 "Photo: FILE PHOTO")
She could be called the sixth woman.
Or maybe more fitting would be the title "the silent assassin."
But of all the nicknames one could conjure up, Nebraska junior guard Tay Hester probably summed it up best.
Hester called forward Cory Montgomery the Cornhusker women's basketball team's "best-kept secret."
"Cory does great things for us," Hester said. "I don't know why teams haven't caught on to her."
Montgomery has provided a spark off the bench this season for the Huskers (7-2).
NU Coach Connie Yori said Montgomery has come a long way since her freshman campaign, adding it's nice to have three post players playing well.
"If you look at her statistically from our first 10 games, she's having a great season," Yori said. "She's a much-improved player."
Last season, Montgomery averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in more than 11 minutes per game coming off the bench for a veteran squad that made an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
This year, the 6-foot-2 sophomore from Cannon Falls, Minn., has nearly doubled her production on the court. She is the Huskers' third leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points in more than 17 minutes per game.
Starting forwards Danielle Page and Kelsey Griffin are averaging 14.3 and 11.9 points per game, respectively.
Montgomery and Page contributed 21 points apiece in Saturday night's 87-69 dismantling of Southern California at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Montgomery's point total against the Women of Troy was a career high, and 14 of those points came in the second half.
"Whenever Kelsey and (Danielle) need the sub, I'm usually the first one to go in and give them their little break," Montgomery said.
Page called Montgomery's Saturday performance "nuts" and said her consistent play off the bench provides a boost to starters.
"I think it makes it so much easier," Page said. "It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of us."
It was the third time this season Montgomery has led the Huskers in scoring.
Against Robert Morris on Dec. 2, Montgomery collected her first career double-double, scoring 16 points and snagging 11 rebounds in 22 minutes in NU's 73-58 victory.
In the Oahu Classic against Marist on Nov. 23, Montgomery provided 14 points in the Huskers' 66-59 loss.
Usually, a player's sophomore season is known as the "sophomore slump."
But for Montgomery, it's quickly becoming the "sophomore surge."
She is shooting at more than 60 percent from the field while pulling down five rebounds per game.
"I just prepare myself," Montgomery said. "When they call my name, I come off the bench, go to the scorer's table and in I go."
nickfilipowski@dailynebraskan.com
