Courtesy: NU Media Relations
Nebraska guard Taylor Kissinger announced the end of her collegiate playing career on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The 6-1 shooter from Minden, Neb., was preparing for her fourth season with the Husker women's basketball team. She redshirted because of a hip injury as a junior in 2019-20. Kissinger underwent season-ending surgery on Jan. 3, 2020, after appearing in five games with the Big Red during the fall of 2019.
Kissinger faced setbacks during her rehabilitation following surgery, and her participation was limited throughout the summer.
"I love basketball and I love Nebraska. It was always a dream of mine to play for the Huskers, and I want to thank Coach Williams for giving me a chance to make my dreams come true," Kissinger said. "Injuries are forcing me to move to the next part of my life in basketball, which hopefully leads to a career helping other players achieve their dreams."
Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said she is looking forward to helping Kissinger continue to develop in the next stage of her career.
"We are obviously disappointed to see Taylor's playing career cut short by recurring injuries, but we are excited she will remain with us in a different capacity," Williams said. "No one is more passionate about being a Husker, and she still has so much to offer this program."
Kissinger appeared in 60 games with 31 starts over two-plus seasons with the Huskers. She averaged 10.0 points and 4.1 rebounds while appearing in 25 games with seven starts as a true freshman in 2017-18. She helped the Huskers produce the biggest turnaround in the nation and advance to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, despite missing six games in midseason with a knee injury. She also suffered an upper body sprain late in 2017-18 that limited her contributions at the end of the season.
She produced her most consistent season as a sophomore, playing in all 30 games with 24 starts in 2018-19, while averaging 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds. She tied the Nebraska single-season record by hitting 45.6 percent (62-136) of her three-point attempts and connected on 88.2 percent (30-34) of her free throws.
Kissinger missed four games in the concussion protocol early last season, but returned to action and tied a career high with six three-pointers on her way to a team-high 19 points in a win over Duke (Dec. 4) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. A hip injury knocked her out for the rest of the season after a game with Oral Roberts (Dec. 14).
Kissinger finished her career with 559 points, 214 rebounds, 78 assists and 36 steals. Her career .404 (122-302) three-point percentage is the best mark in Nebraska women's basketball history.
