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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2000)
• ' Pn 1 • ..]X'-v.,.•*» Thursday, February 3,2000 Page 20 Editor: Samuel McKewon (402)472-1765 --- ;; Last second Kubikfoul sinks Huskers By John Gaskins Staff writer At the very least, the latest battle in die Nebraska-Iowa State women’s basketball border war came to a fit ting end. It was decided by the blow of a whistle. With the score tied 76-76 and 5,261 fans at the Devaney Center gasping for breath, Nicole Kubik found herself on the wrong end of a call twice in the last 10 seconds. CYCLONES 77 HUSKERS76 She was called for traveling on her drive and shot to win the game with 3.7 seconds left, then whistled for a foul on ISU guard Tracy Gahan at the 2 second mark. And in the end of an anxiety-rid den game full of questionable calls and odd twists, Gahan became the unlikely hero by hitting the first of two free throws. She intentionally missed the second but NU couldn’t get a shot off, so the Cyclones squeaked out of Lincoln with a 77-76 win. Or as Nebraska Coach Paul Sanderford. and Kubik all but described it, a robbery. The call and free throw turned out to be huge in the Big 12 stand ings, as well, catapulting ISU (16-3 overall) into second place at 7-1 and keeping NU (11-8 overall) two games back of the Cyclones at 5-3, three games behind first place Oklahoma (8-0). After ISU Coach Bill Fennelly and players gleefully walked away from the post-game press confer ences with gleaming smiles, Sanderford graciously congratulated Fennelly with a hand-shake and took his seat at the mic. He needed not be asked what he thought about the per plexing conclusion. He just fired away. “Boy, 8,000 people sure missed a heck of a basketball game, didn’t they,” Sanderford said, shaking his head. “I guess I made a coaching error when I told our players with 17 sec onds left that the players would decide die outcome of the basketball Please see HUSKERS on 16 v- Nate Wagner/DN ABOVE: BUSKER GUARD Nicole Kubik will do anything but let ISU Center Glntara Ciplnyte get by her during Wednesday nights Big 12 game. ISU pulled out a one-point victory in the final sec onds over the Huskers, 77-76. RIGHTS CAUGHT UP IN THE ACTION Sara Berens,9, cheers onJhe Lady Huskers and Brooke Schwartz, holding her sign upside down during the ISU game Wednesday night. The fans sup port wasn’t enough to secure the Huskers a win against the Cyclones. ISU’s Frese regains touch against NU By Brandon Schulte Staff writer Stacey Frese’s shooting slump had gone on long enough. The shooting woes had begun on a Jan. 25 game against Kansas State. And for the next four halves, the Iowa State’s All-American guard went a dismal 7-22 from the field and 2 11 from three-point range. An 0-5 start against Nebraska Wednesday night didn’t help matters, either. But her fortunes began to change. And Frese couldn’t have broken out of her slump at a better time. Just after Nebraska captured its first lead since the opening minute of the game on a 3 pointer by Isha Kelley with 13 seconds left in the first half, Frese took over. Starting with a runner down the lane as time expired, die senior shot 6-8 from the field, which included four 3-pointers in the second half, good for 17 points for the game. Buoyed by Frese’s hot second half shooting and a team effort all night long, Iowa State nipped Nebraska 77-76 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. “I was hoping that I would come around,” Frese said. “I haven’t been shooting the ball well, for I don’t know how long. “But coach (Bill Fennelly) has a lot of con fidence in me, and he just keeps telling me to Please see FRESE on 16 Nee relishes chance to take over career wins list ii Nebraska athletics have been stable long before Danny Nee got here, and that has been one of the strengths of this school.” Danny Nee NU basketball coach By Joshua Camenzind Staff writer On Saturday, Nebraska Basketball Coach Danny Nee will be shooting to etch his name permanently in the record book as the winningest coach in NU his tory- . * Nee, in his 14™ season at the helm, is sitting cm No. 253 now, which ties him with former Husker Coach Joe Cipriano. It took Cipriano four more . years to accomplish the feat back in 1980. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native^ team is 10-10 at this point in the season heading into Saturday’s matchup with Missouri. Nee wants to make sure this week’s focus does not stray from the basketball court “Right now, it I is very hard to think of personal honors or anything along those lines,” Nee said. ‘It is just not the time for it. Ws are just treating it like any other “ gamejust trying to be competitive and get my team ready to play.” The ship that Nee is on right now almost never set sail. The NU Athletic Director at the time, Bob Devaney, con tacted Nee while he was pondering three other jobs - Wichita State, Colorado and Minnesota. ' Nee turned down moving to Lincoln on a Friday because he was promised the job at WSU. Eddie Fogler was hired instead to be the main man in Wichita on Monday, and Nee found himself dialing up Devaney looking for another chance. “On Monday, 1 called him back on and told him the reason why,” Nee said “I think that is why Devaney and I always had a great relationship. I was always very straightforward and told him ifhe brought me to Lincoln, I would accept the job.” Nee’s Huskers have won 20 games in 7 of his 14 seasons and have had sea son low totals of 10 and 13 wins - the only two losing seasons Nee has seen to date. But one figure may haunt Nee for the rest of his life - 0-5 in the NCAA tournament at Nebraska. But the Dean of Big 12 Conference coaches can say he is part of what makes Nebraska unique - long tenures by head coaches. “Nebraska athletics have been stable long before Danny Nee got here, and that has been one of the strengths of this school,” Nee said. Nee’s carter at NU has been filled with bumps along die way, and it looked / as if his ship would sink at times. But Nee realizes that is part of the territory, while adapting along with the game. While die game has changed, Nee said other things have changed, too. “I think there is no tolerance for mis takes,” Nee said. “The criticism on talk radio, die criticism by the media - it is hard. It is the fiber of sports today. We $ are over-covered and juk tremendously over-exposed.”
