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By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
There were no moral victories for
Nebraska women’s basketball team
following its 77-76 loss to Iowa State
on Wednesday night.
The loss hurt the Comhuskers on
two different levels. i
Emotionally, it was devastating.
NU had played the No. 8 team evenly
for 40 minutes before succumbing to
defeat. The defeat was thanks in part to
several questionable calls at the end of
the contest.
But the loss might have caused the
Huskers more harm in the win-loss col
umn - the true measure of success or
failure in collegiate athletics. The loss
dropped NU to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in
the Big 12 Conference, three games
behind conference leader Oklahoma
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and two games plus a tie-breaker
behind ISU.
And it doesn’t get any easier,
Husker Coach Paul Sanderford said.
NU heads into Norman, Okla., to face
the conference leading Sooners at 7:05
p.m. on Saturday.
“We got two days, and we’re at the
No. 1 team in the league in Oklahoma,”
Sanderford said. “It’s gut-check time
for our basketball team right now. We
have to gut it up and try to regroup.
“If I know anything about charac
ter, I think these kids will be ready to
play on Saturday. I think Oklahoma
better bring their hard hats because
we’re going to line up and play hard.”
OU (18-3, 8-0) has won 17 of its
last 18 games, the lone loss coming to
No. 1 Connecticut. Senior forward
Phylesha Whaley leads Coach Sherri
Coale’s Sooners’ attack. The 5-foot-10
^ I think Oklahoma better bring their
hard hats because we ’re going to line
up and play hard.”
Whaley averages a team-high 19.7
points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Nebraska counters with a primarily
outside attack that features the three
guard lineup of Nicole Kubik, Brooke
Schwartz and Melody Peterson. The
trio combines to average 37.3 points
per game, which is more than half of
NU’s average per game.
Minus the two losses to Iowa State
in the past seven games, NU is 5-0.
Kubik said the Huskers learned a valu
Paul Sanderford
Nebraska Basketball coach
able lesson in the troubling loss to the
Cyclones on Wednesday.
“I think we showed a lot of
patienceRubik said, “as far as it was
back in forth late in the game. And in
years past, we might have just folded.
And with three minutes (left), we
might have threw in the towel and gave
in.
“I think we made some really good
decisions and made some plays down
the stretch. It just didn’t happen for us.”
Hardabura’s back still ailing
■ The defending national
champion gymnast will be
kept out of a dual with OU.
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
Last week’s meet was good thera
py for the banged-up Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team.
The Comhuskers, without injured
NCAA All-Around champion Jason
Hardabura and with several other
gymnasts hurting, had the coziness of
the Bob Devaney Sports Center and a
much weaker opponent in Air Force to
win and feel better about themselves.
But at 4-0 and ranked No. 8 in the
nation, the M*A*S*H unit will have
to hit the road this week and face a
much stiffer test in No. 4 Oklahoma.
The Sooners not only get home-mat
advantage, but they may have revenge
on their minds as NU edged them by a
tenth of a point two weeks ago to win
\ •
the Rocky Mountain Open.
OU (4-2) is also starving for vic
tory after losing to No. 3 Ohio State
last week. This is despite scoring an
impressive early-season marie of
228.025. The Huskers’ best score of
the season is 223.925 on Jan. 30.
Adding all these things to a rival
ry, which has spanned more than 20
years and seen 11 NCAA team titles
between the two teams (seven from
1977-83), will not provide another
helpful remedy to NU’s hobbling.
“To beat Oklahoma, we will need
to count heavily on people that aren’t
quite ready physically just yet,” NU
Coach Francis Allen said. “We can do
it, but it’s going to be a challenge.
Even if we had Jason (Hardabura), it
would be a challenge.”
Hardabura is out for the second
straight we^k with a sore lower back
that he injured in practice last week.
He fell after his dismount on a high
bar routine. X-rays were inconclusive,
and Hardabura is out indefinitely.
In his place, once again, will be
senior Asher Lichterman, sopho
mores Dusty Jakub and Jeff Kelly and
freshmen Nick Batliner'and Ryan
Sneed.
The Huskers will also have to con
tinue to rely on All-Americans
Marshall Nelson and Derek Leiter.
Nelson won four events last week and
tied school records on the high bar
(9.95) and pommel horse (9.90) in
making his continued return after suf
fering an ACL injury last season.
Leiter won the all-around with a
55.575.
But Allen said that NU loses about
six points with Hardabura not com
peting. Hardabura’s injury is some
thing he said he doesn’t know how
long he’ll have to live with.
“We’re a 228 team on a good night
if he’s competing,” Allen said. “A 225
would be a good score right now with
who we have. The most important
thing is that everyone is healthy in
April.”
—SWIMMING—
Coyotes
to visit
MJ pool
By Brian Christopherson
Staff writer
It’s time for the Nebraska
men’s swimming and diving
team to take the car into the
shop and see if it needs any
repairs this Saturday before the
big trip to College Station,
Texas.
