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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1992)
Sports t Cornhuskers beat Missouri in overtime Win, Kansas’ loss ties league race By Chris Hopfensperger Senior Editor Pretty wasn’t the word Coach Angela Beck used to describe Ne braska’s overtime win Wednesday night against Missouri. “Overall, it was a well-fought battle,” the Nebraska women’s bas ketball coach said. “It wasn’t a good looking basketball game. It was a battle that we survived.” The Cornhuskcrs survived a Mis souri rally and overtime to beat the Tigers, 69-65, in front of 1,929 people at the Bob Devancy Sports Center. Nebraska improved to 17-5 over all and 7-2 in the Big Eight. The Tigers fell to 14-8 and 5-4. The win vaulted the Huskers into a first-place lie with Kansas, as the Jayhawks lost, 65-54, at Colorado. Six players fouled out of the game, miwc iiuiii cdcn icam, aiui inc lop iwo scorers in the Big Eight were both held to six points each. “I credit this to a lot of heart,” Beck said. ”Wc never got into our tempo at all. “We rushed our shot. We hurried our offense.” But, the Huskers reacted to the pressure when it mattered, Beck said. “We look it at them in the over time and that was a key,” she said. The Huskers had jumped out to a seven-point, 28-21, halftime lead, but Missouri battled back in the second half. Lyncuc Linneman’s shot with six seconds left lied the game at 59 and sent the two teams into overtime. Missouri’s Nikki Smith opened the extra period with a basket after a Husker turnover, but Nebraska scored eight of the next nine points to jump to a 67-62 lead. Amy Ford ham, a graduate of Lin coln Southeast, cut into the Husker lead after she was fouled trying to shoot a three-pointer. A 42-percent frcc-lhrow».shooier, Fordhain nailed all three attempts to make the score 67-65. Nebraska’s Carol Russell missed a running jumper on the Husker’s next possession, and Missouri grabbed the rebound. ' ~- ■ r ■ But Fordham missed a three-pointer, and the Huskers came up with the rebound. The Tigers fouled sopho more Meggan Ycdsena, who hit both free throws to put Nebraska up69-65. Ycdsena and Russell played a major role in the Husker win, Beck said. Ycdsena scored a team-high 19 points and dished out lour assists. Russell, who entered the game averaging 4.1 points a game, scored 12. But her biggest role was on de fense, Beck said. “Russell did everything 1 asked her to,” she said. "She really clogged some holes." Beck said the Huskers let Missouri back in the game in the second half. “I don’t think our intensity was the same in the second half," she said. “They saw whatever they wanted. They picked us apart.” Linneman scored 17 second-half points to lead the Tigers back. She finished with a game-high 20 points, but fouled out with 4:03 remaining in the overtime. “Linneman fouling out wasa key,” Beck said. “Linneman is a big pan of their team.” But, the biggest part of Missouri's team was quiet. Ericka Fields, the second-leading scorer in the Big Eight, was 14 points off her 20-point season average. Nebraska’s Karen Jennings, the league’s leading scorer with a 25.6 point average, managed only six points as well. It was only the fifth time in Jennings' 77 games as a Husker that she scored fewer than 10 points. “Wc just never got (Jennings) in her rhythm,” Beck said. “But, she doesn’t realize she got Fields in trouble.” Fields played only 12 minutes and 55 seconds in the game. Missouri.21 38 6 — 65 At Nebraska. 28 31 10 — 69 Missouri — Fields 1-2 4-7 6, Sa Wil hams 0 0 0-0 0, Linneman 7-12 6 9 20. V Williams 2 8 2 66, Fordham 4 103-3 13. St Williams 0 6 0 0 0. Coykendall 1-1 0-2 2. Smith 12 1-2 3. Hoover 1-6 2-2 5. Lambert . 5 8 0 0 10 Totals 22-55 18-31 65. Nebraska — Jennings 3 9 0 1 6, Russell 4 6 4 5 12, Hesch 4 10 0 1 8. Yancey 2-4 1-2 5. Yedsena 7-12 5-8 19, Taylor 1-74 56. Collains 1 10 1 2, Offringa 3 42-38, Witherspoon 1-5 1-23 Totals26 57 17-28 69. 1 • Al Schaben/DN NU s Meggan Yedsena, left, and Karen Jennings watch a loose ball during the final seconds of Nil’s overtime win over Missouri Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. - —.