'Sheer Joy' For Nebraska Women's Basketball, Amy Williams After Snapping Losing Skid

Nebraska women's basketball and coach Amy Williams were finally able to overcome their losing skid on Sunday, but the initial emotion that took over the team in Washington was not relief - it was jubilation.

"Just sheer joy to watch them celebrate that win after all the struggles that we have been facing," Williams said during her appearance on the Huskers Radio Network's 'Sports Nightly' program Tuesday night. "The pride that I felt, just looking in their faces. [I am] just proud of the way that they've continued to fight through it all. For me, it was just happiness for them to celebrate that win."

Williams noted that she hopes the 66-65 road win at Washington "opens the flood gates" for the Huskers after Nebraska suffered nearly a month-long losing skid lasting six games from Feb. 1 through Feb. 19. Nebraska picked up losses to five teams inside of the current Associated Press top 25 rankings beginning with No. 13 Ohio State, No. 8 Michigan, No. 14 Maryland, No. 22 Minnesota, and No. 9 Iowa before beginning a West Coast trip last Thursday with an 80-76 road loss at Oregon.

Oregon’s Janiyah Williams, center, shoots a 3-point shot over Nebraska’s Jessica Petrie during the second half | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"That's one of the positives of a [West Coast road] trip like that, there is a lot of together times. There wasn't a lot of times to sulk or go off to our own or anything like that. We had a tough loss - we felt like we were competitive [against Oregon]... I thought our kids kind of leaned into each other and just stayed together and stayed focused."

Williams added the team did "just enough to get over the hump" at Washington as the Huskers forced 17 turnovers but only recovered four offensive boards to be out-rebounded by the Huskies 43-24. In the end, Britt Prince's three-pointer to take the lead and eventually win the game was the difference maker for the Big Red. The Huskers' coach recognized the Elkhorn North grad's confidence growing as the game wore on in Washington.

"I thought Britt was playing aggressive-minded and really wanted the ball in her hands to make plays. She had showed that throughout the game, so that's always a great place for our team to be when she has that mentality going," Williams said.

Britt Prince's step-back three-pointer in the closing seconds gave Nebraska a 66-65 win at Washington. | Nebraska Athletics

"I honestly felt like 'That's good' [when Prince shot the ball]. To be honest, we said, 'We can go for two here. If you have an alley to the basket - and she had done such a great job of getting to the basket - or we could go for a win,'" Williams said on the play design. "Britt, I think she was thinking, 'Let me get to the basket right here.' It had been very successful for her all game. When the defender got on her heels, she just made the right basketball play."

Williams continued saying she's seen the sophomore "make that shot a million times," giving the coach the confidence to trust her 2024-25 All-Big Ten Freshman team selection to knock down the game-winning play. The coach heaped more praise on Prince, adding that the trust "never wavered" and called the guard a "special competitor." Prince has proven that trust again this season, adding nearly four more points per game than her freshman season while improving on all her shooting categories.

Despite the win at Washington, Nebraska recognizes there are still plenty of warts on a team that had more than just NCAA Tournament aspirations near the mid-point of its season a few weeks ago. Since the turn into February, the Huskers went from a near-lock to make the women's tournament to potentially the 'Last Team In' according to ESPN's latest metrics. ESPN currently has the Huskers listed as an 11 seed in the Louisville region, a near-free fall from its No. 5 projected seeding rating at the end of December.

Nebraska coach Amy Williams issues orders | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"I think we need to stay exactly where we were at. That is figuring out where we need to get better. We were able to get over the hump and win that game at Washington, but we still did not do the job that we need to do - or want to do - on the boards. Something that we know if we want to beat Rutgers on Saturday, we're going to have to do a better job of that," Williams said.

The Huskers currently rank 197th in the country in rebounding margin, nearly passing the neutral mark with a .1 margin. The Huskers have nabbed 925 rebounds this season, good for 33 per game. Nebraska has also allowed 923 rebounds on the year, matching the average per contest through 28 games so far.

Despite the frustration and headaches of a long-losing streak to talented teams, Williams still sees the growth of a young program budding through.

Nebraska guard Kennadi Williams makes a contested layup against Creighton. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"I think we're really growing. We're seeing great growth. Players like Amiyah Hargrove - several players that are continuing to gain confidence. Petra Bozan has started to figure some things out and is finding ways to contribute," Williams said. "The growth we are seeing out of some of the young players in the program has been positive, but the sense of urgency that you can feel from our seniors is real. That's something we're really tapping into and leaning hard on."

Nebraska will honor four seniors on its Senior Day activities on Saturday against Rutgers to wrap up the regular season, as guards Hailey Weaver, Allison Weidner, and Callin Hake join forward Eliza Maupin as the seniors or graduate students in the program. Fortunately, Nebraska's metrics favor the Big Red for more than just a Big Ten Conference Tournament appearance. Williams noted the Huskers are in a "good position" within the NET rankings and the team's 'wins above the bubble' national metric.

"We've done some things in a very, very challenging and tough conference to be competitive and to show offensive efficiency and a lot of the things that matter for postseason success," Williams said. "From our standpoint as a team, we're just keeping our focus on what we can control, and that is the game that is in front of us."

Nebraska wraps up its regular season at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday, hosting Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights (9-18, 1-15 Big Ten) have lost nine in a row leading into the team's home tilt with Indiana on Wednesday. The Huskers are taking advantage of the time off prior to the regular season finale, getting "rested and recovered" as the program's bye week arrived before the start of the conference tournament.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Amy Williams during the first quarter at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Williams reiterated that Nebraska is still taking Rutgers seriously despite the long break and the Scarlet Knights' record, calling the Huskers' Saturday foe a "dangerous, dangerous team." The coach added that Nebraska expects to use a smaller lineup to contend against Rutgers' size defensively, and noted the offensive shooting threats that the team travels with.

"Its a team that we know we're going to have to play 40 minutes of Husker basketball," Williams said.

Nebraska tips off against Rutgers on Saturday at 1 p.m. CST from Pinnacle Bank Arena for its Senior Day activities. Television coverage will be provided by B1G+, with radio coverage on the Huskers Radio Network broadcast across its affiliate stations.