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Thursday, February 3,2000
Page 20
Editor: Samuel McKewon
(402)472-1765
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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.”