It could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. For now, the Nebraska women’s basketball team lost its first game of the year in a place that generally has been unkind to the Husker program: The Big 12 Tournament.

Saddled with Kelsey Griffin’s foul troubles and flummoxed by a matchup zone defense, NU lost to fourth-seeded Texas A&M 80-70 inside Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium Saturday afternoon. The Aggies outrebounded the Cornhuskers 46-32, shot 53 percent and got 32 points from their bench. Nebraska (30-1) only got six.

Thus, a game A&M controlled once Griffin waded into foul trouble midway through the first half. She briefly sat, then picked up her third foul with 3:32 remaining when reaching over the back of a Aggie defender for a rebound.

Less than four minutes into the second half, she picked up her fourth for roughly the same mistake. She scored 15 points, but her usually-aggressive style was toned down. It was Griffin on an eight, instead of an 11. A&M extended a 39-28 halftime lead to as many as 19 points in the second half until Nebraska used a 10-3 run in the last two minutes to close the gap.

"It wasn't our day today,' Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "We missed a lot of open shots, the ball didn't bounce our way and with Kelsey battling foul trouble all day, that made it pretty tough on us. But you have to give a lot of credit to Texas A&M. They took control of the game early and made the plays to keep us from getting back in the game.”

While Dominique Kelley and Cory Montgomery combined for 27 points, they only hit 7-of-22 shots. Reserve guards Kala Kuhlmann and Nicole Neals hit 2-of-8 shots. Spelling Griffin, forward Kathryn Redmon attempted six free throws - and made just one.

Meanwhile, A&M (24-7) enjoyed a huge performance from frontcourt duo Danielle Adams and Adaora Elonu, who combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds. The Aggies, better known for their defense, frequently got point-blank shots after breaking down NU’s defense or after offensive rebounds.

“We executed the heck out of our offense,” A&M Coach Gary Blair said.

At 30-1 the Cornhuskers believe they’ve done enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They’ll find out officially Monday night, when ESPN announces the draw. Connecticut and Stanford would appear to be locks for top seeds, with Tennessee, NU and Ohio State battling for the final three spots.

“If you would have told me we would have been 30-1 at this point of the year, I would have said you’re crazy,” Griffin said. “I’m still extremely excited with what we’ve been able to accomplish, and I know the most exciting part of our year is just going to be starting on Monday."

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

(Photo from Big 12 Sports.com)

Locked in a tight, ugly game with Kansas State that threatened to set back women’s college basketball a few years, undefeated Nebraska found its redoubtable home base - Big 12 Player of the Year Kelsey Griffin. And did she ever go to work in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament.

With NU clinging to a 27-26 halftime lead, Griffin scored 16 of the Cornhuskers’ first 22 points in the second half. In fact, she didn’t miss in five shots and six free throws. Griffin took two charges, too. At the end of her spree, Nebraska led the Wildcats 49-38, and eventually won 63-46. Next is a high noon Saturday game against either Texas or Texas A&M.

The Huskers won their first league tourney game since 2005 as a large contingency of NU fans breathed a sigh of relief. A press corps - which included the New York Times - that wants Cinderella Nebraska to test Goliath Connecticut, pressed forward with its storyline. Griffin, who bailed out her team with 36 points in a 84-72 win over KSU last week, did it again.

“She can take over,” NU coach Connie Yori said. “I feel like we didn’t get her the ball enough in the first half. When you have a variety of ways you can score, you have the capability of taking over the game like she did in that section.”

The predictably-modest Griffin paid the praise forward to her teammates for pushing the ball up the court to set up easy shot opportunities.

“I just let the game come to me,” she said. “I think we played more of our basketball.”

Yes and no. Yori used reserve Kala Kuhlmann, Nicole Neals, Cathryn Redmon and Layne Reeves more than usual to preserve her team’s legs for the weekend, with disjointed results. NU made only 1-of-21 3-point attempts with a 0-for-12 performance at halftime. Several were airballs.

Almost inexplicably, the No. 3 Huskers rushed possessions, often taking a shot at the first breath of daylight without a single rebounder underneath the basket. Kansas State held a 24-17 rebounding edge at halftime as a result.

But Nebraska’s now 30-0 record has been built on stifling defense, and that didn’t change Friday, despite Yori using reserve guards Kala Kuhlmann, Nicole Neals and Layne Reeves more than usual to preserve her team’s legs for the weekend.

