The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 18, 1997, Page 7, Image 7

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    Injury can’t slow Eddleman
The Big 12 offensive player of
the week was Texas junior running
back Ricky' Williams. Williams ear
ned the ball 26 times for 211 yards
and had three touchdow ns in a 45
31 win over Kansas. For the season,
Williams has 1,710 yards on 246
cames.
The Big 12 defensive player of
the w'eek was Texas Tech defensive
end Montae Reagor. Reagor had 11
tackles, including a key fourth
down stop, in a 27-3 victory over
Oklahoma State.
The Big 12 special teams player
of the week was Kansas State junior
place-kicker Martin Gramatica.
Gramatica made three field goals,
including a 53-yarder, in a 37-20
w in over Colorado. Gramatica has
now kicked 19 of 20 field goals this
season.
It’s official: Nebraska will play
Texas A&M in the second Dr.
Pepper Big 12 Championship Game
in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 6.
NU wrapped up the bid with its 77
14 victory over Iowa State. The
Aggies got the bid with a 51-7 win
over Oklahoma and an Oklahoma
State loss to Texas Tech. Tech actu
ally leads the Big 12 South Div ision
but has declared itself ineligible to
play in the championship game.
£
Nebraska senior offensive guard
Aaron Tay lor ha.-> been named to the
Football News All-American First
Team. Other players selected from
the Big 12 were Texas running back
Ricky Williams. Kansas State kick
er Martin Gramatica and Kansas
junior linebacker Ron Warner
m
unless Colorado can find a way
to unset Nebraska, the Big 12 will
only have five bowl-eligible learns,
fading to fill its six bowi slots for
the second consecutive year.
Missouri Coach Larry Smith,
whose 7-4 Tiger team did qualify
for a bowl, doesn't see the Big 12
biting off more than it can chew
with six bowl slots.
"It's better to have too many
slots than too little." Smith said.
"When you don't have enough slots
good teams are left out."
Baylor continues to stand as the
only team that was common oppo
nent between No. 3 Nebraska and
No. 1 Michigan, and Coach Dave
Roberts still has the same opinion
about who’s better.
"If Nebraska and Michigan
were to play each other Nebraska
would win," Roberts said. "Only
because they have a little more
speed on defense."
■
With its victory over Colorado.
Kansas State now joins Nebraska as
the only Big 12 teams to win nine
games every season since 1993. In
their last nine seasons, the Wildcats
hav e won 64 games, two more than
they had in the previous 20 seasons
before Coach Bill Snyder arrived.
Big 12 Notebook was com
piled by staff reporter Sam
McKewon.
Matt Miller/DN
NU'S LINDSAY EDDLEMAN may not have been fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered seven days before the
Michigan game Sunday, but she was good enough to score two goais in the Buskers’ first-round win.
By Darren Ivy
Staff Reporter
One week ago, NU second
team All-American striker
Lindsay Eddleman was lying in
front of the Texas A & M goal
clutching her ankle in pain.
Rumors circulated that she
may be done for the season. But
after sitting out of practice all
week, she came back on Sunday
and scored two goals and an
assist in NU's 5-1 NCAA
Tournament victory over
Michigan.
wc iuigin uu i ii ci i wiui an
our players this week,” joked NU
Coach John Walker about his
practice schedule.
Eddleman was tackled by
A&M goalie Melanie Wilson
while attempting a shot.
The injury forced Eddleman,
NU’s third leading scorer, to the
sidelines where she watched her
teammates struggle to a 3-1 loss.
Walker said A&M was play
ing well and that he wasn't sure
the injury was the difference.
But he said NU missed
Eddleman's offensive presence
in the second half.
"She has traditionally done
well in big games,” Walker said.
"She finds ways to score.”
Senior defender Tanya Franck
said Eddleman's non-stop defen
sive pressure sets a standard for
her teammates^ . _ _
“Our whole defensive pres
sure dropped off after (hefr
injure ),' Franck said. “It was
like we got kicked in the stom
Please see EDDLEMAN on 8
By Sam McKewon
Staff reporter
After NL's 74-66 upset win over
No. 11 Alabama, Nebraska Women's
Basketball Coach Paul Sanderford
looked around the post-game press
room and shook his head in disbelief at
the NU players that had been requested
for post-game comments.
