New league
attempts to
rival SEC
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The
women’s basketball teams of the
Big 12 are cautiously optimistic that
the new conference will rival the
Southeastern Conference as the
nation’s most powerful league.
A year ago, Georgia and Tennes
see, berth of the SEC, played in the
national championship game; Ten
nessee won.
“It’s like when you meet an
adopted brother or sister, and you’re
put in the same room for the first
time, and your parents say you have
to hug or kiss them,” Nebraska
Coach Angela Beck said Wednes
day at Big 12 Women’s Basketball
Media Day in Kansas City.
Uncomfortable first meetings
aside, this conference looks solid
from top to bottom.
Seven of the 12 teams appeared
in the NCAA Tournament last sea
son —a number no other league can
match — all seven of those teams
won 19 or more games.
“Our power ratings should be so
much stronger just because of the
strength of the conference,” Texas
Tech Coach Marsha Sharp said.
“You always want to be part of the
best, and I think the Big 12 can be
come that.”
Heading into the season, Kan
sas and Texas Tech may make the
loudest noise. The Jayhawks return
80 percent of their scoring and four
starters from a team that finished
22-9 last year. KU defeated Texas
77-70 in the NCAA Tournament last
season.
The Red Raiders return 79 per
cent of their scoring from a team
that was 27-5 a year ago.
In addition, Colorado, 26-9 last
year, and Texas, 21-9 in 1995-96,
should be near the top of the Big
12.Nebraska, Texas A&M and
Oklahoma State will also vie for
NCAA Tournament bids.
“The Big 12 is going to be un
real,” Kansas Coach Marian Wash
ington said.
Note:
Texas senior guard Danielle
Viglione, Colorado senior forward
Erin Scholz, Kansas senior guard
Tamecka Dixon, Texas Tech junior
center Alisha Thompson and Iowa
State junior forward Jayme Olson
were named to the preseason All
Big 12 first team.
Dixon was chosen as the pre
season player of the year.
Inexperienced NU
searches for respect
1 HOOPS from page 9
we will be very tough and be competi
tive every single night. One problem,
although not a big one, is that our team
is highly intelligent. That hurts us
sometimes, because we think too much.
“We’re not really good at one spe
cific thing, but we are good at a lot of
things.”
Beck said she wants her squad to
improve defensively over last season,
when it allowed 66.3 points per game.
Playing in the Big 12, she said, will
also toughen this young group ofHusk
ers.
Of the 15 players on NU’s roster,
seven are freshmen and sophomores.
The six freshmen are guard Brooke
Schwartz, forward Charlie Rogers,
guard Nicole Kubik, forward Cisco
Gilmore, forward Jill Fosdick and
guard Renee Saunders. All will be
asked to contribute immediately, Beck
said.
DeForge, who led Nebraska by av
eraging 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds
per game last year, said the Huskers
have to be mentally sharp during their
16-game league schedule.
“You need to stay focused and stay
in a game for a full 40 minutes,”
DeForge said. “Somebody can make a
run on you so quick that if you lose
focus for two minutes, the game could
be over.”
That’s what happened in the final
minutes of the NCAA Tournament loss
«
Now that we've got
a taste of where we
can go, we know |
what direction we f
need to take to get
there."
Angela Beck
NU women’s basketball coach
to Colorado State. With the game
nearly wrapped up, the Huskers gift
wrapped a win for the Rams.
The Colorado State loss, although
difficult, gave Nebraska a measuring
stick for which to shoot in the future,
Beck said.
“That loss motivates me everyday,” -
Beck said. “We should have won that
game, but they out-executed us. We are
fairly focused, and we may be too
young to do that again. But now that
we’ve got a taste, of where we can go,
we know what direction we need to
take to get there.”
No. 5 Huskers cruise
past CU in 3 games
CU from page 9
The Huskers (18-3 overall and 10
1 in the Big 12) struggled in the early
part of all three games. The Buffaloes
(11-7 and 6-5) took the first point of
each game and jumped out to a 4-1 lead
in the first game.
