Sports
Free throws, center lead to Cowboy win
By Susie Arth
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska men’s basketball
team paid the price Saturday for giv
ing Oklahoma State 43 free throws.
The Comhuskers, who lost 78-73
to Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba
Arena in Stillwater, Okla., fell to 0-2
in Big Eight Conference play and 11 -
5 overall.
The Huskers, who led the Cow
boys by two points at halftime, gave
Oklahoma Slate the opportunity to
convert on 33 of their 43 free-throw
attempts.
Nebraska forward Bruce Chubick
said the free-throw discrepancy was a
big difference in the game.
“Oklahoma State went to the line
43 times, and we went eight,” he said.
“That puts you at a definite disadvan
tage.”
Chubick, who scored lOpointsand
grabbed seven rebounds, said he was
unable to understand why the Cow
boys were awarded so many more
trips to the free throw line.
“Itwasn ta lack ot aggressiveness
on our part,” he said. “They were just
getting the calls.”
Chubick said another factor in the
Cowboys’ victory was the play of
Oklahoma State center Bryant Reeves,
who scored 22 points and grabbed 15
rebounds.
“He is definitely one of the better
centers we’ll face this year,”Chubick
said. “He’s really improved. He was
not nearly as dominant last year.”
- it
It wasn’t a lack of ag
gressiveness on our
part. They were just get
ting the calls.
—Chubick
——-ft -
During his post-game radio show,
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said he
was pleased with his team’s effort.
“1 really think from Thursday night
to Saturday, Nebraska raised its level,”
he said. “We can learn from it, we can
build from it.”
And Chubick said he was not ready
tocounitheHuskersoutof the race for
the Big Eight Championship yet.
“This is a tough league, it has been
for the last four or five years,” he said.
“It’s going to be a lot harder now, but
I’m not counting us out for the Big
Eight title.”
But Nee said he believed his team
was still learning what it takes to win
in the Big Eight.
“We’re going through a growth
process,” he said. “We’re going to
understand what it takes to win.”
The Huskcrs will play Sacramento
State Wednesday before resuming
conference play Saturday against
Kansas State at the Bob Dcvaney
Sports Center.
1
JW ™
Travis Heying/DN
Nebraska sophomore gymnast Martha Jenkins competes on the uneven bars during a dual with Oklahoma Friday night.
The Cornhuskers won the dual by a score of 188 to 184.1. -S
Gymnasts beat OU in close meet
By Beau Finley
Staff Reporter
On a night that belonged to the
Nebraska women’s gymnastics
team and Nicole Duval, inconsis
tency was the Comhuskcrs’ big
gest opponent.
The Huskers defeated Oklahoma
188-184.1 in their first meet of the
season on Friday night at the Bob
Devancy Sports Center.
Despite the victory, Nebraska
coach Rick Walton said the team
performed below its full capabil
ity.
He said he had hoped fora higher
score than 188, which was on the
low end of the team’s goal.
“I think our team is better than
that,” he said.
Walton also said that his young
Huskcrs needed conf dcncc to reach
their potential.
“Tliis group of kids will be a lot
better when a few girls realize that
they’re good,” Walton said.
Duval, a sophomore, is one gym
nast who is realizing quickly the
extent of her talent.
Duval captured the all-around
title at the dual with a score of
38.45. She won three events (the
uneven bars, balance beam and floor
exercise) and placed fourth in the
vault.
Duval said she was pleased and
motivated with her performance
against the Sooners.
“I have no complaints,” she said.
“I’m happy with the way 1 per
formed. It gives me a lot of confi
dence and makes me want to work
harder in the gym.”
Duval said she was now going
to concentrate on getting the team
score above 190 and finishing in
the top 20 individually at nation
als.
Walton said Duval needed to
continue to believe in her ability
and use it as a steppingstone to add
more difficulty to her routines.
“Nicole needs to be more confi
dent,” Walton said. “Now she can
play with more difficult routines.
The moderate routines will get
hammered (by the judges).”
Along with Duval, Walton
praised sophomores Jennifer
Hawkinson and Kristi Camp.
“Kristi Camp quietly gave a
great performance,” WaJlon said.
KOur big story was Jennifer
Hawkinson. She was at 20 percent
this fall and tonight performed on
pure athletic ability.
Nebraska ... 36 37 — 73
at Oklahoma State . 34 44 — 78
Nebraska (11 -5) — Chubick 5-7 0-0 10,
Piatkowski 5-12 2-3 14, Chandler 2-7 0-0 4,
Johnson 3-91-18, Boone 3-7 0-0 8, Gregory
1-5 0-0 2, Best 4-4 0-0 9, Strickland 4-13 3
412, Woolridge 2-5 0-0 4, Badgett 1-10-0 2.