"I can’t believe you don't have
(senior center) Emily Thompson in
here,” Sanderford said. “She was the
star of this game. That’s the best game
she's played in a long time.”
Thompson didn't have the most
points or rebounds for NU Sunday
night, but played a key role in stopping
the Crimson Tide's inside rebounding
machine, which turned out to be a major
difference in the game.
Nebraska out-rebounded Alabama
44-33 in the game, including 24-!(4 m
the second half. Thompson had five or
those rebounds to go along w ith nine
points.
Thompson said it was her best per
formance since her freshman season.
"It was definitely one of the best
games I've played" Thompson said. "I
had fun out there for the first time in a
long time.”
Thompson was saddled with con
taining Alabama junior center Tausha
Mills and for the most part succeeded.
Mills did score 15 points but those came
in spurts and had eight rebounds.
Before the game, Thompson didn’t
know that she would be up against the 6
foot-2 frame of Mills.
“The coaches told me right before
the game that I would be guarding her,”
Thompson said. “They told me not to
even worry about getting rebounds, but
just stop Mills from getting them.”
EarK m the first quarter. Sanderford
didn't think Thompson was filling he
roic-.
”1 took her out after a couple min
utes and told her ‘Emily, you've got to
get something done in there.'" he said.
“Then 1 got this big smile from her. and
she went out and played great."
Thompson was asked not only to
play inside but also to extend her shoot
ing range to the three-point line.
Thompson heaved three treys against
the Tide, but didn’t make any.
The three serves a purpose beyond
the points, Thompson said.
“It brings another potential
rebounder out of the paint to cover me,”
Thompson said. “Even if 1 don’t make
that shot, which I didn't, I’m taking a
rebounder out of a lane.”
NU now takes on Western Kentucky
in Storrs, Conn., m the semifinals of the
Women’s National Invitation
Tournament, and Thompson sees her
rqie staying much the same
"1 think I'll be asked to do the same
kinds of things for much of the year.”
she said.
Note:
With the Huskers upset of Alabama
on Sunday, Nebraska earned its first
ranking of the Paul Sanderford era at
No. 21 in The Associated Press poll. In
the AP preseason poll the Huskers were
the top team not in the top 25 poll.
Western Kentucky, Sanderford's
former team and Nebraska's opponent
Thursday mght in the semifinals of the
WNIT, was ranked No. 16. Connecticut,
which hosts the Final Four of the WNIT
is ranked No. 6.
w A a -mm «
Cross country team receives JN CAA bid
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men's cross country
team receiv ed one of the four wild-card
bids to the NCAA Championships in
Greenv ille. S.C . Tuesday, marking the
second straight season NU will compete
in tiie meet
The NU women are already auto
matic qualifiers for the meet after finish
ing second at the NCAA Midwest
Regionals on Saturday .
"We're obviously very excited," NU
Coach Jay Dirksen said. “We certainly
didn't know if we would make it or not.”
Nebraska was the third team to be
selected for a bid, behind Michigan State
and Notre Dame. NU qualified by
defeating two automatic qualifiers for the
NCAA Championships: Florida and
Texas-San Antonio.
The Irish and Spartans both defeated
three teams, while the fourth team select
ed Iowa State, beat three teams, but was
beaten by the Huskers at the district meet.
Dirksen said the decision came down
to the tough competition NU faced all
season long.
“We could have went to some easier
meets, but we wouldn't have qualified for
the NCAAs,” he said. "It was good that
we went to all these tough meets."
Nebraska's qualification for the
NCAAs brings to a close a tumultuous
season w hich saw NU lose two of its top
three runners at the beginning of the year
and then climb from the bottom of the
conference back among the top 25.
The season also saw the emergence
of freshman Jeroen Broekzme7 and the
return of senior Cleophas Boor, who both
qualified for the NCAAs individually.
Dirksen said he has been happy with
the recovery of the team.
“I think we’ve fought back, and
we’ve run very well in every race but
one,’’ he said. "We had two great individ
ual runners, but we come together as a
whole team."
Now that the team is in the nationals.
Dirksen said he does not intend to watch
his runners he down in front of the com
petition.
"If the} k satisfied to just go, 1 told
them they nugnt as eil just go to Disnev
World" he said. "I war* diem to compete
hard."