the truck began to weave and ultimately tipped over on top of the moving car. The mangled wreckage was ominous, but somehow, all four passengers in the car escaped with their lives.

Brady was bloodied and bruised after the death-defying accident. She was rushed to the hospital where she was stabilized with a neck brace and diagnosed with whiplash and a concussion. The competitor in Brady, who had been on her way to the gym, said she didn’t have time for the hospital.

“I need to get out of here. I have to go train,” Brady said to the doctor. “I have regionals in five days.”

Ae’Rianna Harris, a senior center at Purdue in 2019-20, and Amber Morgan, who went on to play collegiately at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), were both seniors for Lawrence North and the first of Brady’s teammates to visit her in the hospital right after the accident.

Harris heard that Brady was told by the doctor she would not be able to play at regionals. Harris encouraged Brady by telling her to be ready for state. With Harris and Morgan as senior leaders and future NCAA Division-I players, Brady was not the star at Lawrence North as a freshman, but she did contribute 7.2 points and 6.0 rebounds for one of the powerhouse teams in Indiana.

Brady went home that Sunday night, but suffered a fall because of dizziness and had one of many severe headaches. She would not be back on the court for six months. In December of 2016, 10 months after the accident, Brady was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury after visiting several neurologists. Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder became her opponents.

After months of failed diagnoses and medications, Brady finally found answers with Dr. Brad Ralston, who began doing vestibular brain therapy with her six to seven hours per day, five days per week. Brady worked on eye exercises, balancing exercises, and training to improve her reaction time - all areas that suffered following whiplash and her concussion. The exercise-based program reduced her dizziness and vertigo and gave her a fighting chance to beat the pain and long-term effects of the injury.

Within 10 days, the pain that had gripped her for more than a year began to subside. It did not go away entirely. She faced ups and downs throughout the offseason, but she was improving and competing.

Nearly two full years after her terrifying accident, Brady enjoyed a huge junior season at Lawrence North, averaging 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists to earn a spot on the IBCA Subway Supreme 15 Underclass All-State Team in 2017-18. She was also a member of the Indiana Junior All-Star Team and the Central Indiana Super Team.

She would not describe herself as completely healthy in 2017-18. In fact, more than four years after the accident she knows she is still recovering.

“I am not fully recovered from my accident,” Brady said. “I still have days that I have extreme migraines and difficulty with other things that the accident caused. The therapy that I do on a regular basis helps tremendously at keeping things under control, for the most part.”

Brady chose to attend Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., as a senior in 2018-19. The No. 106 player overall in the 2019 high school senior class according to Prospects Nation, Brady believed a year at the prep school would help her adjust to life on her own as a college basketball player.

Brady, who received 20 scholarship offers before ultimately choosing Nebraska over Marquette, Dayton and Illinois, helped Hamilton Heights Christian Academy to a 22-3 record and a final No. 18 national ranking in the USA Today Super 25 in 2018-19.

She came to campus early in the summer of 2019 to begin preparations for Nebraska’s summer trip to Europe. Her fitness level, confidence and comfort grew throughout the summer and preseason. In Nebraska’s exhibition opener with Rogers State on Nov. 2, Brady put up eight points and pulled down eight rebounds before an opponent fell on her in the lane in the closing moments.

The contact to her head and shoulder area put Brady into the concussion protocol. She was extremely sensitive to light and sound. She couldn’t run or exert herself for several weeks. She missed Nebraska’s first 10 regular-season games.

“Concussions could always be an issue for me due to my initial brain injury from the accident,” Brady said. “A hit to the head could take me back to the same issues that I have suffered since the accident. My symptoms also last longer than a person who has not previously had a brain injury.”

Through rest and rehabilitation, Brady returned to play in NU’s next 17 contests. In Nebraska’s Big Ten-opening win over Iowa on Dec. 28, Brady hit her first career three-pointer to give the Huskers a 30-27 lead in the second quarter. She added two assists and her first career steal in the victory over the Hawkeyes. Brady added a career-high seven points with a pair of threes at Rutgers on Jan. 12.

“Trinity has shown great resiliency throughout her basketball career, and we saw that throughout her freshman season,” Williams said. “She had to face her share of challenges on the court with injuries, and off the court with some personal tragedies. Her life experiences have taught her how to bounce back and to stay positive through tough times. Her perseverance is inspiring to her teammates and our staff.”

Despite moments of success, Brady knows her missed time and training at the start of the regular season affected her freshman contributions for the Huskers.

“I feel like missing so much really set me back,” Brady said. “I was not able to do anything with the concussion so coming back was difficult. I was very out of shape and hesitant on the court. On a positive note, I found that watching the team brought me a different perspective. I was able to see things on the sideline that I would have never noticed while playing.”

Brady’s continuing recovery from her traumatic brain injury has demonstrated her resilience and made her appreciate the gifts that surround her.

“I feel like the accident and the recovery from the concussion have matured me and made me more grateful for life and all of the ups and downs that it brings,” Brady said. “It has taught me to not take things for granted.”