Totals 30-70 6-8 73
Oklahoma State (9-3) — Burley 4-5 2-2
10, Brown 2-4 4-8 8, Reeves 4-7 14-18 22,
Rutherford 4-8 2-2 10, Thompson 5-13 7-9
18, Bennett 1-2 4-4 6, Sutton 1-3 0-0 2,
Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Manzer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals
22-43 33-43 78 3-pointgoals—Nebraska
7-19 (Piatkowski 2-3, Johnson 1 -4, Boone 2
2, Gregory 0-1, Best 1-1, Strickland 1-7,
Woolridge 0-1), Oklahoma State 1-10
(Rutherford 0-2, Thompson 1 -6, Sutton 0-2).
Rebounds — Nebraska 27 (Chubick 7),
Oklahoma State 41 (Reeves 15) Assists —
Nebraska 16 (Strickland 5), Oklahoma State
15 (Thompson 8). Total fouls (dq) — Ne
braska 29 (Badgett), Oklahoma St. 13.
Technicals —Nebraska bench A—6,381.
Jennings,
NU survive
tight game,
humble KSU
By Beau Finley
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women’s basketball
team found out Sunday how to win
without a big game from Karen
Jennings.
Despite Jennings scoring a season
low lOpoints.theComhuskcrscoasted
to a 74-57 victory over Kansas State
in Manhattan, Kan.
Last year Jennings scored 48 points,
a Big Eight record, to lead Nebraska
to victory over Kansas State.
This year the Comhuskers blew
open a light game with balanced scor
ing. The win improved Nebraska’s
record to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the
Big Eight.
Coach Angela Beck said that she
was encouraged by the play of the
team, especially coming off a drain
ing loss to Kansas on Friday.
“It was difficult to start against
KU,” Beck said. “This was a good win
for us because it is such a difficult
situation.”
The Husker difficulty was com
pounded by the sporadic play of the
offense and the ineffectiveness of
Jennings. Beck attributed Jennings’
scoring problems to pressure and a
solid Wildcat defense.
“Jennings had a lough night,” Beck
said. “The defense kind of lulled us to
sleep.”
In the face of a stingy Wildcat
defense, the Huskcrs received a needed
wake-up call from freshman Lis
Brenden and junior Nafcesah Brown.
Brcnden scored 12 points, and Brown
added 14 to spark the Huskcrs.
The spotlight of the game was re
scrvecHor Meggan Yedscna. The jun
ior guard became the Husker’s all
time assist leader by collecting her
445th assist, breaking Amy Stephens’
mark of 444.
Beck praised the junior point guard
and her role on the team.
“She (Yedscna) doesn’t get much
credit,” Beck said. “She docs a lot of
things right. I’m pleased with her.”
Team effort helps Husker wrestlers trounce Panthers
By Tim Pearson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska wrestl ing team tuned
up for next weekend’s National Dual
Meet Championships with a decisive
win against No. 7 Northern Iowa on
Saturday.
The No. 5 Comhuskers rolled to a
28-7 win over the Panthers, who
wrestled at home before a crowd of
1,102 people.
The win evens up Nebraska’s dual
record at 1 -1. The Panthers dropped to
6-3.
Senior Matt Lindland, ranked No.
1 at 158 pounds, said that the Huskers
wrestled well after losing to Iowa
State on Jan. 6.
“We wrestled better as a team,” he
said. “We were more together as a
team than we were against Iowa Slate.”
Senior Rick Coltvet, who won his
match at 150 pounds, agreed with
Lindland.
“This was easily our sharpest dual
of the season,” he said.
Nebraska was sharp despite the
absence of Tommy Robbins, a 167
pound senior out with a rib injury.
In his place was redshirt freshman
Chad Nelson, and he didn’t disap
point, scoring a 14-8 decision over the
Panthers’ Curt Bennethum.
The Huskcrs won eight out of the
10 weight divisions against Northern
Iowa.
Both top-ranked Husker wrestlers
won.
»
Lindland won by decision, defeat
ing Jamie Byme 2-1 at 158 pounds,
and Corey Olson picked up the 100th
win of his career at Nebraska by scor
ing a technical fall over Northern
Iowa’s Brian Bcnning in 3:49.
By reaching 100 wins, Olson be
came theseventh Huskcr to ever reach
that milestone.
The last Husker to reach 100 wins
was Chris Nelson, who reached the
plateau last year as a senior.
At 134, Frank Velazquez won by
decision beating Northern Iowa’s No.
11 Scott Hasscl 6-4. At 190, Husker
Ovanes Oganisian scored a 9-4 win
over No. 4 Dave Malecck of the Pan
thers.
Velazquez, Oganisian and Chad
Nelson all gained redemption for ear
lier losses to the same opponents.
Nebraska will take to the mats this
weekend in the National Dual Meet
Championships at the NU Coliseum.
The dual will feature seven of the
top 11 teams in the country.