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NU fails jto capitalize on its
chance to topple No. 1
Kansas.
By Mitch German
Senior Reporter
LAWRENCE, Kan.—Eight Nebraska bas
ketball players left every ounce of their energy
on the Allen Fieldhouse floor Saturday after
noon, falling excruciatingly short of stealing
one of the biggest wins in the 101-year history
of Comhusker basketball.
With 23 seconds to play in the second half,
Nebraska held the ball with the score tied at 60
and a chance to shoek the nation by ending
top-ranked Kansas’ 39-game homecourt win
ning streak.
_ But Tyronn Lue’s desperation 3-pointer,
tipped by Kansas forward Paul Pierce, fell 6
feet short of the rim and sent the game into
overtime. KU played nearly
perfect in the extra period,
winning 82-77 to secure the
best start to a season in
Jayhawk history.
“No one expected us to
have a chance,” Nebraska
Coach Danny Nee said. “I
told the kids last night that
we do have a chance. There
is an opportunity. But when
Kansas had to, they found
a way to win it.”
NU’s fourth straight loss dropped its record
to 11-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12 Confer
ence, but it also sent a message to the rest of
the league that Nebraska refuses to fade silently
into the land of forgotten teams.
O *V i „UjC QI
“We know we are a good team,” NU center
Mikki Moore said after Kansas improved to 22
0 and 8-0 before a sellout crowd of 16,300.
“We’ve just been having bad breaks. Once we
get everything together, we can be a highly
ranked team, just like Kansas.”
For much of Saturday’s game, Nebraska
appeared destined to win in Lawrence for the
first time since 1983.
■ NU out-rebounded Kansas 46-&, just the
second time this season the Jayhawks lost the
battle of the boards.
■ The Huskers shot 50 percent to Kansas’
43 percent, only the fourth time this year an
1 opponent out-shot KU.
■ The Jayhawks made just 5 of 15 first
half free throws and allowed six ties and nine
lead changes before halftime.
■ After a 13-2 Kansas run that ignited a
frenzy in the stands, Nebraska kept its compo
sure, never trailing by more than 10. NU then
used a 7-0 run of its own to regain momentum
but made just 10 of 21 free throws in the sec
ond half.
■ The Huskers took the Jayhawks to over
time for the first time this season, held KU to a
season-low 60 points in regulation and surren
dered only 20 points before overtime to Kan
sas’ top two scorers, Pierce and Raef LaFrentz.
In overtime, however, LaFrentz and Pierce
look over, scoring 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting
after Moore, Venson Hamilton and Bernard
Gamer fouled out.
“I’m not very proud of the way I’m coach
ing right now,” KU Coach Roy Williams said.
“I’m not doing a very good job. It didn’t make
Please see KU on 9
_ . ,
ByMikeKluck
Senior Reporter
Despite holding a 10-point lead with less
than 10 minutes to play against 12th-ranked
Kansas Sunday, the Nebraska women’s basket
ball team wasn't operating at M power.
So when the Jayhawks (16-3, and 7-1 in the
Big 12 Conference) turned on the jets, the
Cornhuskers didn’t have the firepower to keep
up as Kansas soared to a 67-59 victory and the
top spot in the North Division of the league.
The loss before a season-high crowd of
5,082 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center
dropped NU to 16-2 and 6-2. It was the
Jayhawks’ 13th straight victory over the Husk
ers, who haven’t beaten KU since Feb. 6,1991.
“Everybody has to arrive,” Nebraska Coach
Angela Beck said. “We can’t have three cylin
ders working and expect town the game. Ev
ery cylinder had to be on fire and ignited, and
we didn’t have that. They didn’t have that ei
ther, and that’s why it was a close game.”
Early in the second half it appeared the
game wasn’t going to be close. Nebraska went
into the locker room on the strength of a half
court 3-point shot by freshman Nicole Kubik.
The Huskers led 28-27 and took much needed
momentum into the intermission.
The Huskers used that momentum in the
second half to go on an 11-0 run and open up a
12-point lead when Husker junior Anna
DeForge threw an alley-oop pass to senior
\
LaToya Doage who laid the ball in with 17:15
remaining.
