Huskers Tip-Off Exhibition Play with Lopers

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s basketball team tips off its 2006-07 season when the Huskers take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Opening tip is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The game between the Huskers and the Lopers can also be heard live for free on the Internet at Huskers.com with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch calling the action. Nebraska’s second exhibition game against Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. will also be an Internet-only broadcast, but the Huskers’ regular-season games this year will be carried across the Husker Sports Network, including 98.1 KFGE in Lincoln throughout the season.

Nebraska Coach Connie Yori enters her fifth season in Lincoln with her highest level of anticipation for the upcoming season. Yori’s 2006-07 squad will not only be her most experienced, but also her most talented since taking the helm of the Huskers in the summer of 2002.

Preseason honorable-mention All-American Kiera Hardy headlines the list of four returning starters for the Huskers. Hardy, a two-time, first-team All-Big 12 selection, ranks 10th on Nebraska’s all-time scoring list with 1,416 career points. The 5-6 shooting guard from Kansas City, Mo., is also NU’s career leader with 196 three-pointers. She needs just four more threes to become the 12th player in Big 12 Conference history to reach the 200 mark.

Fellow seniors Jelena Spiric and Chelsea Aubry could help make substantial improvements in Nebraska’s lineup this season. Spiric, the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, returns from a major knee injury that sidelined her for the entire 2005-06 season. The 6-0 forward from Belgrade, Serbia, is in the best playing condition of her career.

The return of Spiric will also allow Aubry to return to her natural power forward position. Aubry, a member of the Canadian National Team and a two-year starter for the Huskers, played on the wing last season, which reduced her scoring and rebounding numbers.

Dallas Morning News Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kelsey Griffin should also benefit from the comfort levels provided by Hardy, Spiric and Aubry. Griffin, a 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in school history by averaging 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a year ago. With a year of experience and an expanded game away from the basket, Griffin could be set for even bigger and better things as a sophomore.

Ford Adds More Experience to Starting Lineup
Joining the four returning starters in Nebraska’s probable lineup against the Lopers will be senior point guard Ashley Ford. The Lincoln Northeast graduate has had an excellent offseason and has not only expanded her knowledge of Nebraska’s system but improved her offensive game.

Page Making Miraculous Return from Knee Injury
Junior Danielle Page has made a remarkably speedy recovery from an ACL injury in mid-June and returned to a full practice schedule on Monday, Oct. 30.

Page who underwent surgery on her right knee on June 29, spent an efficient four months rehabilitating her knee and has looked strong in practice. The 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., has continued to increase her activity in practice and was given the green light for full participation at the start of this week.

Although she was not originally expected to be ready for a full return until the start of the Big 12 Conference season in January, Page could see action this week. She will probably not see playing time against the Lopers, but she could touch the court against UNO on Saturday.

A dominant defender in the post, Page is one of the leading shot-blockers in Nebraska history, ranking No. 7 on the Husker career block chart with 69 in just two seasons. She also averaged five points and four rebounds per game in her first two seasons for the Huskers.

Page’s early return is particularly important for the Huskers who lack experienced depth on the interior behind starters Chelsea Aubry and Kelsey Griffin. Page will be joined off the bench by freshmen Cory Montgomery and Nikki Bober in the paint.

LaFleur Ready to Make Greater Impact as Sophomore
Sophomore TK LaFleur will also see significant minutes after surging down the stretch in her freshman campaign. The 5-8 guard from Houston averaged 7.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in NU’s final 10 games and had an excellent offseason. LaFleur provides the Huskers with an athletic presence on the wing, along with solid defensive skills, while she continues to expand her offensive game.

Although she did not earn a start in her freshman season, LaFleur averaged nearly 17 minutes per game off the bench, including 21 minutes per contest during the final 10 games. She averaged 5.4 points per game on the year, while ranking third on the team with 20 made three-pointers (32.3 percent).