NU forced 22 Wildcat turnovers - 15 in the first half - and a couple shot clock violations. In the second half, KSU (14-18) wilted under the Huskers’ stronger on-ball defense, shooting only 27 percent.

“We’re a fighting team,” said senior Cory Montgomery, who scored 13 points and grabbed ten rebounds. “If we’re struggling in one area we know we need to pick it up in another area. We couldn’t get things going on offense, so we knew defense was really going to be a key in this game.”

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

*A terrific LJS story about the bonds of friendship and how it kept Kelsey Griffin at Nebraska. Griffin is a rarity - a smart, mature player who nevertheless enjoys life like a kid might.

*Mike Anderson is making plenty of demands of his young team. He needs to. Nebraska has five easy, winnable home games before a series at Texas - where NU needs to be pragmatic, and take two.

*Much as the Holiday Bowl continues to haunt Arizona- chalk that up to uber-intense coach Mike Stoops, who has a hard time letting things go - offensive coordinator Shawn Watson continues to call it a springboard.

CN breaks down the Big 12 schedules.

*BRN examines the value of JUCO offensive linemen at Nebraska.

*OWH’s Lee B talks a lot of Husker hoops in a recent chat. He’s still firmly behind Doc Sadler as NU’s head coach. So are we…for one more year.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

To no one’s surprise, the Nebraska women’s basketball team vacuumed up the two biggest honors from the Big 12 Conference on Monday.

Connie Yori won the league’s Coach of the Year award. Senior forward Kelsey Griffin won Player of the Year. Griffin, along with senior guard Vonnie Turner and senior forward Cory Montgomery, also appeared on the Big 12’s first team. Junior forward Dominique Kelley grabbed an honorable mention, while point guard Lindsey Moore landed on the All-Freshman team.

And so each member of NU’s starting five - the lifeblood of a 29-0 regular season - won an honor of some kind. Turner was named co-Defensive Player of the Year with Baylor freshman Brittany Griner, and joined Griffin on the All-Defense Team.

The glue was Griffin, who averaged 20.4 points and 10.4 rebounds after returning from reconstructive ankle surgery. The 6-foot-2 native of Eagle River, Alaska, is the second Husker, after forward Karen Jennings, to capture the conference Player of the Year. It’s also her third appearance on the All-Big 12 first team, as well.

"Coming to Nebraska out of high school from Alaska five years ago, I never imagined this would be possible," Griffin said. "Actually, I never even imagined that I would be All-Big 12, let alone a player-of-the-year candidate. There have been so many great players in the conference during my time here.”

Griffin was lightly regarded as a recruit.

“Great example of why recruiting is not an exact science,” Yori said. “From the moment she walked on campus, she has set herself apart in her work ethic to make herself the best player that she can be, and that has been a daily process for her.”

Yori won her second league coach-of-the-year award. She won at Creighton in 2002, as well. NU went from a 15-16 last year to one of the nation’s best.

"I've got great players to work with every day who have given everything they can to make this program great," Yori said. "I am thankful I get to work with them every day because not every team is like this group. These honors aren't given to coaches because they are smarter than anybody else. They are given because their players buy into team concepts."

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Six strong takes as we begin to prepare our NCAA Tournament guide. Look for it a week from now!

*Bo Pelini and Co. can smell a bonanza recruiting season ahead.

We told you, on the 2010 Signing Day, what was coming. Now NU is making its move to surpass the Big 12 North and the back half of the Big 12 South, settling in as the No. 3 recruiting power in the league behind Texas and Oklahoma.

If you look at scholarship offers in talent-rich areas - with a key expansion in Florida - and the aggression toward getting top-notch prospects - like Chandler (Ariz.) offensive lineman Christian Westerman - to attend the Red/White Spring Game on their own dime, there’s a distinct sense of urgency to create buzz and momentum after spellbinding the nation during the Big 12 Championship and turning in the most dominant performance of the bowl season.

According to the Rivals.com database - as always, those gents do terrific gumshoe work - NU has offered nine players from Florida, getting a verbal commitment, thus far, from Clearwater offensive lineman Tyler Moore. There will be more. Few states grow speed - both to stock the spread offense and to stop it - quite like the Sunshine State, and when you get the scent of Tampa, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale in your nostrils, it’s hard to get out.

The key is landing the cream of the Florida crop - not the second-tier better suited for the MAC or its Big 12 brother, Iowa State.

The usual full-court press is being done in Texas. The Huskers have already offered 11 wide receiver prospects, two of which have committed to Texas and Oklahoma, respectively.