ANNIKA STEWART

FRESHMAN / MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

One of the first missions of any successful team is to build a strong sense of family. The Nebraska women’s basketball program works each season to form bonds to unify all the members of the team so they are prepared to overcome challenges on and off the court.

Freshman Annika Stewart brings an extensive basketball family background to her first season as a Husker. The first commitment in Nebraska’s seven-player group of newcomers for the 2020-21 season, Stewart made her intentions known in July of 2019.

Now, almost a year later, she is on campus and chomping at the bit to get her college career started by helping to build great team chemistry this summer with her Husker teammates.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Stewart said the day before her first workout as a Husker. “I’ve been waiting for my college experience for a while, and I’m pumped to start working and being with the team.”

Nebraska’s 2020-21 team includes six returning players, and Stewart knows one of the Huskers’ first tasks is to develop team unity and a sense of family.

“We will all be learning and adjusting a lot,” Stewart said. “But I think that all seven of our different experiences along with the returning players will mesh well and give us a unique advantage above other teams.”

Part of Stewart’s confidence in Nebraska’s ability to develop unity comes from her experiences as a member of a basketball family. That basketball family background meshes well with Husker Coach Amy Williams, who also comes from a tight-knit basketball family of her own, which includes a father who was a high school coach, a sister who is college coach in Minnesota and a husband who was a long-time college coach.

“Annika comes from a basketball family, which has led to a highly skilled and high IQ basketball player,” Williams said. “She has been around coaches and teams her entire life, and she understands what it means to be a great teammates. She knows what makes good teams thrive.”

Annika’s older sister, Hannah, was a four-year contributor at Iowa. As a senior starter, Hannah helped Iowa to a Big Ten Tournament title by earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. It wasn’t always picture-perfect for Hannah at Iowa, including a freshman season in which Hannah played in just 12 games and a career that included three seasons as a non-starter. Annika knows she has learned a lot from the challenges that her older sister faced as a college basketball player.

“Hannah has helped me in so many ways,” Annika said. “We are very close and watching her go through four years, just hearing about all the ups and downs, has prepared me for what to look out for. Any questions I have, I go to her first and she always knows what to say. She had a challenging, yet rewarding four years, and I hope I can learn from her to make my experience the best it can be.”

After watching her older sister’s high school career culminate with Miss Basketball honors in the state of North Dakota and a third straight state tournament MVP award at Bishop Ryan Catholic in Minot, Annika began her own high school career as an eighth grader in 2015-16. Her mother, Julie (Wald) Stewart, was the Class B Coach of the Year in 2015 after leading Bishop Ryan to its third straight state title. Julie had also played her high school basketball at Bishop Ryan before heading off to the University of North Dakota to compete in both basketball and track in the late 1980s.

Annika’s father, Peter Stewart, is also a basketball coach. Peter was a long-time junior college head coach at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Wash. When Annika was a toddler, Peter was the head men’s coach while Julie was the head women’s coach at Peninsula. In 2010, Peter accepted the men’s head coaching position at Minot State to plant the family firmly back in North Dakota.

The competitive nature of the Stewart family, which also includes older brother, Eli, who will be a junior at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 2020-21, went beyond the basketball court.

“My siblings and I are very close, and we grew up in a very competitive home,” Annika said. “When I was younger, they never let me win at anything. We would race up our hill and I would always lose, then cry about it.”

Annika spent both her eighth grade and freshman seasons at Bishop Ryan, playing for her mom. The family connections at Bishop Ryan go even deeper, as five of Julie’s brothers (Annika’s uncles) also played high school basketball for the Lions.

After coming off the bench as an eighth grader, Annika averaged 15.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as a freshman for Bishop Ryan. She earned all-region and all-conference honors while helping Bishop Ryan to a 20-5 record in 2016-17. Julie Stewart improved her six-year record as a head coach at Bishop Ryan to 145-14.

Despite multi-generational ties to Bishop Ryan, the Stewart family moved to Minneapolis prior to Annika’s sophomore season. Julie became an assistant coach and math teacher at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn.

Peter continued to stay close to the game after ending his college coaching career at Minot State in 2012. He has served as the director of player development for the Wayzata Basketball Association and was involved with the North Tartan summer basketball program that not only produced his daughters Hannah and Annika, but also current Husker junior guard Sam Haiby.

Annika became a starting forward on the varsity for one of the power teams in the state at Wayzata, continuing to play and train with her basketball family.

The move not only put Annika up against a higher level of competition day-in and day-out, it also helped prepare her mentally for her transition to college life.

“It was definitely hard leaving my closest friends and family right before my sophomore year, but the move really taught me a lot,” Stewart said. “Just the ability to adjust will help me a lot in college. I also think that being away from friends and family is never easy, but I know I’m joining my second family here in Nebraska.”

In her first season at Wayzata in 2017-18, Stewart averaged 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for the 25-3 Trojans to earn All-Lake Conference honors. Her numbers improved as a junior, when she averaged 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds for 26-3 Wayzata, while capturing All-Lake Conference and All-Metro honors.