Five Freshmen Prepare for First Collegiate Action
Nebraska’s exhibition opener will feature the unveiling of the Huskers’ five-player freshman class that is widely considered the best group in Yori’s tenure in Lincoln.

The group is led by WBCA High School All-American Yvonne Turner. The Omaha native led Bellevue East to a state title a year ago and could make an instant impact on Nebraska’s lineup despite spending eight weeks during the offseason in a walking boot while nursing a left foot injury. Turner can play all three guard spots and provides an electric defensive presence on the floor.

Turner averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior while being named the captain of the All-Nebraska first-team.

While Turner has earned top billing, a trio of other NU freshmen actually produced more staggering numbers during their prep careers.

Des Moines Register Iowa Female Athlete-of-the-Year Kala Kuhlmann finished her career as the fourth-leading scorer in Iowa High School history with 2,337 points. As a sophomore at Charter Oak-Ute, Kuhlmann led the state by averaging 28 points per game. She earned Iowa Class 1A state Player-of-the-Year honors in both 2005 and 2006, and was also the Class 1A softball pitcher of the year in her junior and senior seasons.

Kuhlmann’s athleticism, intelligence and competitiveness could help her find playing time in Nebraska’s deep playing rotation this season.

All-Arizona guard Nicole Neals added a school-record 2,298 points at national high school power St. Mary’s of Phoenix during her prep career. Neals’ career scoring crown is even more impressive considering her high school teammates included All-American Dymond Simon, a freshman at Arizona State, Kayli Murphy, a freshman at ASU, and Taylor Schneider, a freshman at Texas-Pan American. Neals has a quick trigger from long range and knocked down 195 three-pointers during her high school career.

Nebraska’s third freshman 2,000-point scorer is Cory Montgomery from Cannon Falls, Minn. Montgomery was a five-year varsity MVP at Cannon Falls and one of the top-10 players in the state of Minnesota a year ago. The 6-2 forward scored 2,238 points, grabbed 1,240 rebounds, blocked 387 shots and dished out 261 assists to establish school records in all four categories.

All-Nebraska center Nikki Bober rounds out NU’s newcomers. The tallest player on the Husker roster, the 6-4 post player from Elmwood-Murdock averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a senior, after rebounding from a season-ending knee injury early in her junior season. Bober’s size could help give the Huskers a different look against some of the larger post players in the Big 12.

Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
Former Husker player and assistant coach Carol Russell leads her Nebraska-Kearney Lopers to Lincoln on Wednesday night. The 1993 Nebraska grad led the Lopers to a strong rebound in 2005-06. UNK posted a 21-8 overall record and advanced to the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament a year after battling to a 14-14 record.

The Lopers, who will be playing host to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in March, will have plenty of incentive to return to the national tournament after a two-year absence. They will also have plenty of experience.

Like the Huskers, the Lopers return four experienced starters from last year’s squad, led by senior Liz Fischer. The 5-7 guard from Leigh, Neb., averaged a team-high 14.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game a year ago. She led the Lopers with 49 three-pointers, while hitting 35.0 percent of her shots from long range and 78 percent of her free throw attempts.

Sophomore Jade Meads joined Fischer in the lineup all 29 times last season, averaging 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The 5-9 forward from Elm Creek was strong near the basket and in the mid-range, hitting 47 percent of her shots on the year.

Lincoln East graduate Melissa Hinkley gives UNK a strong trio of players who started every game last year. Hinkley, a 6-0 junior forward averaged 10.6 points and a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game. Hinkley also led the Lopers with 50 steals and had a knack at getting to the free throw line, connecting on 119-of-184 chances.

Amy Mathis, a 6-0 junior forward from Millard North returns to the starting lineup, after having her sophomore season cut short by a severe ankle injury. Mathis ranked fourth on the team with 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game before the setback. She also hit a team-best 45.9 percent (17-37) from three-point range.

