DeForge, Kubik lead
NU to third straight
mi from page B
Rubik. Rubik drove to the basket and
collided with WRU’s Leslie Johnson,
who was called for a fifth foul.
“It probably should have been a
no-call,” Rubik said. “There wasn’t
enough contact to really say any
thing. It was kind of funny because
right before that Anna (DeForge) said
that (Johnson) had four fouls and that
we should take it right to her. And the
next play down, I saw a one-on-one
opportunity against her and took it to
her.”
Johnson, who finished the game
with 17 points and had scored five of
Western Rentucky’s last seven points,
went to the bench as Rubik made two
free throws to spark an 8-0 Husker
run to ice the game.
Sanderford said he didn’t think
that one call changed the ballgame.
But his former assistant, Steve Small,
Western Rentucky’s new coach - who
wouldn’t comment on the officiating
but threw his coat off after the charge
call - said it was a momentum chang
er.
“The time was right, and it had an
effect on the game at that moment,”
Smtgif said. “We probably lost the
basketball game, though, in the first
quarter.”
Western Rentucky (2-1) missed
its first nine shots as Nebraska
jumped to a 10-1 lead when DeForge
was fouled on a jumper with 6:12
remaining in the first quarter.
DeForge missed the free throw, but
finished the night leading all players
with 24 points.
me Lady toppers cut tne
Huskers’ lead to three points at the
beginning of the second quarter when
McCulley made a jump shot, but NU
went on a 9-0 run, with Kubik
involved in all nine points, to open a
30-18 lead.
Kubik converted two free throws,
stole the ball and made a layup,
grabbed the rebound on a WKU
missed 3-pointer and threw an assist
to DeForge, who hit a 3-pointer and
finished it off with a jumper.
“I thought Nicole really made
some big plays with her ability to take
the ball to the basket,” Sanderford
said. “Nicole is starting to understand
what I’m looking for as a coach. She
understands that we can run and still
be patient. She made some very good
decisions with the basketball.”
Sanderford was mostly impressed
with Kubik’s ability to handle
Western Kentucky’s press. The
sophomore from Cambridge finished
the game with one turnover, five
assists and 14 points.
Kubik can’t explain how she feels
right now after having defeated No.
11 Alabama and Western Kentucky,
but she is looking forward to playing
Connecticut, one of the perennial
powers of the sport.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,”
Kubik said. “It’s kind of weird,
because we beat Alabama and .
Western Kentucky, and now we’re
playing UConn, that won a national
championship not that many years
ago. This is just unbelievable for our
program.”
IRISH from page 9
er of their own. Junior Kim Engesser
recorded her third hat trick of the sea
son against Michigan, pushing her
point total on the season to 55, a
Nebraska record. She also holds the
Husker record with 26 goals this year.
Both teams also put a big stock in
dominating defense. The two squads
have allowed a total of 19 goals this
year. • • /.?
-'-"We? are preparing ourselves for a
battlej^seMkri Rari Uppinghouse
said: “T4heSe are the kinds of games
that a& the reason you play soccer.”
Although Nebraska and Notre
Dame didn’t face off during the regu
lar season, these teams are no
strangers. Last spring, NU traveled to
South Bend and beat the Irish 1-0.
Sunday, Notre Dame presents a more
difficult test. The Irish have not lost a
home game since Oct. 6, 1995, when
they fell 5-4 in overtime to Big East
Conference rival Connecticut. In 83
games of all time at Alumni Field,
Notre Dame is 77-5-1.
Both teams have come a long way
since the spring. NU added Engesser,
and Notre Dame added several play
ers, including high-scoring freshman
Meotis Erikson and freshman Kelly
Lindsay, an ex-Millard North star.
Walker said this game does not com
pare to the spring contest.
“We are not going to put a lot of
stock in the spring game,’”Walker
said. “It gives them a chance to know
our style of play. There is no chance
of catching them by surprise.”
Three of the top eight seeds fell in
the first round of the tournament,
lending credence to the criticism of
the selection committee, which did
not place Big 12 powers Texas A&M
and Nebraska among the top eight
seeds.
“The most important thing is
marching on,” Walker said. “We only
have one concern, to find a way to
win on Sunday.”
