'
Huskers easily bounce Kangaroos
Moore scores 19
points, grabs career
high 15 rebounds in
NtPs sixth straight
win.
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ne
braska basketball team capitalized on
a height advantage and dunked its way
to a 76-64 victory over Missouri-Kan
sas City Wednesday night.
“That was our game plan,” NU
Coach Danny Nee said. “We’re going
to try to do that all season.”
The Comhuskers (6-1) opened the
game outscoring the Kangaroos (2-4)
16-7 in the first four and a half min
r—-—-,cv:n...- -
utes backed by three dunks by true
freshman Cookie Belcher.
Nebraska, which outshot (50 per
cent to 34 percent) and outrebounded
UMKC (55-38), did not trail the entire
game before a
crowd of 4,897
at Municipal Au
ditorium.
Senior Mikki
Moore and
sophomore
V e n s o n
Hamilton com
bined for 33
points taking ad
vantage of the
hole in the post
by UMKC’s 6-foot-9 center Tony
Berg. Berg, the Kangaroo’s leading
rebounder and tallest player, sat out
with an injured back.
“We’re starting to get our chemis
try together,” said Moore, who grabbed
a career-high 15 rebounds to go along
with a season-high 19 points. His three
blocked shots give him 182 career re
jections — two shy of breaking Rich
King’s school record.
“I’d rather get (the record) at home
anyway,” Moore said. Hamilton, who
along with Moore scored a double
double, blocking a career-high six
shots while scoring 14 points and grab
bing 10 rebounds. Nebraska has now
totaled seven double-doubles in seven
games — one more than its total, last
season.
“Me and Mikki had a lot of fun
dunking,” said Hamilton, who cut his
wrist on one of his slams.
The duo combined for 10 second
half dunks, including seven by Moore.
“Weren’t there a lot of dunks?” Nee
said. “There had to be 30 or 40 dunks.
I think a dunk is finishing off a pretty
good play.”
The Huskers took a 32-21 lead —
>
their biggest of the first half— when
senior Bernard Gamer sank a 3-point
shot with 6:51 remaining.
The Kangaroos, aided by 15
Husker turnovers and a 9-3 run to fin
ish the half, trailed 35-29.
“The thing that’s bothering me is
turnovers,” Nee said. “I still think we
have to take care of the ball.”
Despite the turnovers, Moore said
the foundation was still solid.
“I like the way we started off,”
Moore said. “But like all good teams,
they are going to come right back.”
The Kangaroos were led by junior
Vinson Smith, who scored 21 points,
including 14 in the first half.
In the second half, the Huskers
Please see WIN on 14
_ * Scott Bruhn/DN
JULIA. RUSSELL swims in the 100-yard breaststroke during the Husker Shoot Out Nov. 24. Russell, a native of Durban, South Africa,
has qualified for the NCAA meet in the 200-yard Individual Medley, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.
Russell continues swimming legacy
--- * . .
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
Call it the South African connec
tion. !
After losing All-American and
two-time gold medalist Penny
Heyns, the Nebraska women’s
swimming team looks to another
South African swimmer for success
this year, senior Julia Russell.
Heyns may be the bearer of two
gold medals, but Russell may one
day follow in her footsteps.
Russell already holds one school
record in the 200-yard individual
medley with a time of 2 minutes, .77
seconds.
Now as the Comhuskers take a
month off before getting back into
action Jan. 10, Russell made sure
during her time off she didn’t have
to worry about qualifying for the
NCAA Championships.
ww
I learned so much in the Olympics,
it’s hard to put in words.”
Julia Russel
NU swimmer '
Last weekend in Austin, Texas,
she posted an NCAA qualifying
time of 2:01.69 in the 200 individual
medley at the Texas Invitational.
Russell already has qualified for
the NCAA Championship in the
100-yard and 200-yard breast
stroke.
“I’m really pleased with the way
I’m swimming right now,” Russell
said. “I’ve got a good start to the
season.”
She considers her qualifying
time in Texas more impressive be
cause she didn’t shave before swim
ming.
“If you shave your legs and
body, you’re going to have a faster
time,” Russell said. “Since I didn’t
do that, I feel really good about my
time in Austin.”
Russell, a native of Durban,
South Africa, is the top
breaststroker on the team, and one
of the best in the nation. She fin
ished third in both the 100 and 200
breaststroke at the NCAA Champi
onships last year. Both events were
won by Heyns.
Russell was sixth overall in in
*
uiviauai scoring.
Now the scary part for others in
the pool is that she plans to improve.
“I feel like I can do a lot better
than last year,” Russell said. “I have
a lot more experience, and I’m a lot
more focused on this season.”
Russell gained experience com
peting in the Atlanta Summer Olym
pics. She represented South Africa
well, finishing 12th in the 200-meter
breaststroke, 17th in the 100-meter
breaststroke and 26th in the 200IM.
But her teammate Heyns was
reeling in the gold. Heyns became
the first woman in Olympic history
to sweep the breaststroke events,
winning both the 100 and 200
breaststroke.
While Russell never contended
for a medal, she said she learned
how to be mentally focused for im
portant races.
Please see RUSSELL on 15
Samuel
headsto
NMSU
NU’s outside
linebacker coach will
be named Aggies
coach this afternoon.
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Nebraska Outside Linebackers
Coach Tony Samuel is expected to
accept the head coaching position
today at New
Mexico State.
Aggie
president
Michael
Orenduff will
announce the
new coacn to
day at a press
conference at
2:30 p.m.
(CST) at the c .
New Mexico &amuel
State University Coca-Cola Weight
Room in Las Cruces, N.M.
New Mexico State finished this
season with a 1-10 record and has
not had a winning season since
1993. In the past 30 years, the
Aggies have had only two winning
seasons.
Orenduff said Samuel was im
pressive during his interview with
New Mexico State athletic officials
Dec. 6.
“He did very well,” Orenduff
said. “Obviously he had done his
homework and had really thought
about the kinds of things he might
do if he was selected here. He im
pressed the search committee be
cause he was very intelligent and
answered their questions very di
rectly.”
Orenduff would not confirm that
Samuel was the new coach, but said
the position was offered to some
one who accepted.
Samuel said he could not make
any comment until today’s press
conference. He did tell the Las
Cruces Sun News, “I can’t tell vou
anything until I get there.”
Sources close to the New
Mexico State program said Samuel
and Houston Nutt were the Aggies’
top two candidates.
Nutt, coach at Murray State, said
as of Wednesday night he had not
been contacted by any official from
NMSU. Nutt has compiled a 22-2
record the last two years for the
Racers, a Division II school.
“I’m thinking they already told
your boy that he is going to get it,”
Nutt said.
Fred Gavers, the offensive co
ordinator at Utah, also was a candi
date to fill the coaching vacancy, but
on Wednesday, he said he heard
from an athletic official at New
Mexico State that Samuel had ac
cepted the position.
Orenduff said he and the com
mittee were surprised at how calm
Samuel was since his interview was
the day before the Big 12 champi
onship game.
“We knew the game must have
been weighing very much on his
mind, but he was very self com
posed,” Orenduff said. “The big
question we had here about him is
would he be able to rise to the du
ties of head coach? With the way
Please see SAMUEL on 14
ins**