LINCOLN — First came the funny looks. The friendly teasing followed soon after.

When she committed to play women’s basketball for Nebraska a year ago, Rebecca Woodberry’s friends and family members in Phoenix went out of their way to joke about it.

“Nebraska?” Woodberry remembers hearing. “Nebraska, really?”

Not any more. Since Woodberry signed a letter of intent last November, the Huskers won a conference title, became the first Big 12 team to finish the regular season without a loss, earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

“Now, they’re all hushed up,” she said. “30-0? No. 3 in the nation? It’s all been really exciting. It’s really fun to brag.”

Woodberry, the Gatorade player of the year in Arizona, is one of five players who signed with Nebraska last fall and will join the team for workouts this summer.

Jordan Hooper, the 6-foot-2 all-stater from Alliance, is the local headliner of the bunch. The others:

• Katie Simon, a 6-2 forward from Roseville, Calif., was an all-league first-teamer as selected by area coaches.

• Kellie McCann-Smith, a 5-9 guard from Clarkston, Wash., scored 38 points in the game that put her team in the state tournament.

• Adrianna Maurer, a 6-4 forward from Kansas City, led Bishop Miege to the semifinals of the Kansas state tournament. She scored 19 in a first-round win.

• Woodberry, a 5-10 guard, led Tolleson Union High School to its second straight Arizona state title, averaging 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals.

Until she can work out with her future teammates, Woodberry gets to be a fan, riding the emotional roller coaster just like everyone else.

“A lot of people had doubts about the program because of their past record,” Woodberry said. “But I told my dad before the season that they’re going to have a really good team this year. They’re all good players. I knew that this year was going to be a really big year.”

She has watched anytime a Husker game has been carried by Fox Sports Net or ESPN, and she has booted up her computer to view the live online video feed whenever possible. If there’s a conflict, she makes sure someone’s monitoring the score and sending her occasional text message updates.

That was the scenario for most of the first half Tuesday, when Nebraska was battling with UCLA in the NCAA tournament second round.

Woodberry was attending a banquet honoring her for winning the player of the year award. She found a TV as soon as the ceremony ended, though. By then, it was no big deal. Nebraska won easily, 83-70.

“I was a little nervous at the beginning,” she said.

If Woodberry’s increased enthusiasm is any indication, Nebraska’s coaching staff should have a prosperous summer recruiting season as it tries to gain commitments for its 2011 class.

Coach Connie Yori has said a number of times that more high-level recruits have already shown more interest in NU. A deep run in the NCAA tournament only adds to the program’s improving reputation among prospective athletes.

“I just think our entire season has gotten recruits more excited about us,” Yori said. “You hope that eventually you can carry this over to getting some recruits that could help you.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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