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Huskers seeking Big Eight second seed
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Al Sctiaben/DN
Nebraska’s Carol Russell (left) and Oklahoma State’s Lisa McGill scramble for a loose ball
in Wednesday’s 95-58 Cornhusker win. Nebraska will close out the Big Eight regular season
Saturday at Colorado.
I Nebraska 19-7 (9-4) ppgrpg
G 24 Meggan Yedsena 5-8 So. 11.0 3.4
F 41 Carol Russel! 5-10 Sr. 5.5 3.2
F 51 Karen Jennings 6-2 Jr. 25.510.0
G 20 Kim Yancey 5-5 Sr. 5.1 1.7
F 42 Sue Hesch 6-1 Sr. 6.7 4.1
Colorado 18-8 (10-3) PPG RPG
F 25 Mindy Henry 6-2 Jr. 9.5 5.5
F 44 Sherries King 6-2 Jr. 8.9 5.4
C 50 Abby Wirfs 6-2 Jr. 8.3 6.3
G 20 Shelly Sheet* 5-6 Fr. 14.8 4.2
G 42 Amy Mathern
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Editor_____
Nebraska ’ s game at Colorado isn ’ t
for all the marbles in the Big Eight
women’s basketball race.
It’s for what Kansas left over.
The Jayhawks, who lead the con
ference with a 22-4 record overall
and a 11 -2 league mark, already have
secured the regular-season title and
the top seed in the Big Eight tourna
ment.
Nebraska, third in the conference,
travels to Boulder, Colo., to play the
Lady Buffs on Saturday night at 8
p.m. in the Coors Events Center.
Colorado, in second, trails Kansas
at 18*8 and 10-3.
The Cornhuskcrs, who arc third,
improved to 19-7 and 9-4 Wednesday
night, by thrashing Oklahoma Stale,
95-58.
Saturday’s game will decide the
second-place team in the league stand
ings and the second seed in next
weekend’s Big Eight Tournament in
Salina, Kan.
But more important than post-sea
son seeding is getting one more win,
Nebraska coach Angela Beck said.
“We’re playing for 20,” she said.
“After you get 20,21 comes a little bit
Scott Maurer/DN
easier and 22 a liulc easier than that."
Offensively, Beck said, the Husk
ers have been warming up lately.
But Colorado is the hottest team in
the league. The Lady Buffs have won
10 straight games, including an 11
point win over the Jayhawks at home.
“They’re higher than a kite,” Beck
said.
“We want to try to put the brakes
to them,” she said. “We want to bring
them back to earth a little bit.”
The Huskers won’t be intimidated
by the Lady Buffs’ success, Beck
said.
“Our players respond pretty well
to the underdog role.”
Earlier this season, the Huskers
knocked off Colorado in Lincoln. Led
by junior Karen Jennings’ team-high
29 points and 11 rebounds, Nebraska
beat the Lady Buffs 75-69.
Colorado is led by sophomore
Jamillah Lang and freshman Shelley
Sheet/, who arc both averaging more
than 13 points a game.
Beck said Sheet/ would be her
choice as Nebraska guard Mcggan
Ycdsena’s successor as Big Eight
Ncwcomcr-of-thc-Ycar. Sheet/, who
is averaging 13.3 points, 4.68 assists
See HUSKERS on 11
Gymnastics team aims
for record, coach says
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Few things haven’t been accom
plished by Francis Allen since he
became the Nebraska men’s gym
nastics coach in 1969.
He has won the national cham
pionship seven ti
in a row from
1979 to 1983.
He has
coached 25
gymnasts to
113 All-Amer
ica spots and
has produced
10 Olympians
and three win
ners of the Allen
Nissan Award, which is the Heis
man Trophy of collegiate men’s
gymnastics.
But one thing neither Allen nor
the Comhuskers have ever done is
score above 280 points in five
consecutive meets.
