By JENNIFER GROSKREUTZ
groskreutz@newsroom.byu.edu
The BYU women's basketball team might be coming off a close road loss to Marquette, but head coach Trent Shippen said the Cougars will be ready for a tough Nebraska team Thursday night at 7.
'The team did an outstanding job, and it was the best we've played so far this season,' Shippen said in a press release. 'Right now we need a day to rest before preparing for our next game.'
The Cougars are beginning their longest road trip of the season, which began with the 74-71 loss Monday night to Marquette. The loss was the team's second loss of the season. BYU will play its next four games on the road, ending Dec. 20 against Montana State.
Nebraska, like the Cougars' opponent Monday night, just achieved a narrow victory against Washington, 89-86, on Monday. The Huskers currently have a 3-2 record, while the Cougars hold a solid 5-2 record.
Senior guard Brooke Schwartz leads the Huskers with an offensive scoring average of 17.4 points per game. Senior center Charlie Rogers is averaging 10.4 rebounds per game.
The Huskers are averaging 86.8 points per game, while holding their opponents to 80.2 points.
For the Cougars, freshman guard Erin Thorn has shown why she was a top prospect coming out of high school. Thorn was recently named the Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the first freshman to receive the honor. She had a career-high game against Idaho State, scoring 25 points.
Netting seven of nine three-pointers in the Idaho State game, Thorn became second on BYU's list for treys in a game while filling in for injured sophomore guard Stacy Jensen. She racked up 10 points and had nine assists, just missing a double-double, against nationally-ranked UC-Santa Barbara.
Thorn also collected 16 points and dished out three assists in the Cougars 59-49 victory over Loyola Marymount. To complete the list, Thorn was the only Cougar named to the Jayhawk Classic All-Tournament Team.
Other BYU recent standouts include senior forwards, and co-captains, Jill Adams and Cady Williams. Both women scored double digits in all of BYU's first three games.
Lori Cuff, senior forward, is back on the Cougars list as a probable starter after recovering from a knee injury earlier this season. She led the team in rebounds, with a total of seven, in her second game back against UCSB.