Cornhusker wrestlers blast Notre Dame
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Whatever it is the Nebraska wres
tlers have, Comhuskcr coach Tim
Neumann hopes they don’t lose it.
At least not in the next five days.
Saturday night against No. 12
ranked Notre Dame, the fourth-ranked
Huskers defeated the Fighting Irish
30-8 before 453 fans at the Bob Dcva
ney Sports Center. The match was
Nebraska’s final tuncup before fac
ing top-ranked Oklahoma State on
Thursday at the Cowboy Duals in
Stillwater, Okla.
The Huskers’ execution and inten
sity level, however, left a lot to be
desired for Neumann.
“That was our flattest perform
ance so far this season,” he said.
“Mentally, we just haven’t recov
ered from our road trip.”
Nebraska took a 12-day, four-meet
trip during semester break.
“After a trip like that, 1 realize it’s
hard to focus,” he said. “But it’s
something that has to be done.
“We’d heller gel back into il real
soon.’’
Bui, Neumann said, the Huskers
have wrestled up to the competition
throughout the season.
“1 don’t know what it is, but they
just switch gears and make adjust
ments and come through when they
have to,’’ he said.
Neumann said the changes in in
tensity “aren’t spoken things,’’ but
an attitude the team has when facing
high-ranked competition.
Neumann said he thought the team’s
enthusiasm would be higher than it
was, since the Huskers were wres
tling against the nation’s 12th-ranked
team.
The meet looked like it would be a
close one at the onset, when Nebraska’s
John Buxton wrestled to a 2-2 draw
with Notre Dame’s Andy Radcnbaugh
in the 118-pound weight class.
At 126, Nebraska’s Jason Kclbcr,
ranked second in the nation, defeated
Marcus Gowcns 12-5. Dave
Drocgemucllcr followed up with a
major decision, beating Jim Posey
15 6 to extend Nebraska’s lead to 9
2.
Bulat 142,theHuskers were with
out Layne Billings, who has been
slowed with a dislocated rib. Nebraska
forfeited the match, allowing the
Fighting Irish to cut the Huskcrs’ lead
to 9-8.
But that was as close as Notre
Dame would come for the rest of the
night. Nebraska won the remaining
six classes - the final three coming
See WRESTLERS on 7
Nee says turnovers to blame for loss to Cowboys
By Chris Hopfensperger
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men’s basketball
team reached a milestone Satur
day night, but no one was celebrating.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
after his team’s 84-71 loss to Okla
homa State in Stillwater, Okla., that
turnovers caused his squad to drop its
13th-cor.secutive Big Eight road
contest. The Cornhuskers finished the
contest with 20 turnovers.
Nee said he was disappointed by
the loss. The loss was a costly one, as
it dumped Nebraska into last place in
the Big Eight with a 7-8 record over
all and an 0-3 nark in the conference.
The loss also extended Nebraska’s
road losing streak to 15 games, and
proved to be a monumental setback.
The last prolonged Nebraska confer
ence losing streak occurred in the
1959-1961 seasons, when the Husk
ers dropped 12-consecutive Big Eight
games.
Nee had a simple explanation for
his team’s loss.
“You can’t have 20 turnovers on
the road,” he said during his post
game radio show. “That’s the game
if you want to look at the stats.”
Nee said Nebraska also was hurt
by a late Oklahoma State run. The
Cowboys used Huskcr errors and a
technical foul on the Nebraska bench
to spark a 15-3 run that turned a 59-53
lead into a 76-56 margin with just
more than four minutes to play.
“These road games like this, this
is where you find out what your
mettle is made out of,” Nee said.
“We just didn’t play well enough to
be there at the end.”
Nebraska was paced by forward
Ray Richardson and guard Keith
Moody, who tallied career-high 18
and 15-point performances. Oklahoma
State countered the scoring output of
Moody and Richardson by holding
Nebraska center Rich King to 12 points,
six below his season average.
‘‘I thought our inside players had
to alter some of their shots,” Nee
said. ‘‘I also thought they were get
ting fouled, but the referees wouldn’t
give us a call.”
Oklahoma State finished the game
with 12 personal fouls, while Ne
braska had 21. The Huskcrs were
outscored from the free throw line 18
4.
The Cowboys, who had four play
ers in double figures, were led by 6
foot-7 sophomore Byron Houston, who
had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six
blocked shots.
“I thought Byron Houston was a
force inside,” Nee said. “I don’t know
what his points and stats were, but I ’ 11
tell you he affects it just with his
presence.”
Nee said he is not discouraged
even though Nebraska is in last place
in the conference. In addition to los
ing to Oklahoma State, the Huskers
also have dropped conference deci
sions to No. 1 Kansas and No. 4
Missouri.
