Huskers Launch 2005-06 with Madness

Lincoln - The Nebraska men's and women's basketball teams celebrated the official start of practice for the 2005-06 season with Husker Madness on Friday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Nearly 2,500 Husker fans attended the free event to watch the new batch of Huskers in action for the first time.

The Husker women tipped off Friday's festivities, which included free men's and women's basketball schedule posters and schedule cards, autograph cards, $1 hot dogs and $1 Pepsi products, with a "Select Your Seat" event from 3 to 6 p.m. After the women's fans chose their seats for the entire season to watch the Huskers at home in the Devaney Center, they got their first look at the 2005-06 women's squad in action.

The women went head-to-head in a full-court scrimmage for 20 minutes.  The Husker Red Team used a strong inside game to roll to a 29-18 victory over the White Team.

Junior forward Chelsea Aubry (Kitchener, Ontario), who helped the Canadian National Team qualify for the 2006 World Championships over the summer, scored the first two points of the year for the Huskers and led all scorers with eight points to lead the Reds.

First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy (Kansas City, Mo.) added seven points, including a three-pointer, while sophomore Sarah White (Topeka, Kan.) pitched in five points. Senior point guard LaToya Howell (Chicago, Ill.) contributed three points.  

Along with the strong showing of their returning players, the Reds received impressive production from true freshman forward Kelsey Griffin (Eagle River, Alaska), who added six points. The 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year, Griffin also joined White and Aubry in strong efforts on the glass for the Reds.

Senior forward Elena Diaz (Medellin, Colombia) and sophomore Heather Kephart each scored six points to lead the Whites. Kephart (Canute, Okla.), who sat out the 2004-05 season as a medical redshirt, knocked down a pair of three-pointers to help keep the White squad close. Jelena Spiric (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro), the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Jessica Gerhart (Fenton, Iowa), and true freshman TK LaFleur (Houston, Texas), each added two points for the Whites.

Although Gerhart's White team came out on the losing side in the scrimmage, Gerhart stole the show with her winning effort in the women's three-point competition. Gerhart knocked down 8-of-15 three-point attempts, including a pair of two-point "Money Balls" to finish with 10 points to win the competition.

Gerhart defeated Howell's runner-up score of nine points, while Kephart finished with eight points. Hardy, who tied the Nebraska school record with 85 three-pointers last season, including a school-record tying seven threes in the Huskers' season finale against Iowa, finished fourth with seven points.

Lincoln Northeast graduate Ashley Ford, a junior transfer from Cloud County (Kan.) Community College, and LaFleur rounded out the three-point competition with six points each.

After the women's three-point competition, one lucky fan was chosen from the crowd for a chance to beat Gerhart's winning score to earn $1,000. The fan finished with three points.

The night concluded with a men's basketball scrimmage and dunk competition.

The Husker women will hold their first full practice of the 2005-06 season on Saturday. Nebraska opens exhibition play at home against Nebraska-Omaha at the Devaney Center on Monday, Oct. 31 at 7:05 p.m.

For Nebraska women's basketball ticket information, visit the "Ticket Office" at Huskers.com, or call 1-800-8-BIGRED.