Who has NU not offered? Three in-state prospects with D-I tenders: Omaha Central’s Ted Lampkin (Kansas State and Iowa State), Millard North’s Cole Fisher (Iowa and Kansas) and 6-foot-9 Hastings St. Cecilia giant Zach Sterup (Iowa and Ohio). Nebraska will invite all three to camp - Fisher is recovering from an injury - but, by then, the Huskers might have scooped up bigger names based on the varyag of players heading to the Spring Game.

Nebraska walks a fine line with the in-state ham-and-eggers. Bonanza or not, NU needs their camp money, and some Husker faithful believe when a player is worthy of a scholarship offer at Iowa - which will begin next season ranked inside the top ten - then he‘s earned a seat the Big Red’s table. Other (mostly younger) fans wouldn’t care if the entire roster was comprised of kids from Nova Scotia, if that’s what it took to win a Big 12 title.

*The word out of winter conditioning and 7-on-7 drills is that Cody Green appears ready to make the leap. Let’s see in practice and the Spring Game. Zac Lee is the clubhouse leader; Green, still out on the course, will have his chance. Getting scolded earlier in the 2009 season for playing too recklessly in mop-up duty - and that pick six in the Baylor game - shifted Green shifted into a piece of unsteady wood who strung out plays and doubted his skills.

*Ndamukong Suh won’t fall below the No. 3 pick to Tampa Bay - but swish this scenario around in your mouth for a second: The Seattle Seahawks have the No. 6 and No. 14 picks to play around with, and it’s not a sure thing that the quarterback they want - Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford - will be around that long. While Seattle has the ammo to go after the St. Louis Rams’ top pick if it wants Bradford that badly, I wouldn’t be shocked if new coach Pete Carroll packages his two picks to jump a few spots and land Suh.

Talk about a home run. Suh would know Carroll’s defensive system as well as any in the NFL - Carroll mentored Bo Pelini, remember - Seattle is close to Suh’s Portland home, and it’s close to his primary sponsor, Nike. Plus, the Seahawks need defensive linemen. Starters Colin Cole and Brandon Mebane are solid-but-unspectacular.

*Kelsey Griffin is a shoe-in to be a Naismith finalist. She ought to win it - especially after a spectacular 36-point performance to preserve the Nebraska women’s basketball team’s undefeated season - but since ESPN and most other news outlets treat the sport like the Connecticut/Tennessee Invitational, you can expect UConn’s Maya Moore, who won the Naismith in 2009, to win it again.

Let’s look more closely at the numbers:

Moore’s per-game numbers: 18.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1 block in 28 minutes.

Griffin’s per game numbers: 20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks in 27 minutes.

Looks like Griffin holds up. Moore is more dynamic, Griffin draws more fouls. While UConn’s non-conference schedule was harder (games vs. Oklahoma, Texas, Stanford and Florida State) the Big 12, top-to-bottom, is stronger than the Big East. And Griffin, let’s face it, means more to Nebraska than Moore does to the Huskies. Moore is one of many studettes in Storrs. Griffin is the straw that stirs Nebraska’s drink.

*Not only would it be nearly impossible to fit a 96-team NCAA Tournament bracket on a 8½-by-11-inch piece of paper legibly, any expansion of the Big Dance hurts the very best teams.

No. 1 and No. 2 seeds would no longer play a retread from the MEAC in the first round, but some 20-win mid-major with a warm-up game already under its belt. No. 9 seeds would play the retreads, getting the advantage of a 40-minute, live practice the No. 8 seeds wouldn’t enjoy. Fair? Not hardly. An expansion only fattens the wallets of programs and coaches whose teams aren’t quite good enough to qualify now. The improved reputation of a few is not worth trashing a beautiful thing.

*Nebraska baseball needs two weeks of passable weather. Livable. Playable. In those two weeks, NU plays five games at Haymarket Park - including a three-game series vs. Houston Baptist - and should win all of them. Every bit of confidence and practice will help when the Huskers head to Texas Mar. 19 for a three-game series. The Longhorns - great pitching, good enough offense - are similar to UCLA, the team that just swept NU.

The Huskers are better than their 3-7 record suggests. Closer to breaking through than slipping back. But they need some good weather. And they need to stick Casey Hauptman in the weekend rotation.

See also: Commentary: Doc On the Clock

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

On the cusp of completing a perfect regular season, the Nebraska women’s basketball team found itself, as it often has during the last month, in the seeming grip of defeat at Kansas State Saturday, trailing 45-34 late in the first half.

