Nebraskan C|^| Ivl-n 5
Wednesday, November 29,1989 ^
Nebraska’s LeeAnna Hiestand drives for a bucket against Georgia.
Nebraska wants to force
Iowa into inside game
By Paul Domeier
Staff Reporter ______
The Nebraska women’s basketball team
will face its second top-10 opponent in five
days when it squares off ^gainst Iowa to
night at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
The Comhuskers lost to No. 4 Georgia
Saturday, 74-59, in the finals of the Wim
mer’s Invitational. The Hawkeyes are
ranked No. 10. Husker Coach Angela Beck
said Iowa, like Georgia, will play up-tempo.
But otter than that, she said, the two op
ponents are complete opposites.
Georgia’s strength was brute force in
side, led by All-America candidate Tam
myc JCiuuns. iwumwwi
presence by forcing the Bulldogs to shoot
from the outside to win.
Beck said the Huskers will make Iowa try
to win from the inside. Iowa’s top players,
she said, are perimeter players Franthea
Price, Stephanie Schueler and Jolette Law.
Beck said Katie Abrahamson, Iowa’s top
inside threat, is good but doesn’t like con
lACt
* * 1 think our inside game is far superior to
theirs,” she said. “That’s why I’m happy
our posts learned from that game (against
Georgia); maybe we can control the inside
game.
Ann Halsne and Karen Jennings, the
Huskers’ starting post players, are from
Iowa, and Beck said they are looking for
ward to the contest. The freshmaft Jennings,
Beck said, picked Nebraska over Iowa.
“(The Hawkeyes) are not as deep, but
we’re not as talented,” Beck said. “So I
think there’s a happy medium there.”
Last year the Hawkeyes defeated the
Huskers, 84-67. This year’s game, which
telecast live by the Nebraska ETV Network
(channel 12), has been the focus of a promo
tional push to fill the arena.
Beck said the team enjoys the television
spotlight and should benefit from a big
crowd.
ticA/V in nlooino a lot OI
fans, but if they’re in our favor it could give
us a little extra adrenaline,” she said.
Nebraska has had only a few days to pre
pare, but Beck said Iowa has the same
problem. The Hawkeyes played in a tourna
ment Saturday and Sunday, defeating Con
necticut in the finals, 81-49.
Beck named three keys for the Huskers.
She said the team needs to limit turnovers,
get good shots and shoot belter, specifically
at the free throw line. She said the guards’
ability to control the ball is most important.
Kruse helps in leading NU team,
fans have fun with fitting surname
wy uarran howler
Senior Reporter
“Kr-u-u-u-s-e.”
Following the lead of NU Coliseum an
nouncer Steve Johnson, Nebraska volleyball
fans have a good lime with the surname of
Comhusker outside hitter Janet Kruse.
Whenever Kruse is introduced or smashes a
kill into an open area, one can be sure the
Coliseum will be filled with the reverberating
sounds of “Kr-u-u-u-s-c.”
Saturday, fans will have another opportu
nity to voice the extended pronunciation when
Nebraska plays Illinois State in a first-round
regional match at 2 p.m. at the Coliseum.
Kruse said she enjoys her surname.
it s kind ol an easy name to take advantage
of,” the sophomore from Fort Calhoun said.
“Sometimes, after a big play, I hear it and it
gets me a little pumped up, but usually I don’t
pay a lot of attention to it.”
A Kruse who does pay attention is her
grandfather and No. 1 fan, Waldo, who seldom
misses a home match.
“My grandpa says if they only knew it’s
pronounced: ‘Kruce,’” she said.
Mispronounced or not, Kruse is having the
kind of year worth shouting about.
The 6-foot-1 hitter leads the team in digs
with 258 and is second to freshman Eileen
Shannon in kills with 409. She is averaging
3.97 kills per game while compiling a hitting
percentage of .348. Shannon’s kill production
is 416, with an average of 4.29 a game and
hitting percentage ot .2m.
Kruse has led the Huskers in kills 10 times
this season. She was named the FirsTier Invita -
tional’s Most Valuable Player, and also was se
lected to the Runza Invitational and Big
Eight’s All-tournament teams.
In addition, Kruse was one of four Huskers
named All-Conference and twice was named
the Big Eight Player of the Week.
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Pettit said
he is pleased with the progress Kruse made in
just her second year.
“Last year she hit under .200 and this year’s
she’s above .340,’’ he said. “She probably has
twice as many kills a match as last year.
“She’s also one of our primary passers and
usually sets the first biock because she’s on our
right side player in the front row.’’
Last season, Kruse tallied 57 digs and 144
kills while averaging 1.55 per game and hitting
.166.
Kruse said she benefits from the balanced
attack that the Huskers possess this season.
“One of the advantages is that we have so
many options which makes it really lough on a
team to play strong defense against us,” she
said.
But, Kruse is still a dominant player, Pettit
said.
