Huskers Tip-Off Practice with Madness

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's basketball team tipped off its 2004-05 season by appearing at "Husker Madness" at the Husker Nation Pavilion on Saturday morning.

Coach Connie Yori, who enters her third season at the helm of the Husker program, led her team onto the practice court at the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the first time on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m.  After practicing for about two hours at the Devaney Center, the Huskers traveled south to the Ed Weir Track & Field Stadium where a custom-designed outdoor court was in place at the heart of the Husker Nation Pavilion.

The Pavilion, which is home to Nebraska football's fan-fest on game days, attracted a crowd of nearly 6,000 fans to watch the men's and women's basketball teams scrimmage for the first time this season preceding Nebraska's football game with Baylor set to kickoff at 1:05 p.m.

The women opened the event at 10:35 a.m. and scrimmaged for approximately 10 minutes with the Red team running past the White squad.  Newcomer Elena Diaz led the Red team in the brief scrimmage.  The junior forward from Medellin, Colombia, scored seven points in a 17-5 victory.  Another newcomer, junior LaToya Howell, added five points, while sophomore Heather Kephart added four points.

Following the women's scrimmage, the Nebraska men's basketball team opened the season with a 15-minute scrimmage.  The White team rolled to a 31-20 victory.  At the conclusion of the festivities, a fan was selected for a chance to win several prizes, including a chance at $500,000.  No prize was awarded.

Live video of the event was available for free on Huskers.com.