As is her forte - and legacy at NU - senior forward Kelsey Griffin kept the Cornhuskers in the game - then helped wriggle them free.

In a vintage, memorable performance, Griffin scored a career-high 36 points on 15-of-19 shooting in an 82-72 victory over the Wildcats. Making a hard push for the Naismith Award as the best player in women’s college basketball, Griffin scored 16 in the first half while NU’s defense was a sieve, then tacked on 20 in the second, spearheading an 18-3 run that put KSU in the hurt locker.

“Kelsey has the strongest will and the most mental toughness of any player I have ever coached,” Nebraska head coach Connie Yori said. “She was not going to let us lose that game today."

It's the first undefeated regular season for any Big 12 team. NU has easily assured itself, too, of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, although nothing is official

Nebraska (29-0 overall and 16-0 in the Big 12 Conference) had to withstand eight first half 3-pointers from the Wildcats (13-17 and 5-11), the last of which, by Brittany Chambers, gave Kansas State a 45-34 lead with 1:19 remaining before halftime. Griffin answered with a jumper 14 seconds later, followed up by a shot from Cory Montgomery to cut the halftime lead to seven.

“We didn't have any sense of panic in the locker room,” Griffin said.

Two Griffin steals keyed the 18-3 run to start the second half. Senior guard Yvonne Turner scored all nine of her points in that stretch, as well. By the 15:32 mark, NU led 56-48 and Kansas State was forced to call a timeout. She then scored 13 of NU’s next 20 points.

Kansas State remained in striking distance until the 1:53 mark, when Cory Montgomery nailed a 3-pointer to give Nebraska a 78-68 lead.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

They poured into the Bob Devaney Sports Center, fighting traffic snarls for a seat at history.

A sellout for the Nebraska women’s basketball team. A year ago, as the Cornhuskers struggled to a 15-16 record, a night like Saturday seemed unimaginable.

And yet it happened for NU, which ran its record to 27-0 with a 67-51 win over Missouri, then celebrated its first regular season Big 12 Championship afterward by cutting down the nets while 13,595 fans roared and clapped.

The Huskers, now 14-0 in the Big 12, narrowly escaped Mizzou two weeks ago with a 82-78 win. On Saturday, Nebraska ramped up its defense, and star forward Kelsey Griffin visited the free throw line a record 18 times. She made 17 en route to 19 points and 17 rebounds. Nebraska pummeled the Tigers (11-16, 1-13) 42-26 on the boards.

That helped blot out 21 turnovers and a poor shooting night.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Some cheers and tears, a long ride home, and class the next day.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team won its first Big 12 regular season title at Oklahoma Wednesday night with an 80-64 win. But the celebration for it is short, as the Cornhuskers still have three league games to play, a perfect regular season to achieve and a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to protect.

“If you keep patting yourself on the back,” head coach Connie Yori said, “you’re not going to win the next one.”

Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. contest at the Bob Devaney Sports Center pits NU vs. Big 12 cellar-dweller Missouri. But Mizzou took Nebraska to the wire two weeks ago in a 82-78 Husker win.

“They had us beat in Columbia,” Yori said.

The Tigers led by six with less than five minutes to play before a flurry of steals from senior guard Vonnie Turner helped keep the perfect record alive. Turner’s 3-point play - a steal and hoop with harm - in the latter stages of the Oklahoma game served the same purpose.

“Definitely the biggest play of the game,” senior forward Kelsey Griffin said.

Other plays in that decisive 18-1run vs. OU, Griffin said, are “a blur.” What she recalled Thursday was the feeling after the buzzer, and how it compared to winning her state’s high school championship for Eagle River, Alaska.

“Last night surpassed it by ten times,” Griffin laughed.

But Griffin, now one of 30 finalists for the Naismith Award, insisted Nebraska heads right back to work, “excited” over its final three games against division foes - Mizzou, Kansas and Kansas State - that comprise three of the four worst teams in the league.

NU can continue to prepare for the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Nebraska hasn’t won in the league tournament since 2006, and hasn’t advanced to the semifinals since 2000.

“It hasn’t always been kind to us in the past,” Griffin said.

Nebraska also girds for the NCAA Tournament.

“Any game in the big 12 is preparation for tournament play,” Yori said. “You’re going to go into the toughest environments.”

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Locked in a slugfest that borrowed intensity and high stakes from a storied football rivalry involving the same programs, the No. 3 Nebraska women’s basketball team clinched its first regular season Big 12 title with a decisive knockout blow of No. 10 Oklahoma.

