Sports
L—ffSoBr
Jeff Haller/DN
Nebraska guard Lis Brenden dribbles the ball in the Cornhuskers' 90-54 win over Eastern
Washington Saturday afternoon.
Basketball tournament no
battle for Husker women
By Jeff Griesch
Staff Reporter _
The Nebraska women’s basket
ball team used strong offensive
performances to dominate Howard
and Eastern Washington this week
end to win the CablcVision Clas
sic.
“It wasn’t a tournament where
we were really challenged,” Ne
braska coach Angela Beck said.
“But I think it was a good experi
ence for us and it gave us a chance
to play everybody and sec what we
could do.”
On Friday, the Cornhuskcrs
rolled to a 123-62 victory over
Howard at the Bob Dcvancy Sports
Center. Karen Jennings led the
Huskers with 26 points and Rissa
Taylor added 20.
The Huskers established lour
all-time records: most points
scored, points in the second half
(68), field goals made (52) and
most assists (43).
The Huskers overpowered East
ern Washington 94-50 in the cham
pionship game on Saturday.
The Hunker defense stifled the
Lady Eagles throughout the game,
but the offense was out of sync
early.
“Right now, our defense is our
offense,” Beck said. “Our quarter
court offense is really struggling
because we arc using a lot of young
players, but the defense is winning
games for us.”
Nebraska led only 15-11 with
10:01 left in the first half before
pulling away.
Nafccsah Brown provided the
spark the Huskers needed in the
first hall by scoring 9 points in a
span of three minutes, giving the
Huskers a 22-13 lead with 6:03
remaining in the half. The junior
forward finished with 17 points.
Karen Jennings led five players
in double figures for Nebraska with
19 points. Meggan Yedsena, Kate
Galligan and Rissa Taylor all had
10 points for the Huskers.
Yedsena added 10 assists and 5
steals.
Yedsena, Taylor and Jennings
made the alI-tournament team, w ith
Jennings being named the
tournament’s Most Valuable
See TOURNEY on 10
Huskers beat
Wichita State
for fifth win
By busie Artn
Senior Reporter
The latest win by the Nebraska
men’s basketball team was every
thing but easy.
The Cornhuskcrs, who defeated
the Wichita State Shockers Saturday
nighj in front of a crowd of 9,845 fans
at Levitt Arena, trailed by four
pointsafter the first half.
Apparently, the adversity was
enough to spark the Huskers to their
fifth win in as many games.
“We were playing way below what
we were capable of playing,” said
Nebraska forward Eric Piatkowski.
“But Wichita Stale was a good team
and their crowd really got into it.”
Piatkowski, who led Nebraska with
19 points, said all that really mattered
to him and his teammates was win
ning the game.
“We played kind of sloppy at
times,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter
who yoiTrc looking at, and it doesn’t
matter how good a team is. It’s always
tough to win on the road.”
In his postgamc radio show, Huskcr
coach Danny Nee said he was pleased
with the Huskers’ performance, even
though they shot only 44 percent from
the field.
“You’vc got to win when you don’t
shoot the ball,” he said. “I thought we
won with defense. I thought we won
with determination.”
Nee said the game easily could
have gone the other way.
“It was a heck of a basketball
game," he said. “I was proud of Ne
braska because we didn’t knuckle
under. Very easily, we could have lost
by six, seven, eight points.”
Because his team found a way to
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win, Nec said, the Huskcrs achieved
one of their goals: to be undefeated
after their first five games.
Piatkowski said he thought fresh
men Terrance Badgctt, Erick
Strickland, Jaron Boone and Andre
Woolridge did excellent jobs of re
sponding to the pressure of their first
game away from the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
The four freshmen combined to
score 24 points. Woolridge, a guard,
led the freshmen Huskcrs with eight
points, including two three-pointers
late in the game that gave Nebraska
the lead for good.
“I think they played extremely
well,” Piatkowski said of his younger
teammates. “They’re improving with
See WICHITA on 10
Despite loss, memories
are sweet for Huskers
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
It was a sour ending to a sweet
season for the Nebraska volleyball
team.