Doage, a 5-foot-5 guard, was NU’s second
leading scorer with 13 points. But more im
portant to the Huskers was her defense on Kan
sas All-American Tamecka Dixon.
Dixon, a candidate for national player of
the year honors, has been averaging 21,3 points
a game this season, but in the past four games
the senior from Linden, N J., has averaged 27.8
points.
A combination of Doage’s tenacious man
to-man defense, Nebraska’s zone defense and
a hyper-extended knee Dixon suffered in prac
tice Saturday helped hold her to seven points
with nine minutes left.
Doage said she was thrilled to play against
a big-time player like Dixon.
“Last year I didn’t ever get a feel for the
way sshe was playing,” Doage said. “I was ex
cited for the game and the chance to get out
and compete against her. I played as hard as I
could, and I am just frustrated I couldn’t help
my team more.”
That frustration hit its highest level when
Doage fouled out with 5:31 remaining. Beck
said Doage’s loss fired up the Jayhawks.
However, Dixon’s fire started in the final
nine minutes when she made a 3-pointer to cut
Please see WOMEN on 9 1
Scott Bbuhn/DN
NEBRASKA’S LaTQYA DOAGE Mves agaiast Taaucka Ohaa la the Haskars’ 67-59 lass.
Nebraska may lose juco recruit
Harrison’S mother is
still unsure of her son’s
college choice.
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
An athlete’s verbal commitment
is rally as good as his word.
For the secrauHime in less than
a month, a junior college
cornerback may have backed out of
a verbal commitment to play foot
ball at Nebraska next fall.
Brandon Harrison, a 5-foot-ll,
180-pounder from Gainesville,
Texas, will not attend NU next fall,
Bobby Burton of The National Re
cruiting Advisor said Sunday.
Harrison, who committed to
Nebraska during a trip, to Lincoln
last month, has chosen to sign with
,
Texas A&M, Burton said. Harrison
will sigh his letter of intent on
Wednesday, the first day of the
signing period.
Without a phone in his new
Kansas City, Kan., apartment,
Harrison was unavailable for com
ment.
Harrison—who attended Blinn
(Texas) College for 1 'A years but
now goes to school at Kansas City
Community College — originally
favored Texas A&M before choos
ing Nebraska last month. He vis*
ited Texas A&M on Dec. 11.
He committed to Nebraska af
ter the Comhuskers lost a verbal
commitment from Kevin Brooks,
a Garden City (Kan.) Community
College comerback who chose to
attend South Carolina.
Harrison’s mother, Deloris
Harrison, said Sunday that her son
was not going to tell her what
school he would attend until
Wednesday.
“He’s going to surprise us,”
Deloris Harrison said.
If Nebraska loses Harrison, it
will have 21 verbal commitments
and is likely to accept at least one
more commitment before Wednes
day.
Running back Jamal Lewis,
who committed to Tennessee last
month, said Sunday that he was
still considering Nebraska’s schol
arship offer.
“They’re pretty even right
now,” Lewis said.
The 6-1, 215-pounder from
Douglass High School in Atlanta
said he enjoyed his Dec. 2d visit to
Lincoln, but he favors the Tbnnessee
facilities and coaches. Lewis said he
will make his final decision by
Wednesday.
Munson salvages NU win
ByAntone Oseka
Staff Reporter
“You pin a guy from Iowa State to
win the dual meet ... that’s pretty
huge,” Neumann said.
Thompson, ranked third in the '
nation, beat Trait Hynek 16-7 to seal
the dual for Nebraska.
The 11th-ranked Huskers upset the
No. 7 Cyclones 20-18 in front of an
estimated 1,000 fans at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center track.
Iowa State Coach Bobby Douglas
said he wasn’t extremely upset with
the Cyclones’ loss.
“We didn’t wrestle bad,” he said.
“We just didn’t get the job done
Until Mulvfhill was pinned, it
looked as if the Cyclones were getting
the job done. They opened with two
victories at 118 and 126. ISU 118
pounder Cody Sanderson got four
team points with a 9-1 major decision
win over NU’s Todd Beckerman.
Dwight Hinson followed that with
Please see ISU on 9