Her first two seasons in Minnesota helped prepare her for a huge end to her senior season in 2019-20. Stewart averaged 20.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists while hitting 65.5 percent of her two-point field goal attempts and 41.5 percent (39-94) of her threes. She was also nearly a 90 percent free throw shooter (51-57). She led Wayzata to a 24-5 record with three losses to national No. 1 Hopkins and Gatorade National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers.

“I was very grateful for the competition I was able to face in Minnesota,” Stewart said. “Hopkins is a very talented team, and being our biggest rival, I was always so pumped going into that game. Just going up against that type of talent will help me transition into collegiate basketball.”

Midway through her senior season, Stewart and the Trojans were challenged by the loss of their team’s leading scorer to an ACL injury. Stewart stepped up in a big way, averaging 25 points per contest over that 12-game span. Stewart’s response to the loss of her injured teammate helped her realize another level in her own game.

“I think my game really turned around when our star player got hurt,” Stewart said. “It was very unfortunate because she was such a presence on the floor and was our leading scorer. I knew I had to step up in more ways than one. Being a leader on the team, I am most proud of how we overcame challenges and fought with all we had.”

A first-team Minnesota Class 4A All-State selection, Stewart erupted for a season-high 36 points in a sectional semifinal win over St. Louis Park. That effort came after scoring 27 points in a win over Armstrong to open the 4A playoffs.

“As a senior, Annika really showed the versatility she has as a basketball player,” Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said. “She is a confident and consistent perimeter threat. She has the ability to score around the basket and makes good decisions on the court.”

Stewart’s career culminated with 27 points in a season-ending loss to Hopkins in the 6-4A sectional championship game. Although her season ended in a loss, Stewart appreciates the fact that it may have been a blessing in disguise for the Trojans because they got to play their season to completion, rather than having COVID-19 end her high school career.

“I’m very fortunate that I got to finish my basketball season and did not end with an unknown. I couldn’t imagine making it to the state championship and not being able to play,” Stewart said. “I’m also blessed that my family, friends and I have remained healthy in regards to COVID-19. We went to online school, and we were not able to go on spring break, have prom or graduation. I was pretty bummed about a lot of events that did not take place, but I try to look at the bright side of it, like how I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and friends.”

Stewart continued to work out and train five days a week during the spring despite going without gym access. She did her training on the turf fields at Wayzata High School, while getting her basketball work in on outdoor courts near her house.

She arrived in Nebraska in early June to begin the process to get ready for voluntary workouts with her Husker teammates. She immediately started bonding with her new Husker family, including her roommate, fellow freshman Whitney Brown.

“Whitney and I have been going for runs and going to study hall from 1 to 4 p.m. to work on our Nutrition 101 class,” Stewart said. “I am very excited to work out and get back in the gym.”

While Stewart starts the work of building her new Nebraska basketball family together with her teammates, she is confident that her own family will be along for the ride.

“I’d be surprised if my parents missed a game,” Stewart said. “They went to every game of Hannah’s that they could. If they missed one of Hannah’s games it was to watch one of mine.”

ASHLEY SCOGGIN

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE / DALLAS, ORE.

Ashley Scoggin will be the oldest player on the Nebraska women’s basketball team in 2020-21. She joined the Huskers on May 2 – six days before her 22nd birthday.

The elder stateswoman among the Huskers will be a redshirt sophomore, and nearly a full year older than senior-to-be Kate Cain and two months older than Nebraska’s four-year starter on the wing last season – Nicea Eliely.

No religious missionary work broke up Scoggin’s college career. No military service took her away from the game prior to her enrollment.

No, the 5-7 guard experienced a different kind of spiritual basketball journey of maturity while fighting her own battles against untimely injuries.

Coach Amy Williams and the Huskers are hoping the growth Scoggin has experienced will help them on and off the court in 2020-21.

"We are excited to add Ashley to our Husker family," Williams said. "She is a play-making guard with experience and maturity and will provide us with another consistent presence from behind the arc."

Scoggin showed her strength behind the arc by hitting nearly 40 percent (53-134) of her three-pointers last year at Salt Lake City Community College. She also knocked down nearly 95 percent (17-18) of her free throws and displayed her play-making skills with 52 assists, while averaging 10 points and 5.2 rebounds over 25 games.

Her performance at SLC last season came after nearly five years of knee injuries and surgeries that kept her out of competition for all but six games during that five-year span. Scoggin, who moved to Lincoln full time just 17 days after signing with the Huskers, could not wait to take the next step in her improbable basketball journey.

“I am beyond excited to be here at Nebraska,” Scoggin said. “I am very hopeful for my first season at Division I. I have spent my whole life dreaming about playing on this stage. After going through my injuries to be able to play at this level, I just have to keep getting better each and every day.”

That is exactly what Scoggin has been doing, on and off the court.

“The past six weeks have been amazing. Even though life isn’t normal right now, it has been a great transition for me,” Scoggin said. “Getting to know the area and campus has been great. Classes have been going good as well. I finished my pre-session class with an ‘A’ and I am currently taking Introduction to Human Development and Introduction into Family Finance.”

