Tuesday’s results from the Women’s
Big 12 Conference Basketball
Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.:
Colorado 71, Oklahoma 66
Colorado shot a perfect 100 percent
from behind the 3-point arc in the first half
and held off an Oklahoma comeback in the
second half to advance to the second round.
The Buffaloes (11-15 overall) hit all
five 3-pointers in the first half while build
ing a 38-29 halftime lead. CU finished the
game connecting on 8 of 13 3-point
attempts.
OU (8-19) cut the lead to three with 27
seconds remaining, but was never able to
overtake the Buffaloes.
“We didn’t expect them to shoot 61 per
cent from the 3-point line,” Oklahoma
Coach Sherri Coale said. “That was the dif
ference in the game.”
Colorado, which won its 10th consecu
tive conference tournament game, will now
face top-seeded and No. 5 Texas Tech (22
4) at noon today.
Oklahoma State 67, Missouri 48
The Cowgirls outscored Missouri 44-20
in the second half including an 18-4 run in
the middle of the period to seal the victory.
Oklahoma State sophomore guard Sara
Jackson scored all of her 18 career-high
points in the second half - including seven
during the Cowgirls’ run.
“Once every three weeks she gets a
feel,” Oklahoma State Coach Dick
Halterman said.
Jackson, who averaged 4.3 points per
game during the regular season, said she
didn’t know what got in her Tuesday night.
“My big thing I thought was when
Jackson took it in her hand,” Missouri
Coach Joann Rutherford said. “To me, their
guards took over the game. Their guards
just stepped up and took over and we didn’t
react.”
Oklahoma State (18-9) advances to the
second round to face Nebraska (22-8) today
at 2:20 p.m.
Texas A&M 98, Texas 74
Tenth-seeded Texas A&M scored a sea
son-high 98 points in its pasting of seventh
seeded Texas in the first upset of the
women’s tournament.
The Aggies (9-18) jumped out to a 48
34 halftime lead and never looked back as
A&M defeated the Longhorn (12-15) for
just the ninth time in school history. The 24
point victory also was Texas A&M’s largest
victory ever over Texas.
“This was a great team win,” said A&M
Coach Candi Harvey.“This is the first time
we have not gone home after the first game.
It is just a great feeling.”
For Texas, it was the earliest exit ever
from a conference tournament.
“That was quite an impressive perfor
mance A&M put on tonight,” Texas Coach
Jody Conradt said. “Every hustle play, they
came away with a win.” - . -
A&M moves on to face second-seeded
Iowa State (23-6) today at 6 p.m.
Kansas State 75, Baylor 66 (OT)
The nightcap game provided the most
excitement and the biggest upset as 11th
seeded Kansas State - behind a 70 percent
shooting performance in the first half -
upset sixth-seeded Baylor.
“Kansas State deserves an awful lot of
credit,” Baylor Coach Sonja Hogg said.
“They shot lights-out in the first half.”
After trailing 24-9 with less than 10
minutes remaining in the first half, the
Bears mounted a comeback and opened up
a six-point lead in the second half.
Baylor (17-10) held on to its lead until
the Wildcats (M-16) went on a 10-2 run to
take a 62-60 lead with 1:52 remaining.
The Bears tied the game, and both teams
missed opportunities to win the game in
regulation.
In overtime, Kansas State opened up an
8-2 run and outscored Baylor 13-4 to get the
victory.
“We kind of ran out of gas,” Hogg said.
“We dug ourselves a hole early and when
we got even, it took a lot out of us.”
Kansas State will play third-seeded
Kansas (19-7) tonight at 8:20.
Big 12 Conference ^Basketball
Tournament Notebook compiled by
Special Projects Reporter Mike Kluck.
Lue selected first-team All-Big 12
By Sam McKewon
Senior Reporter
With six players vying for five spots, the
selections for The Associated Press’s first-team
All-Big 12 became a game of odd man out.
Nebraska point guard Tyronn Lue was not
that guy.
Lue, who averaged 21.3 points and 4.9
assists per game for the Cornhuskers, was
selected to the first team, along with Kansas
forwards Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz,
Oklahoma guard Corey Brewer and Texas Tech
guard Cory Carr.
The odd man out was Baylor center Brian
Skinner, who was on the second team after
averaging 18 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
The team was selected by 25 basketball
writers throughout the Big
12 Conference.
The first Husker to be
named first-team all confer
ence since Eric Piatkowski
in 1994 and only the second
under Coach Danny Nee,
Lue said he was happy to be
on the team.