Trailing 63-62 with 3:20 left in the game, a raucous crowd of 7,756 at the Lloyd Noble Center on its feet, NU launched a stunning 18-1 run to finish the Sooners 80-64, touching off a celebration in which head coach Connie Yori traded high-fives and hugs with the Cornhusker bench.

“Tonight was an example of just how tough we are,” head coach Connie Yori said on her postgame radio show. “It would have been so easy to lose tonight.”

Dethroning the reigning Big 12 champions on their home court was precisely the way Nebraska wanted to clinch the crown. Seniors Kelsey Griffin, Cory Montgomery and Vonnie Turner each took turns in the final minutes making sure it would happen.

Montgomery, who finished with 24 points, hit a short jumper at the 3:18 mark to give NU the lead. Turner, who sat nearly the entire first half with foul trouble, stole the ball on OU’s next possession and completed a 3-point play with a layup, foul and free throw. Then Griffin, offering up a signature performance - 30 points and 13 rebounds - iced the game with free throws and rebounds.

At 26-0 overall and 13-0 in the league, NU can’t be caught. After beating Oklahoma for the first time in five years, it now faces three lower-division Big 12 teams. The pathway to a perfect conference record - and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament - seems clear.

And Yori, often stoic and self-deprecating during this historic season, smiled, laughed and cried after the win.

“It’s taken eight years to get to this point,” Yori said.. “It hasn’t been easy. It’s been pretty darn hard at times. And these guys I get to coach every day? They’re just a phenomenal group…I’m very, very privileged to coach them.”

Said Griffin: "We have been focused all season on our next practice and our next game. Tonight we are going to enjoy this victory. We have earned that. Tomorrow, we are going to be ready for our best practice of the year.”

Yori took over a team in 2002 beset with academic and disciplinary problems. She cleaned house completely, even scouring the sorority houses on campus for reserves. Those Huskers finished 1-15 in the Big 12 - and yet, Yori said, small home crowds gave them “standing ovations” for the effort.

That same faithful following circled around Yori on the bleachers in Norman Wednesday night as she conducted her radio show. They watched NU hold cold-shooting OU at bay most of the night, then kick its game into another gear once the Sooners made their final push.

Nebraska led 33-29 at halftime thanks to Griffin’s 16 points and Montgomery’s seven. Turner sat the last 18:43 of the first half with two fouls. Upon her return in the second half, two quick steals immediately helped NU take a 38-29 lead. OU clawed within four. Then Nebraska staked leads of 45-36 and 52-42.

Both times, Oklahoma came back behind point guard Danielle Robinson, who finished with 15 points, and giant forward Abi Olajuwon, who battled with Griffin all night, and finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Sooners (19-8 and 9-4) took a 56-54 lead with 6:40 left when Jasmine Hartman hit a 3-pointer. The teams traded points for the next three minutes. Then NU put on the afterburners.

With OU’s defense sagging on Griffin, Montgomery was the key. In a five-minute stretch, she scored 11 points that included two treys. The second of those gave Nebraska a 70-63 lead with 2:26 left. Oklahoma, which only hit 2-of-13 3-pointers for the night, didn’t have the long-distance shooting to come back.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Stay in front: Oklahoma’s guards, especially point Danielle Robinson, like to drive hard to the hoop, draw fouls and dish for easy layups. Nebraska’s defense must stay in front of those guards and draw charges when possible.

Battle on the boards: OU is only fifth in the league in total rebounds, but the Sooners are good at getting second-chance points and protecting the defensive boards. Nebraska needs to be slightly more careful with its shot selection Wednesday night and get itself in position to make plays.

Wear them out: NU may not get a ton of points from its bench, but that’s not the purpose of head coach Connie Yori’s style. The purpose is to buy the starters minutes on the bench, and defense. OU only plays 7 with any regularity; Nebraska will play 9 or 10. The depth should kick in toward the end of the first half.

Get It to Griffin Early: Kelsey Griffin rises up in the big games, and Nebraska needs to see how Oklahoma’s defense intends to guard her. From there, NU can begin to work its offense inside-out.

Beat Back the Crowd: OU’s faithful will show up. It always does, and it’s likely to be one of the biggest crowds Nebraska faces all year - at least the biggest since the Iowa State game. NU has to battle through and withstand the big runs.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

In reality, the challenger doesn’t have to knock out the reigning champ for the title belt.