She is also loving life in the weight room and in the gym at the Hendricks Training Complex.

“The workouts with Coach (Stuart) Hart have been going great. They are challenging, but I love being in the weight room. It’s been really good to get back into the groove of things with workouts and court work,” Scoggin said. “Each day we go to the practice facility and my roommates and I are there from 9 a.m. to noon almost every day.

“Monday, Wednesday and Friday we lift with Coach Hart for about an hour and a half, then I go get treatment and physical therapy. Depending on how long that takes I go and get shots up in the gym. On Tuesday and Thursday I get treatment and do physical therapy for about an hour and a half and then go to the gym to do ball-handling, shooting and play pick-up.

“When I played again for the first time since March, I was rusty, but I have been feeling more fluid each time we play. There is also a time slot at night now for a couple of days during the week for an hour and half when we can go in and do more on the court. Overall, I am there for about 3-4 hours every day out of the week getting back in shape and working on my game.”

Her love for the game of basketball practically oozes from Scoggin when you hear her talk about her workouts. She is truly thankful for the opportunity to just be in a gym.

“When I feel down, I always go to the gym and I might just be there for hours,” Scoggin said. “Even if I couldn’t do much because of an injury, I just loved the feeling of the ball in my hand, the smell of the gym, the sound of the net when I would swish a shot.”

Scoggin is an undeniable basketball junkie whose love of the game has been tested by adversity after adversity the last five years. Instead of turning her back on the game she loved, she has been drawn even closer to it. She has used the adversity as motivation to take her game to a higher level while growing and maturing as both a player and a person.

Scoggin’s love for basketball began as an elementary school student and blossomed as a budding high school star in Portland, Ore. As a freshman in 2012-13, she averaged 15.7 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals for West Salem. She transferred to Westview High School for her sophomore season in 2013-14 and averaged 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals while helping Westview to a third-place finish at the Class 6A state tournament. Scoggin played her sophomore season alongside current WNBA player Jaime Nared (Las Vegas Aces) who is in her third professional season after a four-year career at Tennessee.

Scoggin’s game grew as a junior at Westview in 2014-15, when she averaged 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. She captured her second first-team all-metro honor as a junior and was attracting significant national recruiting interest.

But her life took a major turn in July of 2015 in Seattle, when she went for a steal at the top of the key in a summer AAU game. Her feet got tangled with her opponent and she injured her left knee. Two doctors evaluated her knee and determined no ligament tear had occurred.

Scoggin not only went back into the game, she played on the knee into August, before it was officially diagnosed as a torn ACL. She underwent surgery in September of 2015 and missed her high school senior season. Not only did she lose her senior season, she also lost all of her college basketball scholarship offers.

“When I tore my left ACL I became depressed,” Scoggin said. “The thing I loved most was taken away, and I didn’t know how my body was going to respond. I am a very positive person, and going through my injuries I kept my head up. I look at the bright side of life as best as I can. I remember thinking, ‘even though this really sucks and I wish it didn’t happen, I can come out of this a better player than I was before, just take it one day at a time.’”

Without a basketball scholarship, Scoggin chose to delay her enrollment in college. She sat out the 2016-17 season, focusing on her rehabilitation and her game. She worked out with a trainer and other college players from the Portland area. But with no games to play in front of coaches, no significant offers from four-year schools came her way.

So Scoggin enrolled at Salt Lake City Community College prior to the 2017-18 season. After more than two and a half years between her last high school game and her first junior college game, Scoggin scored 26 points on 8-of-12 three-point shooting in 21 minutes against Western Wyoming CC on Nov. 2, 2017. The next day, she added 17 points against Eastern Wyoming.

She started four more games for the Bruins, before suffering a torn right ACL following a game with Trinity Valley CC on Nov. 17, 2017.

Scoggin underwent surgery Jan. 15, 2018 and missed the rest of the 2017-18 season for the Bruins. Since she only played in six games, Scoggin was eligible to receive a medical redshirt for that season.

Back on the court in July of 2018, she felt her right knee pop for the first time since surgery. She was told her ACL was not torn, but according to Scoggin, her right knee never “felt right” after it popped. Scoggin called her surgeon and explained what she felt. He told her to take two weeks off before resuming full activity. At the end of two weeks, something still felt wrong in her knee. She called her surgeon again and he told her to take another week off. She still felt the same at the end of the third week.

Finally, she called her surgeon in Portland again and told him, “I need an MRI.” A week later she had an MRI, and then met with her surgeon. He did a knee exam, and according to Scoggin he told her she had no ligament damage. Her ACL was performing as expected.

Scoggin went back to Salt Lake City in August to start school and workouts with the Bruins. She had been playing and practicing with the team for about two months. Her leg felt weak, sometimes to the point of feeling like it was “just going to give out.” Her knee popped two more times before she decided she needed another medical opinion.