Top-ranked Nebraska will be
trying to add that feat to its ever
growing list of accomplishments
Sunday when the Huskcrs will be
the host of the Big Eight Triangu
lar at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center. The meet starts at 2 p.m.
Iowa State and third-ranked,
defending national champion Okla
homa will be the other two teams
present.
The Nebraska women’s team
will be competing simultaneously
against Illinois.
Allen said he liked the Huskers’
chances to set the record.
“I’m looking for this to be our
best meet of the season,” he said.
“Our kids arc all doing well, and
we have so much momentum going,
it will be hard for it not to."
Nebraska leads the country in
scoring with a 283.80 average. Allen,
though, isn’t satisfied.
“If the team can get going, we
could score above 284 consistently,”
he said. “But our team is young,
and young kids compete like young
kids.”
Allen said he thought the team
could have gone above 285 this
season, but that the Huskers “don’t
have the power yet.”
“It’s like an engine that has been
road tested and did pretty well,”
Allen said. “But then you adjust it
and put it back together and expect
it to be even faster. We haven’t
gotten to that point yet.”
The Huskers defeated the Soon
ers and Cyclones earlier this sea
son when they won the first Big
Eight Triangular on Jan. 25 in
Norman, Okla. Nebraska outdis
tanced second-place Oklahoma 284
See GYMon 11
' t
Husker men to face road-weary
Buffaloes without starting guard
By Jeff Singer
Staff Reporter
When Nebraska fans go to the Bob
Devancy Sports Center for Saturday’s
men’s basketball game, they’ll get a
chance to sec one of the top 25 teams
in the nation.
And for a change, it’s not the
opponent.
The Comhuskers, 17-7 and 5-6 in
the Big Eight, are ranked for the first
lime this season at No. 25 in The
Associated Press rankings and will
try to remain ranked with a win over
Colorado.
The game will be televised by
Raycom at 1:06 p.m. and is sold out.
If the Huskcrs are to beat the Buf
faloes, 12-12 and 3-8, they’ll have to
do it without point guard Jamar
Johnson.
Johnson, who has received much
of the credit for Nebraska’s success
this year, was suspended from Satur
day’s game after he was ejected for
fighting in the Huskers’ 72-51 loss at
Oklahoma Statcon Wednesday night.
Johnson and the Cowboys’ Darwyn
Alexander exchanged punches with
2:45 left in the game. Under NCAA
rules, any player ejected from a game
for fighting receives a one-game sus
pension.
Nebraska’s lineup now will be
reassembled because of Johnson’s
absence. Michael Hughes will come
off the bench to take over the duties at
NU ve.Colorado Sat. Feb. 29,1:06 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Bruce Chubick 6-7 So. 6.8 5.5
Eric Piatkowaki 6-6 So. 14.3 8.6
__ ppgTrpo
j" F 21 Sande Golflart 6-6 Fr. 2.9 1.4
F 25 Randy RoWneon 6-7 Jr. 13.0 4.3
C 02 Poncho Hodges 6-9 Jr. 7.1 6.2
<* 15 BUy Law 5-10 Sr. 10.1 3.9
Q 24 Donnie Boyce 6-5 Fr. 15.3 4.9
point guard. Hughes started five games
earlier this season.
Senior guard Chris Cresswell will
start for the second consecutive game.
Cresswell started in the absense of
forward Carl Hayes, who was sus
pended for the Oklahoma State game
for unspecified academic disciplinary
reasons. It will be Cresswcll’s 10th
start of the year.
As for the Buffaloes, they’re cur
rently in last place in the conference,
i
Brian Shall!to/ON
but according to Nebraska coach Danny
Nee, that doesn’t mean Colorado
should be overlooked.
“Every team in the Big Eight is a
winner and there are no bad teams,”
Nee said. “They’ve had three quality
upsets and arc a good, solid basket
ball team.
“And with the Buffaloes coming
in here, if it’s their night, they’re
See BUFFALOESon 11