-A-^
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t»HMf^ m&Wak 1 tvi u- S
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
(And Stuffing And Cranberries And
Potatoes And Pumpkin Pie An<L~)
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Matt Miller/DN
CLEOPHAS BOOR, who finished third at the NCAA Championships last season, paces Nebraska into the 1997
cross country championships Monday in Greenville, S.C.
m ... . m
boor aims to pace fiuskers
By Jay Saunders
Assignment Reporter
* With a few steps at the NCAA
Championships :on Monday,
Cleophas Boor could make
Nebraska history.
In the 69-year history of the
Comhusker cross country program,
no Nebraska runner has ever won
the national championship. Last
season, Boor finished third. Both
runners who finished ahead of
Boor are not participating this sea
son.
One of those runners was for
mer Husker Jonah Kitparus, who
influenced Boor’s decision to come
to Nebraska in the fall of 1995 from
Barton County Community
College in Kansas.
“Jonah used to be here and yve
were friends,” Boor said. “He asked
me to come here and join him.”
Boor’s presence made Kitparus
happy, NU Coach Jay Dirksen said,
but Boor adds a great deal to the
Huskers.
“Without (Boor) we wouldn’t
have a chance to be where we are,”
Dirksen said. “He is very highly
motivated internally. I have a lot of
respect for the young man.”
Both Boor and Kitparus are
natives of Kapsabet, Kenya, -where
Boor began running. In elementary;
school,'Boot said, the kids were
paired up by age and competed
against each other.
“In my country, we run a lot,”
Boor said. “When we go to school,
that is the routine. You might see a
friend of yours training and the next
day he would be a success.”
For Boor, it is not just a Kenyan
tradition to be a runner. Boor’s
father and older brother were run
ners. His older brother was one of
Kenya’s top athletes until a knee
injury ended his career.
Watching his older brother per
form gavfe Boor inspiration, he said.
“It is something that i$ a family
tradition,” Boor said.
Boor is now continuing that
family tradition in the United
States. Last season, he never fin
ished lower than third in any meet.
This year, teamed with freshman
Jeroen Broekzitter, Boor finished1
second at the Woody Greeno
Invitational, the Big 12
Championships and the District V
Championships.
Those finishes allowed Boor to
qualify iiidJfVi9ually for the NCAA
{Championships, which will be held
Monday at Furman University in
Greenville, S.C. Earlier this week,
the Huskers qualified as a team for
the championships with an at-large
berth. ;;
“I can focus on training for the
NCAAs,” Boor said. “Before, I was
worried we wouldn’t make it as a
team. That is more important than
individual qualifying.”
Boor’s academics are also
important.
Often he awakes at 4 a.m, to
study. After his early morning ses
sions, he makes time for a run in
addition to the team’s daily prac
tice. For some, this would be a
strenuous routine. For Boor, it adds
to his strength.
“I have to wake up early some
times to train and get ready for
class,” Boor Said. “After class, I go
to practice and then get back to the
books. It is kind of stressful, but I
am used to it.*
Trouble again follows Phillips
_PHILLIPS from page 9
practice, during which he predicted
Phillips would someday be a Pro Bowl
player and face the Rams in playoff games.
“I’m very disappointed it came to this,
extremely disappointed,” Vermeil said “I
care about the guy, I really do. But I made
the decision that was best for the Ram
organization, and really what’s best for
him.”
Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne,
who suspended Phillips for six games in
1995, spoke to Vermeil Thursday morn
ing.
“From what I can tell,” Osborne said,
“the Rams gave Lawrence a very fair
shake -
‘1 had my chance to advise Lawrence
when he was here, and I think a lot of peo
ple have tried to help him. But at some
point, Lawrence is going to have to help
himself”
Sources within the team said
Phillips’ problem was alcohol related.
He was arrested for drunken driving last
year in California.
“You can’t play when you’re drunk or
hung ove^” defensive tackle D’Marco Fan
said “I don’t think that’s what this is all
about—at least I hope not”
But Phillips has never stayed away
from trouble.
At Nebraska, Phillips pleaded no con
test to assault of a former girlfriend and
was sentenced to one year probation.
While on probation he was arrested for
drunken driving in California, which led to
a 23-day jail sentence in March.
In February, he was arrested for
swearing at and threatening police offi
cers who came into his hotel room in
Omaha. After that incident, Vermeil
didn’t hear from Phillips for two days.
“What you do with these guys is you
give them a fair opportunity, a fair
chance, and I think the Rams felt like
they did,” Osborne said. “We thought
we did here. Most of them respond very
well, some of them respond eventually,
and some never do.”