After a timeout, the Huskers took
over with a 14-point run. The streak
was keyed by eight-straight points on
the serve of Hedbeck. The defensive
specialist looked like a serving special
ist with two aces, which hampered
CU’s quick-hit offensive stvle.
Nebraska dominated the second
game as well after being down 2-1.
This time it was Reitsma’s turn to save
the Huskers. The 6-foot-4 All-Ameri
can recorded her second service ace of
the match and added six of her match
high 11 kills.
Reitsma hit only. 133 for the match,
her second lowest percentage of the
year. Reitsma said her poor hitting
Wednesday night did not damage any
i-m—i
other aspect of her play.
“I am trying not to let it affect the
rest of my game,” Reitsma said. “I am
just glad I am able to do things to keep
us in it.”
Game three looked to go the same
way as the previous games. CXJ led 2
1 before the Huskers turned it around
to lead 13-4. But the Buffs proved they
still had some fight left in them, chip
ping away at NU’s lead and closing the
gap to 14-11.
“They got comfortable and started
to compete, but by then the match was
almost over,” Pettit said.
The comeback was too little too late
as freshman Tonia Tauke and sopho
more Jamie Krondak combined on a
block to send the Buffaloes back to
Boulder with a three-game loss, the
second time the Huskers have swept
CU this year.
“I thought they would put up more
competition, but they just kind of
died,” Reitsma said. “Our serve domi
nated the match.”
NU-OU game
is important
FOOTBALL from page 9
the wrong people at the wrong time and
right for some people at the right time.”
Tech has lost to Nebraska and Kan
sas State this season but defeated
Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State and
Texas A&M.
Texas Coach John Mackovic said
he believes all conference games
should count toward deciding the di
visional champions. However, Kansas
Coach Glen Mason said there are al
ways pitfalls with a new conference.
“Any time you have any type of
conference format, you potentially
have a mess,” Mason said. “More
doesn’t always mean better.”
Note:
Nebraska cornerback Mike
Fullman did not practice Wednesday
because of a sprained ankle and is
questionable for Saturday’s game. Eric
Stokes and Mike Brdwn will practice
at both safety and cornerback.
American Heart H
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UNL Theatre
presents
The Haunting Family Portrait
JA Sficiyna
tMaicCeC
by Barbara Lebow
Preview: Oct 31
Preview Tkts $5
Nov. 1 & 2
Nov. 5-9
8:00 pm
Studio
Theatre
12th &R
Call 472-2073
SB-Sffl
“Thursday NightQ
COLLEGE
NIGHT
at
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Bring in your
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$2.50 Mini-golf,
Bumper
j_i
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• Abortion Services Performed During All Legal Stages
• Tubal Ligations • Birth Control
• Awake or Asleep • Outpatient Care
• Total OB/GYN Health Care • Caring Staff
Call tor an appointment: 201 South 46th St.
554-0110 or 1-800-922-8331 Omaha, Nebraska ■
Stevie
Starr
Oct. 31
8 p.m.
Great Plains Room
East Union
$1.00 Students
$3.00 General Public
X
I
IN CONCERT
NOV: 7 AT 7:30 PM
I PERSHING AUDITORIUM
LINCOLN
Tickets available at all Ticketmaster outlets -
Pershing, Homer's, Younkers, blockbuster Music,
UNL's City Union & All Omaha Ticketmaster outlets.
(No convenience fee at Pershing)
PRESENTED SY
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By the year
2000, there will
be enough
Alzheimer patients
in Nebraska to fill
Memorial Stadium
On Sunday, November 3rd Lela Knox
Shanks will be autographing her book,
Your Name Is Hughes Hannibal Shanks.
The Alzheimer's Association will be
handing out free T-Shirts with each book
purchase while supplies last. The
autographing will take place from
3pm - 4pm in the upper level of
Nebraska Bookstore.
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