“Making the team is a
big step for me,” Lue said.
“But if I hadn’t made it, I wouldn’t have been
disappointed with what we did as a team.”
. -
Lue credited his teammates in helping him
reach the all-conference plateau.
“My teammates got me involved,” Lue said.
“They had me take charge, got me open and got
me shots down the stretch.”
Along with Lue, three other Huskers were
named to all-conference teams of some kind.
Sophomore guard Cookie Belcher and junior
forward Venson Hamilton were both named to
the Big 12’s All-Defense Team. /
“I was happy,” Hamilton said of the selec
tion. “My defense gets my offense going.”
Hamilton was also named Honorable
Mention All-Big 12 by the AP.
NU junior forward Troy Piatkowski was
named to the Big 12’s All-Bench Team.
-:-1
Une year makes
a big difference
for Comhusker
SPLASH from page 7
Overall, Johnson won five gold medals and
was named co-outstanding female swimmer
and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
“I didn’t think I would make that big of an
impact,” Johnson said. “I am glad 1 could come
in and help the team and represent Nebraska.”
Johnson gives Nebraska a shot to finish in
the top five at the NCAA Championships,
March 19-21 in Minneapolis. NU has 16 auto
matic qualifying times. Johnson has three of
those times.
In addition to the 500- and 200-yard
freestyle, she is part of the 800-yard freestyle
relay. She also is currently ranked first in the
country in the 500 freestyle
In the 200 backstroke and as part ot the 400
yard medley relay team, Johnson has NCAA
provisional times. Johnson said she is hoping
she can turn her success in the Big 12 meet into
better swims at the NCAA Championships.
“I am very happy with how I swam at Big
12s ” Johnson said “Now we have the NCAAs
and hopefully we’ll do well there. Maybe I can
turn around and drop a little bit more off my
times.”
Johnson’s recent success has caused NU
Coach Cal Bentz to compare her to Penny
Heyns, one of Nebraska’s all-time greatest
swimmers. Heyns, a two-time Olympic gold
medalist for South Africa, was the first Husker
to win a national championship.
“(Johnson) is about at the level that Penny
was when shexame here,” Bentz said. “She is
probably the top high school swimmer to ever
come out of Nebraska. We are really pleased
she is here.”
Heyns and the Olympics are two things that
Johnson said she knows a lot about. In her
junior year of high school, Johnson skipped her
high school season in hopes of qualifying for
the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
She didn’t make it in ’96, but Johnson said
she is happy that Bentz would compare her to
Heyns, considering all the success she has had
in die Olympics.
“It’s really cool that he said that,” Johnson
said. “(Heyns) is one of the people I look up to.
Hopefiilly, I will be in the Olympics someday.”
Cowgirls hope to handle
Husker transition game
OSU from page 7
remaining in the game, but outscored the
Tigers 37-13 to get the win.
“Roberts is playing well,” Sanderford
said. “She’s a good player. I had her on my
all-conference team. She’s an outstanding
defensive player and she can also put the
ball in the basket.”
Roberts said her play in the Big 12
Tournament isn’t a commentary on her
snub in the all-conference balloting, but
more on her trying to find a way to get the
Cowgirls into die NCAA Tournament.
“You just have to put that behind you
and play the best you can now,” Roberts
said. “I just want our team to do better. I
know I can play with anybody in this con
ference.”
In the January game against Nebraska,
Halterman said, the Cowgirls played as
poorly as they had all season.
Halterman said Oklahoma State will
have to do a better job handling Nebraska’s
press if the Cowgirls are to have success
today. In the previous game against the
Huskers, OSU had 26 turnovers, which
turned into fast-break layups for NU.
“I really believe Nebraska is one of the
better teams in our conference,” Halterman
said. “They are the best running team in the
conference and in transition, they are better
than anybody else in the league. We sure
don’t want to be in a footrace with them.
“The key for us is we got to make it a
semi-half-court game where they have to
set up and run an offense every time down.”
Notes:
■ Sanderford said sophomore guard
Brook Schwartz is ready to play. Schwartz
had been hampered by tight leg muscles the
last three games. Sanderford also said he
expected sophomore Charlie Rogers to
play about half the game.
■ Nebraska is 7-2 against Oklahoma
State in conference tournament play.
