By John Gaskins
' Staff reporter
It would be easy to understand if
players on the Nebraska women’s bas
ketball team are feeling a little fatigued
After all, they’ve played five road
games and have finals looming.
Fortunately, they’ve returned home
for a three-game
. Nebraska VS. homestand and
Ban eight-day rest
woniana That lull between
games will start
after the Huskers’ Sunday game against
Montana, which will tip off at 7:05 pan.
at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Montana will be the second game of
the homestand. The first was a much
needed 108-54 victory over 0-6 Troy
State on Tuesday, which Assistant
Coach Brooke Meadows said couldn’t
have come at a better time.
“They were tired,” Meadows said.
“That was a good game for them and a
chance to be at home sleeping in then
own beds.”
Almost as comfortable as their own
beds have been the
confines of their
home court. In the
last two years
under Head Coach
Paul Sanderford,
Nebraska ~ has
never lost in the
Devaney Center,
sporting a perfect
20-0 record there.
“I think (the
streak) is very special to them,”
Meadows said. “We just feel very com
fortable at Devaney and have an added
sense of confidence there. It’s definitely
a motivational factor.”
The Huskers certainly had the moti
vation to trounce die Lady Trojans on
Tuesday, which was a pleasant relief
from the two previous games, in which
the Huskers had to gut out close victo
ries over Drake and Creighton after
trailing by more than. 10 points in the
second half. ^
Although the team is 8-1 and ranked
19th nationally, Meadows said the play
ers aren’t celebrating or resting on their
record.
“We got lucky a couple of times,”
Meadows said. “Coach Sanderford
made the point that if the ball didn’t
t>ounce our way, we could be 6-3 just
like that”
Meadows said the Huskers cannot
averlook Montana, which she said is an
aggressive, physical and well-coached
team.
After the game, the players will get
eight days off before they play North
Iexas at the Devaney Center on Dec. 20,
which will give them a chance to take
[Inals. Meadows said this is always a
tough time of the year for the team
because of the added pressure of finals
with basketball.
“In practice we could be talking to
them, and they could look like they’re
listening, but at least I know they’re
thinking about Spanish or math or histo
ry at the same time.”
. Key road game at CSU awaits NU
✓✓-- -•
ByAdamKlinker
Staff writer
A lengthy five-game homestand
and a crucial win will follow the
Nebraska basketball team on its first
road trip in three weeks.
The Comhuskers went 4-1 while
playing on the friendly hardwood at
y_hr_0. the Bob De
neorasicavs. vaney Sports
Colorado St. pent"' puttins
together a
championship
in their own Ameritas Classic and
winning a big game against in-state
rival Creighton.
Saturday NU (6-3 overall) will
take to Fort Collins, Colo., in a
matchup with a tough Colorado State
team (6-2).
The game will be a rematch of last
year’s 64-57 Husker win.
Since that game, CSU has lost
four starters and six lettermen from
last season’s team, but Husker Coach
Danny Nee said the Rams should
prove to be a good opponent for NU.
“They’re pretty good,” Nee said.
“The big thing for us is that it’s a road
game.”
Nee said rookie Head Coach
Ritchie McKay and the CSU offense
TT T t t
mm
They ve got a lot of guys who contribute.
We re going to work on breaking down their
offense and just continue to do what
weve been doing on defense.”
Danny Nee
NU head coach
should follow much the same style as
Wisconsin, a team the Huskers lost
to, 78-41, in the Top of the World
Classic.
Leading the Ram offense will be
senior guard Milt Palacio, who aver
ages 17.1 points, 4.5 assists and 5.4
rebounds per game.
Three other CSU players also
average double-figure point totals for
the Rams - forward Ceedric
Goodwyn (11 ppg), guard Andre
McKanstry (11 ppg) and guard John
Sivesind (10 ppg).
“They’ve got a lot of guys who
contribute,” Nee said. “We’re going
to work on breaking down their
offense and just continue to do what
we’ve been doing on defense.”
CSU is coming off a 4340 loss at
South Alabama on Wednesday that
ended a five-game winning streak
over which the Rams averaged 70
points against such teams as Oregon -
State, Eastern Michigan and Utah
State, a team that owns a 62-54 win
overthen-No. 12 Utah.
To add to the prospect of going on
the road, NU is also coming off a 76
60 dusting of Creighton, one of the
better teams the Huskers have faced
this season.
Nee said maintaining the focus
that the Huskers had against CU will
be a big factor if NU is to do well
against the Rams. ;
“Our ability to handle success and
be humble is something we have
always done,” he said. “We know that
there are so many big games. We’ve
got to be ready to do this 25 times
during the season.”
1MU dual sees ex-teammates battle
By Lisa Vonnahme
Staff writer
When heavyweight J.R. Plienis
steps onto the wrestling mat Sunday,
m^he’ll be looking
Nebraska vc int0 the eyes of
ncilidaKd VS. another grappler
Wyoming he knows well -
■hmmhhmi his workout part
ner from the last
two seasons and former NU wrestler,
Abe Boomer.
Only this year, after a transfer,
Boomer will be wearing the gold and
brown of Wyoming rather than the red
and white of Nebraska.
“This match should be a big advan
tage for me,” Plienis said. “After work
ing out with a guy for two years you get
to know everything he does. I know
how Abe wrestles.”
Plienis and the rest of the No. 14
Comhusker squad will take on Boomer
and the unranked Cowboys in NU’s
first home dual of the season at 2 p.m.
in the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
A sophomore from Edgemere,
Md., Plienis is eager to face his former
teammate but admits the match will be
a little “weird.”
“We’ll be going against each
other,” Plienis said. “But I think I can
beat him. I’ve improved a lot from last
year, and I don’t believe he’s in the
same atmosphere as I am.”
Plienis had a chance to watch
Boomer compete as a Cowboy at the
Omaha Open on Nov. 21. He saw
Boomer had “basically the same style”
as he did when Plienis wrestled him in
practice.
“There aren’t any new moves or
anything that should surprise me,”
Plienis said. “As far as I go, my tech
nique on my feet has improved.”
But for the squad as a whole, tech
nique on the top and bottom positions
has been the focus in practice this
week, Nebraska Coach Tim Neumann
said.
Neumann was disappointed in
those areas last weekend against Penn
State and has been pushing the NU
grapplers hard, stressing the impor
tance of constant improvement.
“We always want to be better than
what we were the week before,”
Neumann said. “Wyoming wrestles on
the top, and they use cradles more than
what we’re used to.”
While the Huskers might not be
used to cradles, Plienis is used to
Boomer and is expecting an NU win at
heavyweight on Sunday.
“We use the same philosophy for
each meet,” Plieni^ said. “We look to
win 10 of 10 matches.”
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Pulliam Journalism Fellowships
Graduating college seniors are invited to apply for the 26th annual
Pulliam Journalism Fellowships. We will grant 10-week summer
internships to 20 journalism or liberal arts majors in the August 1998
~ June 1999 graduating classes.
Previous internship or part-time experience at a newspaper is desired.
Winners will receive a $5,250 stipend and will work at either The
Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News or The Arizona '
Republic.
Early-admissions application postmark deadline is Nov. 15,1998. By
Dec. 15,1998, up to five early-admissions winners will be notified.
All other entries must be postmarked by March 1, 1999.
To request an application packet, write: Russell B. Pulliam
Fellowships Director
- The Indianapolis News
P.O. Box 145
If __ ^ ^ Indianapolis,-IN 46206-0145