The South Dakota Coyotes
come calling at 1 p.m. on
Saturday at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center. The Husker
Coyote meet is the last meet
before the conference champi
onships March 2-4.
Nebraska comes into the
meet ranked No. 18 with a 4-5
dual record. The Coyotes bring
a 7-3 mark and No. 15 ranking
in Division II.
A win in the final home
meet for the men’s team would
give it a .500 mark in dual
meets for the fourth-straight
season.
Senior Michael Windisch
has seen the difference in the
team’s work ethic over the last
month.
“We’ve really trained hard
this last month, and we are see
ing it all come together as a
team now - and not just indi
vidually,” Windisch said.
Meanwhile, it’s even closer
to crunch time for the Nebraska
women, who will take the
weekend off as they prepare
for their conference meet on
Feb. 17-19.
Brink, McCracken meet again in gym dual
■The NU and Oklahoma
stars have a long history of
competition between them.
By Jason Merrihew
Staff writer
Two top-15 teams will go head to
head tonight in Norman, Okla.
The sixth-ranke4 Nebraska
women’s gymnastics team will face
15th-ranked Oklahoma.
The Huskers are riding ihto
Norman with momentum on tKeir
side. NU recently beat Big 12 foe
Missouri at home.
The Cornhuskers (8-3 overall, 2
0 in the Big 12) will make their first
trip to OU since 1998. The last trip
was the only time Nebraska has been
defeated by a Big 12 team since'the
formation of the conference.
“Oklahoma is a tough team to
beat down at their place,” Nebraska
Coach Dan Kendig said. “But we’ll
be ready for the challenge.”
This Big 12 matchup features the
top gymnast in the league. In fact,
Oklahoma (3-0 overall) boasts the
last two Big 12 gymnasts of the year,
senior Amber McCracken (1999) and
senior Ginger Russell (1998).
Nebraska features senior All
American Heather Brink, and this
week’s Big 12 gymnast of the week,
freshman A.J. Lamb.
The individual matchup between
Oklahoma’s McCracken and NU’s
Brink will be the marquee duel.
Brink, the two-time Big 12 all
around champion, was outscored by
McCracken in their first meeting last
year, 38.825 to 38.90. Brink got her
revenge later in the season, beating
McCracken at the Big 12
Championships and the NCAA
Regional.
^ Oklahoma is a tough team to beat
down at their place. But well be ready
for the challenge.”
Unfortunately for the Huskers,
they won’t compete at full strength.
Sophomore Bree Dority is recovering
from a preseason knee injury.
“I’ve heard of a sophomore jinx,
but I’ve never seen it first hand,”
Kendig said.
Senior Nicole Wilkinson has
been slowed down this season by
minor injuries and the flu.
“You’re walking on egg shells
when you deal with her (Wilkinson’s)
health,” Kendig said. “Right now,
walk on wood, we’re doing okay.”
Dan Kendig
Nebraska women’s gymnastic coach
The success of the Huskers will
once again be determined by the per
formances of the freshmen.
Jen French, Jess Wertz, Julie
Houk and Lamb have performed
excellent so far in this young season.
During last weekend’s duel, the fresh
men combined turned in eight rou
tines of 9.80 or better and eight per
sonal records.
The Huskers and Sooners are set
to square off tonight at the Lloyd
Noble Center at 7 p.m.
Women’s track faces Kansas State, Abilene
u '' <>*
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
With the spotlight shining bright
ly every week on Nebraska men’s
track team freshmen Eric Eshbach
and Carl Myerscough, the NU
women — ranked No. 2 in the latest
power rankings — may feel like
they’re in the dark at times in 2000.
But when they travel to
Manhattan, Kan., this weekend, the
Husker women will get plenty of
looks - mainly to see how theyutack
up against Kansas State. The
Wildcats sit atop the leaders on the
power rankings list and will give the
Huskers a grand opportunity to show
their talent.
Both the men and women will
face KSU and Abilene Christian. The
women might also face Arkansas.
“Our women are going up against
the No. 1 team in the nation this
week,” Nebraska Coach Gary Pepin
said. “It will be a real tough women’s
meet. It will be very competitive.”
-Two main NU-KSU matchups
should catch the Ahern Ficldhouse
crowd’s attention. In the pole vault,
Husker senior Kim Stewart and
Kansas State senior Erin Anderson -
U Our women are going up against the
No. 1 team in the nation this week. It will
be a real tough women s meet.”
both All-Americans - will try to out
jump each other.
Anderson’s vault of 12 feet, 7 Vz
inches on Jan. 15 qualified her for the
2000 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Anderson’s best vault is 12 feet, 9 Vz
inches.
Gary Pepin '
Nebraska track coach
Meanwhile, NU junior 20-pound
weight-thrower Melissa Price will be
challenged by KSU senior Anna
Whitman. Price tossed a personal
best mark of 62 feet, 5 V* inches on
Jan. 15, while Whitman’s record is 62
feet, 9 ‘/2 inches on Jan. 30.
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