Lindsey Moore knows what it’s like to play for one of the top teams in the country, she did it just last year while a senior at Kentwood High, which lost only one game en route to a 4A state championship.

Moore is now a freshman at the University of Nebraska where she is starting for the Huskers, one of two undefeated teams in the country — the other being defending national champion University of Connecticut — and it is ranked sixth in the country.

She left for Nebraska in July, traveling more than 1,700 miles to Omaha to start the next phase of her basketball career, spending the first few days getting cleared to play.

“It’s so different out here,” Moore said. “It’s a completely different lifestyle.”

She’s enjoying herself, though, with both basketball and school going well.

But, Moore does get pangs of homesickness, the kinds of things text messages to her older sister Erin or calls home can cure or a treat from Covington Teriyaki, a favorite hometown restaurant, sent overnight via FedEx from Erin who “is really good with my care packages.”

“Being away, it really makes me miss home and remember how close things were and how much fun being home was,” she said. “When I went home for Christmas break, I think I had teriyaki almost every single day.”

It also helps that she loves her teammates and that she has a great shoulder to lean on in Kelsey Griffin, a leader for the Huskers who is from Alaska.

“I couldn’t have asked for better teammates to have and they help out a lot,” Moore said. “Kelsey Griffin … she was really home sick when she was a freshman. She said, ‘Honestly, if you need anything … I’ll be able to help you out because I’ve been there.’”

Moore said that while it’s tough at times, she’s “really good at being independent.”

Plus, playing for one of the best women’s college basketball teams in the country helps, though Moore was just hoping to get on the floor.

“I was not expecting to start by any means,” she said. “I just had a mindset that I was going to come in and hopefully if the coaches liked what they saw … I’d get minutes here and there.”

So, when Coach Connie Yori announced her name as part of the starting line up on Nov. 3 before Nebraska took on Pittsburgh State at the start of the season, Moore did a double take.

“I was like, ‘Wait, what? Did she mean to say my name,’” Moore said. “Then I had to get in my mind set about what was going to happen, focus on that and get out the jitters and get ready for my first college game.”

She is doing everything she can to contribute to Nebraska’s success as the squad has rolled up a 6-0 record in the Big 12 as of Jan. 30, a first in team history, and soared into the top 10 in the rankings.

“It’s honestly ridiculous to me, it’s so surreal,” Moore said of Nebraska’s success. “We’re a good team and that’s why we’re playing so well. I don’t think any of the rankings have gone to anyone’s head. It comes down to working hard and playing our best game.”

According to her biography on the Husker’s athletic department Web site, Moore added nine points and seven assists while committing just one turnover in a career-high 36 minutes in a 14-point win over No. 5 LSU on Dec. 20 in what was her best game of the season thus far.

“Lindsey is a classic floor leader. She is an excellent passer and decision-maker as a point guard, and she can score in a variety of ways,” Yori said in Moore’s bio. “I love her competitiveness on the court, and she is also a great student off the court.”

Moore believes the success the Conquerors had while she was a high school player will allow her to help the Huskers as they navigate the rest of this season’s tough schedule.

“I definitely think it will, especially with being a freshman and this being the first experience I’m getting in college … and having played four games in four days at state will help me quite a bit,” she said. “It also helps that everyone on my team is really competitive and we want to do what it takes to win. If a team wants to beat us, they’re going to have to work really hard to beat us.”

The team’s goal, Moore explained, is to do well in the conference tournament with the idea that a good showing there will help heading into the NCAA tournament in the spring.

Meanwhile, Moore is considering majoring in communications and a minor in sports marketing, and looking forward to the next time she sees her family who will be traveling to Nebraska this week to see her play.

The Huskers have a pair of home games on the schedule against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M University.

“I have a countdown on my computer for the next time that I’ll see them,” Moore said. “They’re coming out to watch and I’m so excited. I don’t think they’ve experienced anything like this … especially the starting line up. They go all out, it’s sweet.”