The No. 3 Nebraska women’s basketball team, at 25-0 overall and 12-0 in the Big 12 Conference, has probably accumulated enough wins to win the regular season league title. If not, then NU will once it likely beats Kansas and Missouri at home in the next week.

But Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. game at No. 10 Oklahoma offers the Cornhuskers a chance to dethrone the defending league champs - winners of three of the last four, in fact - on their home court. NU hasn’t won in Norman in 12 years. Hasn’t beaten the Sooners at all in five.

“They’re going to want to win that game,” Nebraska head coach Connie Yori said. “And they’re not going to want to let us win the conference championship on their home court. They’re still in the hunt. It means a lot to them, and it means a lot to us.”

In their history, the Huskers own just one conference title, a 1988 Big Eight crown, the trophy for which sits on the main concourse of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Yori talked pointedly Tuesday about NU’s relatively empty trophy case.

“It’s been a long run of middle-of-the-pack,” she said. “It’s been a long run of, at times, lower-than-middle-of-the-pack. There hasn’t been a long history here.”

Meanwhile, OU (19-7 and 9-3) has dominated the Big 12 with help of the Paris twins, Courtney and Ashley, who graduated last year after a Final Four berth. The Sooners have only a remote shot at the league crown this year, needing to beat four NCAA Tournament teams in a row - NU, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State - coupled with three Husker losses.

That won’t make winning in Norman much easier. Expect 11,000 fans in the Lloyd Noble Center, and a fast, athletic Oklahoma team that runs the floor and challenges opponents much like Nebraska does. OU boasts the league’s toughest non-conference schedule, too, losing games to Notre Dame, Tennessee and Connecticut, the last of which beat the Sooners 76-60 in Norman last Monday - but trailed in the second half.

“They’re not afraid of anyone,” Yori said. “They’re not going to wilt.”

Nebraska will try to press OU to exploit its lack of depth. The Sooners lost a starter, guard Whitney Hand, to a torn ACL six games into the season.

“We’re going to do what we’ve always done: Wear down teams,” freshman guard Lindsey Moore said. “It’s hard to run with us.”

OU will counter with a lineup that averages 41 rebounds per game and savvv point guard Danielle Robinson, who’s averaging 17 points and five assists this season. Not a 3-point shooter, Robinson scored 36 in a 77-66 win over Oklahoma State, and shoots 86 percent from the line.

“Extraordinary quickness,” Yori said of Robinson. “Extraordinary speed. Plays with great tenacity.”

NU senior “hound” Vonnie Turner will draw the key defensive assignment.

“It’s going to be on my back,” Turner said. “She’s very smart.”

Turner expects OU’s “A game.” Nebraska sees it often these days. Yori makes a habit of watching opponents during warm-ups, and has noticed an added focus in the layup line. It’s made teams like Kansas, Missouri and Colorado more competitive in games with NU than their records would suggest.

“We’re getting everybody’s best shot,” she said.

Wednesday, players agree, Nebraska will be ready to deliver theirs. The one-game-at-a-time mentality still applies, of course. But NU can release the pressure of the Big 12 slate by finishing off OU. It can then begin to prepare for the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments in earnest and use its last two home games as a celebration of a great season - instead of a weight to lift.

The boggart of the Big 12, Oklahoma, is the last hurdle. Maybe the biggest one.

“It’s not just for trophies,” Turner said. “ (It’s) for memories.”

See also: Five Keys to OU

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Colorado gave the Nebraska women’s basketball its best offensive shot. Quite a few of them, in fact.

But No. 3 NU won its 25th-straight game by fighting the Buffaloes’ fire with fire in a 89-73 victory. CU hit 15 3-pointers in front of 12,747 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. But the Cornhuskers, paced by forward Kelsey Griffin’s 25 points, shot 50 percent from the field - including 60 percent inside the arc.

After busting open a 25-all tie midway through the first half with a 15-2 run, Nebraska and Colorado traded baskets - at a brisk clip - for the rest of the game. Colorado hit its jumpers - Brittany Spears finished with 26 points six treys - but it had little answer for Griffin, who hit 10-of-14 shots, and senior Cory Montgomery, who hit 8 of 14. NU also forced 17 Buffalo turnovers.

Huskers head coach Connie Yori called the victory “a great team win.”

“It would have been really easy to lose that game,” Yori said. “It felt like Colorado couldn't miss. They hit some tough shots. But our players worked hard on the boards, kept the pressure up and kept running the floor and did a lot of little things to win the game.”