The Comhuskcrs had their ups and
downs in the 1992 campaign, but it all
came to an end last Thursday in
Champaign, III., when Illinois swept
Nebraska in three games in the NCAA
Tournament’s Midcasi Regional.
But even the loss to the Fighting
Illini couldn’t overshadow the Husk
ers’ accomplishments this year.
Nebraska won its 17th consecutive
Big Eight title in 17 tries and conse
quently made an 11th straight trip to
the NCAA playoffs.
Team records were shattered
throughout the year, as the Huskcrs
set a school record by winning 36
games in a row to accompany a 16
match winning streak.
And the accolades were numerous
on an individual basis. Players who
helped Nebraska finish ai 22*6 with a
No. 7 ranking included middle blocker
Stephanie Thaler, who was named
Big Eight Player of the Year for the
second season in a row. Outside hitter
Eileen Shannon and setter Nikki
Strieker joined Thaler on the first
team All-Big Eight list.
Other individual honors went to
freshman outside hitter Allison
Weston, who was honored as the
conference’s Newcomer of the Year,
and sophomore Christy Johnson, who
earned Backcourt Specialist of the
Year.
Those players were vital to the
Huskers’ victories over ranked teams
like Pacific (No. 5), Texas (No. 12),
Ohio State (No. 14), Texas Tech (No.
17) and Pittsburgh (No. 25).
But Nebraska’s biggest win over a
ranked team was against conference
rival Colorado in the first round of the
NCAA Tourney.
See VOLLEYBALL on 11
Coach hopes layoff doesn’t throw off wrestlers
By Tim Pearson
$Mf flpporty __
While everyone else is going home
for the holiday break, the Nebraska
wrestling team will be in Lincoln
practicing for upcoming duals and
meets.
Coach Tim Neumann said the team
will not practice until Dec. 26.
“There’s a new deal made by the
NCAA that we can’t have official
practices from Dec. 11 to Dee. 26,” he
said. “We’re going u> have open work
outs during finals week.”
The wrestlers will get a holiday
break, but it will be a shortened one,
Neumann said.
“From (next Friday) lo the 26th,
they’re going to go home, and then
we’ll practice twice a day until Jan.
3,” he said.
Neumann said he had been very
pleased with his team’s performance
so far.
“Our goals were to get in the top
five in the country by Christmas and
to gel more wrestlers besides (Corey)
Olson ranked,” he said.
Heading into the holidays, the
Cornhuskers appear lo have accom
plished both ol these goals.
New rankings will be released
Wednesday, and Neumann expects
— II
We started the sea
son ranked 11th and
now we should be
ranked fourthin the
nation.
—Neumann
Nil wrestling coach
-»» -
h i s team lo be one of the top five team *
in the country after placing second a
the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. *
and 5.
“We started the season ranked 11 th
and now wc should be ranked fourth
in the nation,” he said.
Besides Olson, who is ranked first
at 177 pounds, senior Matt Lindland
isexpccicd to be firstat 158 and senior
Rulon Gardner should be second at
heavyweight, Neumann said.
The team’s next competition will
be a Jan. 6 dual against Iowa Stale.
Neumann said he is worried about
the month-long layoff between meets
for his wrestlers.
; “Hopefully, wc can kick off the
l second semester like wc ended the
^ first semester,” he said.
On Jan. 9, the Huskcrs will com
pctc with 25 other teams in the Great
Plains Invitationalatthe Bob Dcvancy
Sports Center.
This is an individual meet and not
a team meet, so Neumann said that he
is hoping that his team will improve
and "take a step forward.”
Neumann is looking for impres
sive performances from three of his
seniors who need to improve.
“I’m looking for Tommy Robbins
at 167 to bust out and have a good
meet,” Neumann said. “John Buxton
and Rick Collvct need to pick it up.”
“These three seniors have to pick it
up a notch for us to contend for a
national title.”