As she prepared to start her redshirt freshman season on the court in Salt Lake City in 2018-19, she had an evaluation from one of the Utah Jazz team surgeons. Her new surgeon ordered another MRI. In November of 2018, it was determined that when her knee popped in July of 2018 her ACL had come completely detached from her femur. The surgery on her right knee in January of 2018 included her ACL being put in at the wrong angle. It was doomed to fail.

Right ACL surgery number two and her third ACL surgery overall followed, and she missed the entire 2018-19 season.

While frustrated by her injuries, Scoggin seemed to be getting stronger mentally, physically and emotionally as she went through the rehabs and the surgeries.

“The biggest thing I would have to say is I'm a fighter,” Scoggin said. “No matter how many times I fall, I will get right back up. Coming back from not only one ACL, but three is hard. I learned how to pick myself up, and keep going.”

Like her own personal journey, Scoggin has learned to find inspiration in some interesting places.

“In some instances, I think of the movie Finding Nemo, when Dory says, ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming,’ and no matter how dark it is, you will reach the light,” Scoggin said. “I have learned how to take adversity and come out of something that could have ended my career, to have it be a positive and make me a stronger person. Each person has their own journey, unique to them. It took me a while to understand that, but once I did it helped me move even further in the right direction.”

After minor meniscus repair in September of 2019 kept her off the court for Salt Lake City CC’s first two games of 2019-20, Scoggin was finally able to get back on the court for a basketball game with two minutes off the bench against South Plains College on Nov. 15, 2019. It was nearly two full years since playing her last game for SLC.

She came off the bench the next day against New Mexico Junior College and scored nine points in just 12 minutes. After that, she was a starter for the Bruins the rest of the season.

Although she was in the starting lineup, she knew she was still knocking a lot of rust off her game, and she had doubts that her performances would rise to a high level.

“My biggest fear was being less of a player than I was before I got injured,” Scoggin said. “Some of my friends who have torn their ACL said they never could play the same after surgery. I didn’t want to be like that. I wanted to be the girl who came back with a vengeance. People would see me play and they would never know I had torn my ACLs.”

Scoggin knew her recovery and return to the court would be anything but an overnight success story, and she drew strength from some confidence-boosting advice from her father, Craig.

“What have you been doing while you’ve been out? Watching film, studying the game, working on your game. You're older, smarter, and you're stronger,” Craig Scoggin said. “Not only are you stronger physically, but you are mentally. When you go out on the court, outsmart them first and the rest will come.”

Ashley took that advice to heart. Through her first five games last season, she averaged 7.2 points per game, but she could feel her legs beginning to find themselves underneath her. She was also starting to feel the game’s pace again.

On Nov. 29, 2019, she erupted for 22 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting against Eastern Wyoming. She consistently scored in double figures during December and January. By February, she was regularly playing 30-35 minutes per game, including a 40-minute effort at Utah State Eastern on Feb. 22, 2020.

For the season, Scoggin averaged 10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals. She earned first-team All-Region 18 honors and was a member of the Region 18 All-Tournament team while helping the Bruins to the NJCAA Region 18 title and a 20-7 overall record.

The Bruins had a shot to compete in the NJCAA Tournament, which would give Scoggin a chance at greater exposure to Division I coaches. However, the coronavirus outbreak placed another unexpected turn in the road for Scoggin by forcing the cancellation of the national tournament.

“I have always wanted to play at the highest level my game would take me. That has motivated me tremendously,” Scoggin said. “When I was going through my injuries I was not going to let any hurdle stop me from reaching my goals. I wanted to prove to myself that I could come out of it and reach my dreams.”

So Scoggin treated the virus like another hurdle and set her mind to sprinting right over it.

She was motivated at home in Oregon by more words of wisdom from her father: “The world steps aside for people who know where they are going.”

Scoggin knew she was going to play college basketball, but she didn’t know where. She knew that she wanted it to be now, and she was going to find her own way to get there.

“I have wanted to play at this level since I was in the sixth grade, watching college basketball on TV. I wanted to be like them. I never lost sight of that. In high school, going to JUCO, going through my injuries, I never gave up,” Scoggin said. “I am going to keep coming at something until I get it. No matter what. I have a strong will and I am like that on the court as well. It tells you I’m tough and I have grit. I fight for what I want.”

Since college coaches weren’t going to get a chance to see her play, she decided to start reaching out to them directly. She sent more than 100 emails to college coaches, including one on a Saturday night to Nebraska Assistant Coach Chuck Love.

Coach Love responded within five minutes by text. He and Scoggin talked for about 90 minutes that night in April. Soon after, the Huskers offered her a scholarship. On May 2, she signed her letter of intent. On May 19, she was in Lincoln taking classes and preparing for voluntary workouts.

Although the start of the season is still months away, Scoggin is hungry to finally get a taste of Division I competition.

“I believe when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe you will be successful, and I have used that to motivate me,” Scoggin said. “I still have a long way to go, but this is the start of another chapter in my book. I love and have a passion for the game. I want to be out there on the court so I can look back and say when I am done with my career, ‘I did that.’ I want to be proud that I accomplished what I set my mind to. I also want to be a role model for those who may be going through something similar and for them to have hope they can do it, too. If I can do it, anyone can. You just have to believe.”