NU is now 12-0 on the Big 12 campaign, which ties a league record with Oklahoma - which also happens to be Nebraska’s next - and arguably toughest - opponent of the season.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

No. 3 Nebraska’s 60-50 win over No. 13 Iowa State in women basketball was defined ironically by its point guards: What ISU’s Alison Lacey couldn’t do vs. what NU’s Lindsey Moore did.

Lacey, the Cyclones’ senior leader and arguably the best point guard in the Big 12, sat out Wednesday night’s game with a mild concussion.

“We obviously caught a break, but we also had to take advantage of it,” Nebraska head coach Connie Yori said.

The Cornhuskers did, forcing 24 turnovers.

Meanwhile, Moore, a pass-first true freshman, had the best game of her young, promising career, hitting four 3-pointers en route to 18 points. Purposely left open by Iowa State’s defense, Moore busted through a season-long shooting slump on a night when forward Kelsey Griffin and guard Vonnie Turner combined for just 19 points.

“Every point she scored was my fault,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said. “They were told not to guard her.”

Said Moore: “The ball was coming out of hands pretty well, and I started getting into a rhythm.”

It takes all kinds of heroes in a historic season; Nebraska, now 24-0 overall and 11-0 in the Big 12, broke a school record for wins in a single season while 11,000 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center grind down and finally finish off a smart, tough Cyclone team.

“This team isn’t just about one player, and we win games as a team,” said Griffin, who was frequently double and tripled-teamed by ISU. “That obviously showed tonight. We have a freshman who can step up and make great plays.”

And Yori can claim she saw it coming. For months, she’s insisted Moore was not only a good shooter, but possibly Nebraska’s best. That seemed odd given that Moore had only made 20 percent of her 3-point attempts heading into Wednesday night.

But in a five-minute stretch after Iowa State (19-5 and 7-4) had erased NU’s 27-19 halftime advantage and taken a 34-33 lead, Moore hit three treys to help give the Huskers a 47-40 cushion. The Cyclones never got closer than three points after that.

“She got in the gym the last few days, got a little confidence playing on our rims and knocked those babies down,” Yori said.

ISU was redeemed by a 34-24 rebounding advantage and hitting ten 3-pointers. More than half of its shots came from beyond arc. Without Lacey, the Cyclones rarely tried to test the interior of NU’s defense.

Turner, while hitting just 3 of 10 shots, accounted for four steals and forced many more turnovers on top of it.

“When you take away your point guard, your leading scorer, your primary ball handler, everyone else has to play at a much higher level,” Fennelly said. “And that didn’t happen. And Nebraska had a lot do with that.”

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Still undefeated. But it’s getting harder and harder to stay that way.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team overcame a six-point deficit with three minutes left at Big 12 cellar-dweller Missouri with that reliable senior duo of Kelsey Griffin and Vonnie Turner. Both shoo-ins for All-Big 12 honors, they saved the Cornhuskers’ hide on a day when the Tigers, much like Kansas three days prior, executed their offense with precision.

Griffin carried the Cornhuskers with 28 points and 12 rebounds, repeatedly answering Mizzou’s offensive surges. Turner added 19, but saved her biggest plays for the game’s final minute, when NU trailed the Tigers 78-77.

First Turner grabbed a loose ball and forced a foul when she tried a layup. She two free throws.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Turner deflected the ball to point guard Lindsey Moore, who hit one of two free throws after she was fouled. Turner’s final defensive play was Mizzou’s next possession, when she picked up her fourth steal of the game, forced another foul and hit another free throw for a 81-78 lead.

For the game, NU, now 23-0 overall and 10-0 in the Big 12 Conference, hit 23 free throws to Missouri’s 14. Where the Tigers (11-13 and 1-10) caught up, surprisingly, were on the boards (34-28) and from the 3-point line (8 of 20). Mizzou guard Amanda Hanneman hit three of those treys, but missed her last attempt with 9.7 seconds left in the game for the tie. As she tried to shoot another, Moore stole the ball, drew a foul, and hit one more free throw for the final margin.

So ended Nebraska’s most exciting game of the season. NU hit 58 percent of its shots, but committed 13 turnovers. The Huskers got Missouri’s best shot on top of that; the Tigers were the second straight opponent to successfully challenge NU’s pressure defense with hard drives to the basket, followed by kickout passes for open 3-pointers.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Faced the very real potential of its first loss of the season - and an upset loss at that - the Nebraska women’s basketball team turned to the senior combo that’s carried a perfect season on their backs for months.