“Now everyone is going to be
(saying) we’re 0-3 in the conference,”
Nee said. “But hey, you’ve got to
play certain people. We play the top
See MILESTONE on 7
Point guard leads
Cowgirls to top NU
By Paul Domeier
Sentor Reporter
The Nebraska women’s basketball team
matched up against Oklahoma State every
where but at point guard.
With point guard Liz Brown directing
the offense, the Cowgirls used a key offen
sive rebound to defeat the Comhuskers 65
61 Saturday before 1,746 fans at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Kristi Dahn guarded Brown for most of
the game.
“She was pretty quick,” Dahn said. “But
her major job was to run the offense.”
Playing the entire game, Brown had 11
points, eight assists and four steals.
“I thought she was a big, big, big, big
factor,” Nebraska coach Angela Beck said.
“She had her team under control.
“I thought we held her down pretty good,
but she got a few shots, she took the shots
when she needed to, and they had four kids
in double figures. That’s kind of what
you want.”
ixcnrasKa uau iwu players in ut’UDic ug
ures: Karen Jennings with 18 and Ann Halsne
with 12.
“I have no excuses,” Beck said. “(The
Cowgirls) deserved the victory.”
But an argument can be made that the
Huskers did, too.
Nebraska jumped to a 22-17 lead with
8:12 left in the first half. Oklahoma State
responded with a 10-point run and led 36
32 at halftime.
The Cowgirls never led by more than
seven points the rest of the game. When
Halsne hit a short jump shot with 1:47 left,
the teams were tied at 59. Oklahoma State
hit two free throws and Halsne hit another
jumper to lie the game with 1:14 left
On the next possession, Oklahoma State’s
shot was long, but the Cowgirls’ Shelly
Blessing grabbed the rebound and sewed
with :25 left
Oklahoma State had two fouls to give, so
the Cowgirls committed their fifth foul with
: 11 left to keep the Huskers from getting off
a good shot
On the inbounds play, the Cowgirls again
went for the foul, but came up with the steal
instead. Sara Offringa fouled Althea Cox,
and Cox hit two free throws fw her team
leading 16th and 17th points to seal the win.
Dahn said the Huskers played belter than
in the past few games, but didn’t do what
was necessary to win.
“We didn’t convert at the critical points,
like that last rebound,” she said.
The loss dropped the Huskers’ record to
8-9 overall and 0-4 in the conference, while
Oklahoma State improved to 10-6 and 3-1.
The Huskers next game is Wednesday, at
home, against league leading Kansas State.
Starting forward Kelly Hubert, who was
suspended for Saturday's game for discipli
nary reasons, will be back for Wednesday’s
contest
Beck said Hubert would have made a dif
ference, but even without her the Huskers
are making progress.
Al Schabeu'Daiiy Nsbraakan
Nebraska’s LeeAnna Hiestand drives past Oklahoma State’s Shelly
Blessing.
Despite lack of intensity,
NU wrestling squad shows
it’s a team on a mission
Two years ago, Nebraska wrestling coach
Tim Neumann said before the season started
that it was his goal to get the Comhuskers into
the team finals,
Nebraska finished 39th that year.
But this season, Neumann is trying to keep
everything in perspective.
“That year, I kind of stuck my foot in my
mouth,” he said of his 1987 prediction. “This
Chuck
Green
year, I don’t want to say anything that will
make me look stupid in the end.
“But we do have some great talent this
year.”
Saturday night against No. 12-rankcd Notre
Dame, the No. 4-ranked Huskers wrestled with
a noticable lack of intensity. Neumann attrib
uted that to a 12-day road trip during semester
break, in which the Huskers wrestled in four
meets, from Tcmpc, Ariz., to Hampton, Va.
The trip included a loss and a tic to then-No.
1 Arizona State. If not for a technicality, the
Huskers would have beaten the Sun Devils in
their second meeting.
Against the Fighting Irish, the Huskers at
times seemed to have little fight. But they
routed Notre Dame 30-8.
The only weight class Notre Dame won was
at 142 -* a Nebraska forfeit because a dislo
cated rib kept Layne Billings from wrestling.
A 30-8 win without much intensity. That’s
the sign of a team with leadership. And a team
on a mission.
Before the dual with Notre Dame, Neumann
said the Huskers are one of five teams recog
nized throughout the college wrestling world
with a legitimate chance to capture this year’s
national championship.
“If you ask anybody in the wrestling com
munity, they’ll tell you that Arizona State,
Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Iowa and Ne
braska are the five teams with the best shot at
the national championship this season,’’ Neu
mann said.
But still, Neumann is cautious.
“Realistically, for us to win it, we’d have to
get a great deal of points from our underclass
men. But anything is possible.’’
Especially with this year’s team. After the
pounding of Notre Dame Saturday night, Neu
mann said that for the first time this season, he
was concerned going into the meet.
See GREEN on 8