BELLA CRAVENS

JUNIOR / LAIE, HAWAII

Bella Cravens is not afraid to take a risk in order to achieve her dreams.

The junior transfer from Laie, Hawaii chose to leave Eastern Washington after an all-conference sophomore season to continue her basketball career at Nebraska.

While a move halfway across the United States to a campus she had never visited may seem like a risky move, Cravens said she has her share of experience with leaps of faith.

“I like to jump off cliffs into the ocean for fun when I’m back home.”

Just as Cravens uses her knowledge of the nuances of the waters, the winds and the waves when she makes her dives off the solid rocks in Hawaii, she gained insights into her leap to Nebraska with information from trusted sources closer to home.

“I was aware of (Assistant Football) Coach Tony Tuioti being here and that did help in my decision to come to Nebraska,” Cravens said. “The Tuiotis are close family friends of mine, and we actually grew up together in the same town before they moved away. I think for my parents especially, knowing I would have them here was very comforting.”

Tuioti was a defensive lineman for Hawaii from 1996 to 1999, before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Rainbow Warriors. He was also the head football coach at Kalaheo High School in 2003 and 2004. After a move to Las Vegas to pursue other high school coaching opportunities and continue his education at UNLV, Tuioti returned to Hawaii and spent six seasons as a full-time coach for the Rainbow Warriors from 2008 to 2013.

Tuioti returned to the mainland with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015, before spending the 2016 season at Michigan. He also spent two seasons at Cal (2017, 2018) before joining Coach Scott Frost’s staff at Nebraska.

Tony and his wife, Keala, have seven children, and that large family feeling resonates with Bella, who is the fourth of Mark and Sharlene Cravens’ six children.

In addition to the strong family connection with the Tuiotis at Nebraska, Cravens also became aware of another local tie to the Huskers - volleyball player Keonilei Akana – after Cravens signed with the Big Red. The 2019 Honolulu Star-Advertiser Player of the Year, Akana was once a club volleyball teammate of Cravens.

“I know Keonilei Akana from home. We’re from the same community and we even played club volleyball together for a little,” Cravens said. “I didn’t know that she was committed to Nebraska when I signed. I thought she was going to USC, so I didn’t even think to reach out to her for her insights.”

Cravens’ leap to Nebraska followed a breakout sophomore season individually at Eastern Washington.

She averaged 10.4 points and a Big Sky Conference-leading 8.5 rebounds per game for the Eagles. The 6-3 forward produced six double-doubles, including a career-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes against Northern Arizona (Feb. 22). She hit 10-of-12 field goals against the Lumberjacks just days after going 8-for-8 from the field against Sacramento State (Feb. 20).

Remarkably, the honorable-mention All-Big Sky selection attributed at least some of her offensive outburst late in the season to frustration.

“I was tired of losing,” Cravens said. “We were having a rough season, and it was really getting to me. I remember being so frustrated. We had a really young team, only one girl had been in the program for three years, the rest of us were either in our second or first year so there wasn’t much leadership. I think I just decided that I needed to step up. I thought that by improving my game I could help the team more.”

During a four-game stretch (Feb. 15-27) as a sophomore, Cravens averaged 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.8 steals while hitting 69.6 percent (32-46) of her field goal attempts. A drastic contrast from the 3.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks she averaged as a part-time starter for Eastern Washington as a true freshman in 2018-19.

While frustration may have served as a major motivator for Cravens, hard work to improve her own game and growing experience both on and off the court helped her achieve success.

“I was a lot more comfortable offensively my sophomore year compared to my freshman year,” Cravens said. “I think it was because I was a lot more confident in my abilities. I had been working on it and looking to score more to better expand my game, and with the work came success and confidence.”

While her offensive growth gained headlines and accolades for Cravens, she knows that defense and rebounding are the foundation of her own game. Last season, Cravens ranked No. 66 in NCAA Division I with 1.7 blocks per game, while ranking No. 92 nationally with 8.5 rebounds.

”I feel that my biggest strengths on the basketball court are rebounding and defense,” Cravens said. “Those were always my main focus, so I feel that they always came a lot more natural than offense. I feel that my game has the most potential for growth on the offensive side, specifically expanding my perimeter game.”

As Cravens continues to expand her offensive game, Nebraska Coach Amy Williams believes Cravens has a bright future for the Huskers.

“Bella is an excellent athlete who is motivated to become the best player she can,” Williams said. “We have a strong need for the things she brings to the table, and we believe her best basketball is still in front of her. We can’t wait to pour into her as a Husker.”

Cravens is also craving Nebraska’s commitment to helping her develop on and off the court.

“I think it is evident that what I need most is support in development,” Cravens said. “I want to be part of a total contribution component. I want to feel the support from staff and team members. I want to compete at a higher level and evolve into a well-rounded basketball player. I feel Nebraska is the best fit for me.”