Locked in a 55-all tie at Kansas with six minutes left, guard Vonnie Turner hit a long contested 3-pointer to give NU a 58-55 lead. On the ensuing possession, forward Kelsey Griffin grabbed three straight offensive rebounds, the last of them resulting in a circus putback basket, plus a foul.

Sometimes, clutch trumps pretty. Especially as No. 3 Nebraska ran its record to 22-0 in its 67-60 win over the Jayhawks, who erased a 30-20 halftime deficit by hitting their first 11 shots of the second half. Once KU tied the game at 41, it was NU’s first tooth-and-nail game in the Big 12 since a 65-56 win at Baylor almost one month ago.

"That is a great win for our team," head coach Connie Yori said. "I'm really excited about the way we won the game. We haven't really had to win that way before. We haven't really had to come back late game on the road and find a way to win the game.”

Playing in a nearly empty Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas was an unlikely foe to take NU to the wire. KU lost its best player, Danielle McCray, to a torn ACL last week, and committed 17 turnovers against the Huskers’ pressure defense. In fact, Nebraska’s up-tempo offense had little trouble getting into the lane for layups and short jumpers.

NU just didn’t make very many of them, shooting 34 percent from the floor. Turner, Griffin and guard Dominique Kelley combined to miss 27 shots.

So the Huskers turned to their defense. Trailing 53-49 with less than eight minutes in the game, NU got three straight stops on the Jayhawks - and scored three straight baskets. After Kansas answered to tie the game at 55, Nebraska’s freshman point guard, Lindsey Moore, dashed hard into the lane and kicked out to Turner, who drained the crucial 3-pointer.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

From start to finish, it was a up-tempo, high-pressure game of runs. The kind of contest Nebraska’s women’s basketball team excels at winning.

No change in the script Saturday, as NU stayed perfect, staving off hard-charging No. 12 Texas A&M 71-60 with free throws and a double dose of post - forwards Kelsey Griffin and Cory Montgomery, who combined for 39 points, 15 rebounds and four steals.

When the athletic Aggies cut the lead to 65-60 with three minutes left - few teams have been so close to the Huskers so late in a game - Griffin responded with four straight points, including a key layup off an assist from guard Dominique Kelley.

“Our toughness down the stretch was terrific,” NU head coach Connie Yori said.

Montgomery did her damage earlier in the game, rattling home two 3-pointers as part of her 18-point effort.

In front of 10,889 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center - the third straight crowd over 10,000 - NU dominated at the free throw line - outscoring A&M 16-1 - but did most of that damage in the first half, as the Huskers forged a 40-29 halftime lead.

The Aggies switched to a zone in the second half - Yori called it a "junk defense" - frustrating Nebraska more than any team has this year; NU (21-0 overall and 8-0 in the Big 12) made just 38 percent of its shots, and reached the line just four times in the final 20 minutes. For the game, Nebraska made only 5 of 22 3-point attempts.

“They gave us our money’s worth,” Griffin said.

Naturally, the Huskers’ defense picked up the slack, harassing A&M (16-5 and 4-4) into 16 turnovers and a whopping 40 misses. The Aggies repeatedly settled for jumpers, and played at NU’s pace, which led to wild, ill-advised shots.

“(NU) is a team that has a chance of getting to that Final Four,” A&M coach Gary Blair said.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Connie Yori knew there’d be a terrific crowd at the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the No. 7 Nebraska women’s basketball team’s 71-56 win over Kansas State.

But filled to the brim with 13,303 fans - the largest crowd in school history - and the largest crowd for anything in the Bob this year?

“It was pretty phenomenal,” Yori said.

So is Yori’s team - now the feel-good story of the women’s college basketball season - as the Huskers ran its record to 17-0 with an offensive showpiece against the game Wildcats, who clawed back from a 35-13 to within seven by halftime.

Nebraska (17-0 and 4-0 in the Big 12) dished out 19 assists and hit 47 percent of its shots, including 9 3-pointers. Naturally, senior guard Vonnie Turner accounted for six of them, finishing with 20 points. Kelsey Griffin scored 22 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

"They don't care who scores,” Yori said. “They really don't. As long as they get the end result they are looking for, that is all they care about. They are an experienced group who wants to practice hard, have fun and win games, and that's what they've been doing."

Cory Montgomery chipped in 15 and Dominique Kelley scored 10.

Kansas State (10-9 and 2-3) showed some offensive flash, but didn’t have the defensive mustard to check Griffin or mark Turner as she swept around screens for 3-pointers.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Please enable Javascript, or download the podcast here.

Join Husker Locker today - it's free!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post