- - - fr' * * *"v ■ - ' 5 ' ’ 71 >
I-1
OU and Mizzou players earn league honors
From Staff Reports
Oklahoma third baseman Jose Montenegro
earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Week
honors after going 8 for 12 with three homers
and 10 RBIs in a three-game series with Baylor
last weekend.
The Sooners were one of eight Big 12 teams
to open conference play last weekend. The other
three league teams will begin conference play
this weekend.
Montenegro, a senior who typically bats
eighth in the lineup, helped the Sooners take two
of three games from the Bears. OU snapped a
12-game winning streak with a 10-9 loss to BU
Sunday.
The loss dropped the fourth-ranked Sooners
to 12-1 overall and 2-1 in die conference. With a
win over Southwest Texas Tuesday, Baylor
moved to 11-5 and 1-2.
Missouri lefty Justin Stine was named the
Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after allowing just
one run through eight innings Friday at Kansas
State.
The junior surrendered seven hits and struck
out five in a 3-1 win over the Wildcats.
The Tigers proceeded to defeat KSU
Saturday and Sunday before losing to Wichita
State Tuesday to move their record to 8-2 and 3
0 in the league. Kansas State fell to 5-8 and 0-3.
In other Big 12 action, 13th-ranked Texas
A&M (13-4 and 2-1) took two out of three
games from Texas Tech (11-7 and 1-2) in
College Station, Texas, capping the series with
an 11-2 victory Sunday.
Oklahoma State (8-6 and 2-1) won two out of
three games last weekend against Kansas (4-6
and 1-2) in Stillwater, Okla.
Nebraska (7-5 and 0-0), Iowa State (3-5 and
0-0), and 22nd-ranked Texas (8-8-1 and 0-0) will
open conference play this weekend. The Huskers
travel to Baylor, Iowa State will visit Oklahoma,
and Texas Tech will play host to Texas.
Gymnasts escape with close dual win
By Darren Ivy
Assignment Reporter
The Cyclones showed they may be a con
tender for the Big 12 Conference gymnastics
title, but the Nebraska women’s gymnastics
team showed why the Cornhuskers are still
the team to beat.
NU defeated Iowa State Tuesday night in
Ames, Iowa, 194.625-194.55.
“Iowa State is a good team and they com
pete very well at home,” Kendig said. “I feel
like they’ll give us a run for the Big 12 title.”
Falls on bar and beam routines cost the
Huskers a shot at scoring over 195 points,
but freshman Amy Ringo’s season-high vault
score provided bright spots for the Huskers.
The narrow win for NU marked the sec
ond time in three days that the Huskers had
won by less than .10 points.
Before the meet Kendig said NU couldn’t
miss the little things and expect to win. But
both teams took turns falling Tuesday.
Two of NU’s top gymnasts, Heather
Brink and Nicole Wilkinson missed on rou
tines, but still finished second and third in
the all-around- Brink scored 38.725 and
Wilkinson had a 38.70. Jessy Smith of Iowa
State won with a 38.75.
Kendig said although things didn’t go the
way he had hoped, the team competed welL
“The team stuck together and rallied
around one another,” Kendig said. “It was a
tough meet all the way through.”
Since it was a close meet, the season
high vault score pleased Kendig.
The Huskers vaulted to a season high
48.725 score, which bettered their previous
high of 48.65 - two weeks ago at Arizona
State.
Brink led the charge by winning the vault
with a 9.85 and Wilkinson finished second
with 9.80. Ringo also posted a career-best
9.65.
Ringo also scored a career-best 9.875 on
the balance beam finishing third behind
Kayo Merritt and Kelli Moore of Iowa State.
Laurie McLaughlin won the won the
uneven bars with a 9.85 and Jess Swift fin
ished third with 9.825.
“I was happy we got big performances
from Jess Swift on uneven bars and Amy
Ringo on beam,” Kendig said.
Kendig was upset that NU missed some
routines and had to count falls because he
said he thought the Huskers were better than
that.
But he said he was confident Huskers
will get it together.
“We had some mistakes here and there,”
Kendig said. “We’re looking forward to
putting everything together soon.”
The Huskers hope to have things together
when they face Brigham Young Monday at 7
p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Kendig said the Huskers will use the
Iowa State meet and a good week of practice
to prepare.
“(The girls) have been able to handle
some pressure,” Kendig said. “That will be
good for us down the road.”