Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — At home games, Hailie Sample is the first starter announced for the Nebraska women's basketball team. And she hasn't missed a start yet.
NU coach Connie Yori has stuck with the freshman as a starter because Sample capably fills a role — perimeter defensive stopper — and sticks to that assignment well. Closing out passing lanes and help-side defense — Sample's known more for that than her three points per game.
But Yori's not about to turn down Sample's performance in a 64-49 win over Minnesota. Sunday, she scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The defense for which she's known was there, too.
"Hailie played great," Yori said. "If we can get that kind of play from her on a regular basis, that makes us that much better. She was aggressive — and she finished."
A native of Flower Mound, Texas — just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex — the 6-foot-1 Sample's been a pass-first guard for most of the year. She's missed all nine 3-point attempts. She'll pass up good looks to feed Jordan Hooper or Emily Cady.
But she pulled the trigger against the Gophers, hitting 5 of 6 shots. She posted up. She scored in transition.
"I'm getting more comfortable," Sample said. "In the first half of the conference (season), I was a little bit nervous to take a shot. But I've been working on it. I've been shooting in practice."
Because of the Huskers' lack of a stalwart, healthy post presence, Sample is often battling in the paint while Hooper swoops around screens for 3-pointers. Fellow freshman Cady is starting to get more of a green light, too. That leaves Sample to the offensive boards — she had two on Sunday and 28 for the year.
Sample's biggest asset: perimeter defense. She can choke off passing lanes and trap guards with her length. Minnesota was smothered by Nebraska's pressure, a change from NU's two previous games, when Penn State and Ohio State seemed to be able to score at will.
"We didn't really focus on defense as much," Sample said. "We were kind of lackadaisical. In this game, we really just focused on defense and made sure we knew who we had and took care of business."
» NOTES: Nebraska moved to No. 19 in this week's Associated Press poll, but Penn State — which beat NU last Sunday — slid past the Huskers to No. 18. The Lady Lions have won four in a row. Ohio State is No. 9 while Purdue is No. 13. Baylor is the unanimous No. 1. The Big Ten has one more ranked team (four) than the Big 12 (three).
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