---—-1 -W Tr -m Divers capture league title Yeasena steps up, Keys win By Thomas Clouse Senior Editor Nebraska’s Heidi Buchholz saved her best performance for when it really counted. Buchholz scored a season-best 450.10 to win the women’s Big Eight three-meter diving championship at the Big Eight Cham pionships at the Bob Dcvancy Sports Center Wednesday. Buchholz, who beat Iowa State’s Katie Grinncll 450.10-449.75, said the win fell great, but she was surprised by her perform ance. ‘‘I just came off two weeks where I couldn’t dive because 1 was sick,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do tonight." Huskcr diver Jennifer Harnly finished in third (437.60), Julie Grimmer took fourth (421.45) anil Cheryl Kartyc placed sixth (417.25). Nebraska diving coach Jim Hocking said the performance by his divers was “abso lutely outstanding.” “Last year, Heidi (Buchhol/.) was inninth place watching from the stands,” Hocking said. “This is£ little bit of a change from then.” The goal was to qualify four divers into the lop eight, he said. “It always helps to do what you set out to do,” Hocking said. “Those that win arc sometimes over-confident, but we will be conscious of the competition in the onc meter event.” The women’s one-meter diving prelimi naries will begin Friday at 10 a.m., with the finals following the swimming events. oy Keier i neonaris Staff Reporter Mcggan Ycdscna stepped forward when the Cornhuskcrs needed her most Wednesday night, and she led the dub to a 69-65 overtime win against Missouri. With Big Eight Conference leading scorer Karen Jennings on the bench for almost half of the contest with foul problems and fouling out with 3:17 left in regulation, Ycdscna had a career-high 19 points, including three free throws in overtime. The win pushed Nebraska into a first-place lie with Kansas in the Big Eight. Ycdscna’s total led the Cornhuskcrs, 17-5 and 7-2 in the conference, in scoring and helped offset a season-low six points by Jennings. “Coach (Angela Beck) told me to step up,” Ycdscna said. “With Karen on the bench, I had to come on.” Ycdscna, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, said Beck called for a play called “thumbs down” to utilize Ycdscna. The play is designed to spread out the players, and Ycdscna said she used it to her benefit as she was able to drive the lane with little effort for most of the game. “The thing about (Missouri),” Ycdscna said, “ t hey give up the drive and help is not there.” Ycdscna had plenty of lime to sec what Missouri’s defense was doing as she played all 45 minutes. Ycdscna’s output made her the fourth player in as many home games to set scoring marks for Nebraska. Carol Russel had a carccr-high of 20 points against Oklahoma Jan. 29. Rissa Taylor did the same with 17 against Iowa State Feb. 4. Kim Yancey seta season-high on Saturday with 16 against Kansas Mate. Yedsena also totaled four assists, three re bounds and two steals as she further impressed, in Beck’s mind, her position among the na tion’s elite point guards. “Yedsena is the best point guard in the league,” Beck said. “She is one of the best around. “44 Yedsena is the best point guard in the league. She is one of the best around. Beck NU coach -—»t - “She plays with a lot ol heart. Meggan kept us together most of the night. (She’s) playing really big for our team.” For the remainder of the season Yedsena said she expects herself to score more to take some pressure off of Jennings. She said she also needs to distribute the ball to players, such as Carol Russell, more often. Ycdscna’s point totals will probably slay up with the improvement of her perimeter shoot ing, she said. She used to use a set shot and Beck helped Yedsena change it to a jump shot. Beck told her that she would start coming around during the conference season and Yedsena said she is pleased with the results. Yedsena was 7-lor-12 from the licld while knocking down 5 of 8 free throws. The course for the team the rest of the way is also set, Yedsena said. “We know to win the Big Eight we can’t lose.” 7 ~ tv 1'— ——-—*—-■**—-*• ——-*f-~ v L L_______—---5»w Maurswai