“If we’re successful it's because we got it to
her in certain situations,” he said. “In a lot of
matches -- like against Kentucky, Houston and
Hawaii -- one reason we were successful is
because we got her the ball and she terminated
the play.”
Coach has far-fetched dream
i>cuia>KU women ?> uuM^eiuan tudui
Angela Beck has a dream.
Beck has spent the last week plugging her
team’s game against Iowa tonight. She comes
on to her radio promotion, introduces herself
and states that she has a dream.
Beck’s dream begins just before tipoff, as a
sold-out Bob Devaney Sports Center crowd
joins a Nebraska ETV audience to watch .the
Cornhuskers face Iowa. Her dream would
continue as Nebraska battles the 10th-ranked
Hawkeves evenlv before nulling awav in ihe
end.
That’s a far-fetched dream.
First of all, Nebraska has never drawn fans
to women’s athletic events. It's sad how fans
will support the Husker football and men’s bas
ketball teams no matter how bad the opposition
is, but will not attend a women’s game against
a top-10 opponent.
There will not be any threat of a sellout
tonight. Empty seats will be in abundance even
though Nebraska admits all students who pres
ent their student ID cards for free and tickets
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Pizza locations.
But there will be a threat for an upset.
Iowa has its usual arsenal of talented pe
rimeter players, but the Hawkeyes post game is
soft. So soft, in fact, that the Hawkeyes placed
an ad in the Daily Iowan, the student newspa
per at the University of Iowa, calling for any
and all potential post players to try out for the
team.
Several did, but none of them made it.
If that weakness isn’t enough, Nebraska
should use its last two meetings against Iowa to
its advantage.
Last season, Iowa handed Nebraska a lop
sided 84-67 setback. That loss occurred two
years after the Huskcrs beat the Hawkeyes 85
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Nebraska.
The win against Iowa was sweet, especially
when the Hawkeye coaching staff angrily criti
cized the officiating. It seems like every time
Iowa loses to Nebraska in anything, Hawkeye
backers always have excuses.
“You hired terrible officials.”
“You made fun of our turkey trot.”
“You illegally obtained a film and spent all
summer studying it.”
Dream on, Hawkeyes. If Nebraska wins
tonight, it’s because it is the belter team. Not
because of your lame-brain excuses.
Apel is a senior news-editorial major and is the Daily
Nebraskan sports editor.
—-1
M girnri1? I___
Four linemen commit to NU
Four in state linemen have given verbal Bergan’s Zach Wiegert. Wiegert is the
* commitments to the Nebraska football younger brother of Comhusker offensive
j team. lineman Erik Wiegert, while Zatechka’s
The four recruits are Grand Island’s Jon father, Doug, is the director of the housing
Pedersen, Hyannis’ Terry Connealy, Lin- office at the University of Nebraska-Lin
; coin East’s Rob Zatcchka and Fremont coin.
Competition tough for NU center, Nee says
By Cory (iolden
Staff Reporter
Nebraska cenicr Rich King will
face his third major challenge in as
many games when the Comhuskers
play Michigan State tonight in East
Lansing, Mich.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
King will be challenged because
Michigan State possesses a talented
center. That is nothing new this sea
son, Nee said, as both of the Huskers’
previous opponents had quality post
men.
King will face his third tough
center when Nebraska squares off
against Michigan State at 7:05 p.m.
The 7-foot-2 Husker will be matched
against 6-10 Mike Peplowski in the
debut of the Jack Breslin Students
Event Center.
Nee said King only can improve
from facing this high level of compe
tition.
“It’ll be a real challenge for King
right away,” Nee said. “Hopefully,
that 11 help him down the road in
conference games.”
King has passed his court test this
season, averaging 18.5 points and 7.5
rebounds against Missouri-Kansas
City’s David Robinson and Miami of
Ohio’s Jim Paul. Both were 6-10
players.
King’s third major matchup of the
season will place him against the
Spartans’ quicker but shorter 2-3
zone defense. That defense paid big
div idends for the Spartans Monday
night, when they won the ureal
Alaska Shootout by defeating Kansas
State 73-68.
The Spartans’ attack, which
whipped Auburn and Texas A&M
prior to defeating Kansas State, is led
by junior guard Steve Smith.
Smith averaged 17.7 points and
6.9 rebounds per game last season.
He began this year by being named
the Great Alaska Shootout’s Most
Valuable Player after scoring 17
points, grabbing six rebounds and
dishing oil 11 assists against Kansas
State.
Other returning starters for Michi
gan State who helped the Spartans to
a fourth-place finish in the National
Invitation Tournament last season
arc forwards Todd Wolfe and Ken
Rcdfield and guard Kirk Manns.
The Spartans also return forward
Mike Steigenga, who averaged 8.7
points and 4.5 rebounds per game last
season. Steigenga is Michigan
State’s first player off the bench.