Through her first six weeks on campus in Lincoln, Cravens is feeling the support she pursued.

“I think the facilities and the support I’ve received academically and athletically are the most surprising,” Cravens said. “It seems like here at Nebraska they really want to see me succeed in all areas of my life, and everyone here is so willing to help with anything.”

Cravens is also feeling a family atmosphere within the Husker women’s basketball program, while rooming with fellow 2020-21 transfers MiCole Cayton, Nailah Dillard and Ashley Scoggin.

“My first few weeks on campus have been great despite a few hiccups we’ve faced as a team as far as COVID restrictions,” Cravens said. “I’m adjusting well to life in Lincoln, however the first week I was here, the five-hour time difference really messed up my sleep schedule. We haven’t been able to do much as a whole team due to all the restrictions, but we’ve had a few open gym runs, get-togethers at teammates’ houses the first couple weeks and things of that manner.”

While Cravens works to grow her game, she will also be waiting to hear from the NCAA whether she will be granted a waiver to be eligible to compete for the Huskers in 2020-21.

“I really hope I get this waiver and the opportunity to play for Nebraska right away,” Cravens said. “I haven’t heard anything back about the waiver regarding the timeline, but it would be great if it was granted.”

With a waiver, Cravens would have a chance to become the first women’s basketball letterwinner from Hawaii in Husker history.

Although she would be the first Nebraska women’s basketball letterwinner from the Aloha State, the Huskers have a rich Hawaiian heritage across many sports, including college football’s first Rimington Award winner Dominic Raiola (1998-2000), two-time All-America baseball pitcher Shane Komine (1999-2002) and three-time All-America volleyball setter Fiona Nepo (1995-98).

“I actually did not know that I had that opportunity (to be the first women’s basketball letterwinner from Hawaii),” Cravens said. “Now that I know it, I am super-stoked to put on for the state of Hawaii!”

RUBY PORTER

FRESHMAN / ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA

Ruby Porter is ready to join the Big Red.

Porter, who signed her Letter of Intent at 7 a.m. local time in Australia on Nov. 13, 2019 (Nov. 12 in the United States) was the first of seven Nebraska women's basketball newcomers to sign to become Huskers, but she will be the last newcomer to actually make it to Lincoln.

One of the top young players in the Australian National Team program, Porter has been waiting at home in Adelaide during the world-wide coronavirus outbreak. She was also waiting on her student visa, which she officially picked up in Sydney on Aug. 5, and she hopes to be on campus in Lincoln for the start of fall classes on Monday, Aug. 24.

"I was due to arrive (at Nebraska) in late-May/early-June, so when COVID first came along, I knew pretty well straight away that might possibly not be happening," Porter said. "Mentally it was hard to readjust as I had prepared myself to leave. Flights were canceled. No student visas were being issued, and I wasn't allowed to leave the country, so really there was no hope until now that I could come to Lincoln."

Porter, who might best be described as rambunctious out on the court, has been chomping at the bit to start her college basketball career at Nebraska.

"Oh, I couldn't be more excited," Porter said. "The group this year seems like they are going to be fun teammates and a second family to be around. In regards to playing, I haven't played a proper game of basketball for a while now, so the thought of wearing the Red and White makes me shake. I am so excited to be a part of this program."

Nebraska Coach Amy Williams and the rest of the Huskers also have been looking forward to Porter's arrival at the Hendricks Training Complex.

"We are so excited to finally have a date set for Ruby's arrival in Nebraska," Williams said. "She has been so eager to get here and get to work with her teammates, and we are anxious to have the final piece of our roster in place."

Porter, who said she hopes Husker fans will love her "true Aussie-English" accent, will join fellow Australian Isabelle Bourne on the Husker roster in 2020-21. Bourne, a sophomore from Canberra, made a significant impact for the Huskers inside as a freshman. Bourne was also the host for Porter's visit to Nebraska during the fall of 2019.

"I've never really played with Is – only against her – but I could not be more excited to be her teammate," Porter said. "Her skills and confidence on the court are so inspiring, and I cannot wait to represent Australia as Huskers together. The team looks great this year, and I'm really looking forward to playing with all the returning Huskers and newcomers. Seeing and hearing how much she loved Nebraska when I visited last year made me fall in love, too."

While Porter has been waiting to get to Nebraska, she has been working on her game. The feisty guard with a mighty motor has been able to work individually and with small groups in the Adelaide Lightning facilities.

"At the start (of the pandemic), it was quite difficult with no access to an indoor basketball court or gym, but we did have access to an outdoor court and some home facilities," Porter said. "When courts finally reopened, we started up some small group workouts with the Lightning, which was fantastic. A friend and I joined a local gym to get some reps up initially, then we found a personal trainer to work with me leading up to college. When allowed, we began small group scrimmages like 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 to get some competitive training."

Porter has also been able to access Nebraska Strength and Conditioning Coach Stuart Hart as a resource to help her transition to her upcoming workouts with the Huskers.

