Thursday, November 18,1999_ Page 9
Overtime again, but NU falters!
By Matthew Hansen
Staffwriter
For the second-straight game, point guard
Danny Walker found himself with the ball in his
hands and die game on the line.
And, for the second-straight game, he made
the most of it, banking in a 3-pointer to tie the
game 86-86 with just seconds left ip regulation.
The similarities between the Huskers’ first
exhibition game and their second ended there,
though. Nebraska succumbed to Ural Great
Russia 102-98 in overtime to finish the exhibition
season with a 1-1 record.
Head Coach Danny Nee said that despite the
loss, there were positives for his team.
“Exhibition games are for us to be able to get
in real-life situations,” Nee said. “The turnovers,
the things we made mistakes on, we can build on,
teach and try to get better. From that standpoint,
I’m happy to have exhibition games like this
because it’s better than anything I can do in prac
tice.” v
After trailing for most of the contest, the
Huskers rallied in the closing minutes. The
Russian team led by 10 points with only one
minute and 27 seconds remaining, but a Cary
Cochran 3-pointer, two Steffon Bradford layups
and Walker’s banked-in three with seven seconds
remaining knotted the score at 86 at the end of reg
ulation.
Nebraska built a small lead in overtime, then
watched it evaporate as Seigei Chikalin picked up
where he had left off in regulation.
Chikalin erupted for 40 points on the night.
Unofficially, it was the second-highest scoring
performance in a Husker men’s game at the
I Ural Russia102
I Nebraska 98
Devaney Center. Southern California’s Harold
Miner scored 43 points against the Huskers in
1991.
Steffon Bradford led NU in both scoring in
rebounding, as he scored 25 points and pulled
Please see NU on 11
Heather Glenboski/DN E
SERGEI CHIKAUN of Ural Great-Russia dunks 1
over the Nebraska defense in the first half at
the Devaney Center Wednesday night.
Nebraska was upset by the Ural Great-Russia
team 102-98 in overtime. Chikalin had 40 I
points in the game.
Latham strong in
season’s 2nd half
. . .
By Brandon Schulte
. Staff writer
It was etched it stone before
Christine Latham even played a
minute of soccer for the fourth
ranked Nebraska soccer team: She
was going to be the next Lindsay
Eddleman.
“They compared me to her com
ing inhere as a freshman. They said I
was sort of Lindsay’s shadow,”
Latham said. “But I wouldn’t say I
base my play on her. I would say die
physical aspects of our play (are sim
ilar).”
Since Coach John Walker said
Latham, a 5-9 freshman from
Calgary, Alberta, was like 5-10 senior
All-American Lindsay Eddleman, the
leading scorer in Nebraska history,
comparisons have been inevitable.
On the field, their play is indistin
guishable. Both are powerful on and
off of the ball, physically dominating
opponents, and both have had similar
success.
But during the second half of this
season, 21-1-1 for the Cornhuskers,
Latham has made a name for herself.
She has been a productive weapon
coming off of the bench, and when
Eddleman was slowed by a knee
injury, Latham stepped in, and NU
didn’t miss a beat.
She has been the hottest player on
the team since the beginning of
October. Latham has scored at least
one point in the last 10 games. And
until she was shut out against
Minnesota in the second round of die
NCAA tournament last Sunday, she
had scored a goal in seven-straight
contests.
It’s not a coincidence that her
scoring binge has come during the
same time Nebraska has reeled off 13
consecutive wins, which include the
Big 12 Conference regular season
II
The higher training
level has helped her
improve”
John Walker
NU coach
and tournament titles.
Walker said the quality mti
Latham’s play has improved since the
Colorado game Oct. 10 when she
scored two goals.
“(She is now) climatized to every
thing we ask her to do,” Walker said.
“The higher training level has helped
her improve. As she has improved, her
playing time has increased. And with
her playing more, her production has
been higher, which leads to more
playing time.”
Her play this year was enough to
earn Second-Team All-Big 12
Conference honors. Latham said the
reason for her improved play since
October has been the result of rising
confidence.
“The first part of the year, up to
the Colorado game, I was playing a
little more timid than I could have,”
Latham said. “I think it was because
of the new surroundings and new
players around me. , ;
“But John took me aside a couple
of times and said, ‘Even though you
are a freshman, we don’t look at you
like a freshman anymore. We expect
you to do the things the senior players
do. When you have a chance to go to a
goal and make things happen, do it,
and don’t worry about getting
stopped.’ Since then I’ve kept trying
and trying and haven’t worried about
mistakes.”
Please see LATHAM on 11
Mike WarrIn/DN
NEBRASKA MIDFIELDER Christine defender Sarah Fitzgerald to gain possession of
the ball on the Minnesota half of the of the NCAA tournament. Latham and Nebraska
kantaMh»ta|MCM»WtM»i -
Groce grows in reserve rol f tifRalph Brown
By Darren Ivy
Senior staff writer
When Ralph Brown lodes at fresh
man cornerback DeJuan Groce, he sees
a younger image of himself. c
Groce is the same size, has compa
rable speed, wants to learn and is going
through the same growing pains Brown
didin 1996.
With die help of Brown and Keyuo
Craver, Groce has emerged as a solid
contributor this season^ for No. 4:
Nebraska with 20 tackles, two pass
break-ups and a forced fumble. He like
ly will see a lot of playing time against
pass-happy Colorado on Nov. 26.
“My season has gone well,” Groce
said “I have learned a lot This year is
just a learning experience for me-to get
my feet wet a little bit Any playing time
I get is a bonus. I get nervous because I
still can’t believe I am out there.”
Groce had hoped to come in as a
true freshman andplay last fall, but dur
ing the second week of two-a-days, he
strained his Achilles’ tendon. By the
time he recovered, coaches decided a
redshirt season would be best
Ironically, it was injuries to Erwin
Swiney and Joe Walker that allowed
Groceto see immediate action this year.
He started at nickel back against
Southern Mississippi.
His play against the Golden Eagles’
receiving corps impressed Brown.
“When he comes into the games, the
level doesn’t drop off,” Brown said.
“Helspistas athletic and talented as the
rest of us. He just needs to team more on
technique and stuff ”
But in the Southern Miss game, the
5-foot-10,190-pound Groce sprained
the medial collateral ligament in his