"Coach Stu has helped me out immensely, sending through some specialized programs that I could use in the gym, and keeping me up to date with new workouts to do while I'm here in Australia," Porter said. "When the Huskers first arrived on campus they had full access to the gym, so that put me at a slight disadvantage. Now having a personal trainer and using the workout Coach Stu provided me with, I've been able to get the best work possible done. In fact, with some soccer skills we were given, I and a friend went to a field every day to do the workout during COVID."

Porter has used some of her time this summer to work on her physical strength in hopes of becoming a stronger rebounder as a 5-10 guard. She knows she has some attributes that can help any basketball team on the offensive end.

"I think one of my biggest strengths is being a scoring threat both inside and outside the arc," Porter said. "I also read the ball and run the floor quite well, providing scoring options for my teammates."

In February of 2019, Porter averaged 15.9 points per game for the Sturt Sabres in Australia's Premier League at the U20 National Championships. In April of 2018, she averaged 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals in helping South Australia to a silver medal at the U18 National Championships.

As a member of the Australian U17 National Team, Porter competed with the Sapphires at the 2018 World Championships in Minsk, Belarus. She was also a member of the Australian U18 3x3 National Team in 2018-19. She competed in the Youth Olympics in Argentina in October of 2018, before helping the Australian 3x3 squad to a gold medal at the Asia Cup in the summer of 2019.

In between those two major international 3x3 competitions, Porter participated in "Next Generation Saturday" at the 2019 NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa.

Porter is confident that her international experience will help her make a quick adjustment to college basketball.

"Playing both for Australia and in the Australian Women's National Basketball League development program, I have been able to get an experience and opportunity not many players have received," Porter said. "The competitiveness and style of play will make it easier to adapt to the Huskers' style of play and NCAA competition."

While Porter has kept her focus on basketball, she has embraced the extra time at home in Australia with family and friends as a blessing from the unlikely source of the pandemic.

"It seems like forever ago, but I do remember sitting in the Bali Airport with my family waiting for our flight back to Adelaide and being told we would have to isolate," Porter said. "This came as a crazy shock for us. We had no idea what was going on. At the start of COVID-19 in Australia, we all seemed to not take it seriously, go about our lives like normal. Then when the number of cases and deaths started to rise, we second-guessed things. It has been a crazy few months, but to a certain degree some of the best moments happened during that period. I've been able to be at home with my family more and spend time with friends I'd never thought I would be so close with."

Ruby's father, Gavan, is employed at the airport in Adelaide, but he has not been able to work since the outbreak. Her mother, Sandy, is an administrator for a pharmaceutical company. She worked from home for several months before recently being able to return to her workplace.

"Adelaide hasn't been so bad in regards to cases, so the restrictions have eased. We still have to distance ourselves, wear a mask where possible and stay home if sick," Porter said. "However, lately I have felt a little bit of the norm back, which is good for my last few weeks at home."

That "norm" feeling for Porter has included a great appreciation for the role her parents have played in her rise as a basketball player.

"Both my parents have played a huge part in my development and growth as a basketball player over the 11 years I've been playing," Porter said. "My mum was my junior coach for several years, and still to this day supports me like no other. They have traveled the world with me, always there for my highs and lows."

While Porter has found great value in strengthening her family connections with extra time at home, she also has been building strong relationships with her new Husker family in Nebraska.

"We have done regular weekly phone calls with the team and in small groups, and I catch up with some of the girls on calls, in particular Anni (Annika Stewart) and Whit (Whitney Brown)," Porter said. "I probably call them once a day, which is great. I already feel like I've known them for years. Connecting with the girls is something that is bringing me over to Lincoln and pushing to be there as soon as I can. I don't want to start my freshman year behind Anni and Whit, I want to graduate with these girls."

Porter is also eager to bring her own basketball personality to the court while instilling the team values the Huskers have been working throughout the summer to build.

"Being a loud communicator is a big part of the way I play," Porter said. "I don't think it will take too long for me to settle in and bring that to the team. I'm going to Lincoln with a positive mindset. I will work as hard as I can and be a great teammate. I will work for the opportunity and no matter what, I will be dependable for my teammates. This summer, we have established team values that should always be shown on and off the court. I believe the ones we chose are so vital to a great team and great teammates."

Coach Williams has seen Porter's personality and communication skills already benefiting the Huskers prior to Porter's arrival in Lincoln.

"Ruby brings great versatility in the guard position, but my favorite thing that she brings is just a relentless motor and a high-level of communication," Williams said. "It has been fun to watch, even over zoom meetings and from thousands of miles away, how her communication can positively affect our program. It will be fun to have it in person moving forward."

Now that the outgoing, energetic, competitive, caring and honest Porter is counting the days until she can get on the court with her new Nebraska teammates, she can't wait to show her game and her personality to Husker fans.

"I'm a very outgoing person, approachable and love being around people," Porter said. "I adore kids and love giving back to the community. I love having some fun and doing things outside my comfort zone. I am coming in as prepared as I possibly can, and when the season starts up, I'll be giving it my all."