Jonni Mildenberger, a 5-10 sophomore forward from Sterling, Colo., stepped in for Mathis down the stretch last season and will replace departed senior Kalee Modlin in UNK’s starting lineup this season. Mildenberger, who averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 boards per game last season, will have some big shoes to fill. Modlin averaged 13.3 points and 6.4 boards per game as a senior for the Lopers last year. Modlin scored 17 points in both her sophomore and junior seasons in exhibition play against the Huskers, while nearly posting a double-double with nine points and eight boards as a freshman against NU in 2002-03.

Sophomore guard Kassi Schuppe is the only other returning player on UNK’s roster, which features seven newcomers in 2006-07. Junior transfer Jamie Edwards from the University of Denver could see significant playing time, along with freshmen Megan Becker and Katie Torland. Lauren Venning, a 6-3 center from Valley Center, Kan., adds the most size to the UNK roster. Kaitlyn Peterson, a 5-9 forward from Gothenburg, and Katie Hall, a 5-9 forward from Nebraska City, could also see playing time for the Lopers.

Nebraska vs. Nebraska-Kearney Series History
Wednesday’s game between the Huskers and Lopers will represent the sixth consecutive season that NU has played UNK during the exhibition season, including the Huskers’ 70-46 victory in Lincoln on Nov. 13, 2005. In last season’s meeting, Jessica Gerhart scored a game-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, while Kiera Hardy pitched in 12 points and nine assists in just 15 minutes.

Kelsey Griffin contributed 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes in her second exhibition performance, as Nebraska shot 58.8 percent (30-51) from the field, including 7-of-12 shooting (58.3 percent) from three-point range.

Lincoln native Melissa Hinkley led the Lopers with 12 points and four rebounds, while Liz Fischer added eight points and Kalee Modlin managed six points and four rebounds. The Lopers were plagued by 29 turnovers, which limited them to only 32 field goal attempts for the game. On the night, UNK hit just 10 total field goals, but did connect on 25-of-28 free throws. The Lopers also outrebounded NU, 25-23.

Huskers Tackle Challenging 2006-07 Schedule
After playing 16 games against teams that advanced to postseason play in 2005-06, Nebraska will face an even more challenging road during the 2006-07 campaign.

Nebraska’s regular-season schedule could include as many as 18 games against 2006 postseason qualifiers with as many as seven non-conference games against some of the nation’s best teams. Among the Huskers’ eight road non-conference games this season, as many as six could come against 2006 NCAA teams.

The Huskers dive headfirst into the postseason-caliber action with three games against 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifiers on the road in the opening weekend of the season. Nebraska tips off the season against a top-25 Arizona State team at the Veterans Day Classic in Tempe, Ariz, on Nov. 10. NU will then face NCAA qualifier Florida Atlantic in the second game of the tournament on Nov. 12, before facing another NCAA Tournament and potential top-25 team with New Mexico on Nov. 13.

On Nov. 26, the Huskers will likely face a third top-25 squad at USC. The Women of Troy joined Arizona State and New Mexico in advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

The Huskers will welcome 2006 NCAA qualifier Minnesota to the Devaney Center on Dec. 5. The Golden Gophers will be the only NCAA team that ventures to Lincoln during the non-conference season. The game with Minnesota will also be the second of six straight contests NU will play in Nebraska from the week after Thanksgiving through Christmas.

The Huskers will get ready for Big 12 play by facing 2006 NCAA qualifier NC State at the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla., on Dec. 28. If the Huskers can get past the Wolfpack, they could see the hosts from Florida in the championship game on Dec. 29. The Gators earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year and have received preseason top-25 consideration.

While the Huskers could play seven of their first 14 games against 2006 postseason qualifiers, their 16-game Big 12 Conference schedule will only offer more challenges with 11 games against postseason competition. Nebraska opens the Big 12 slate at Texas, a perennial national power that did not advance to postseason play in 2006.

The Huskers play their Big 12 home opener against defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma on Jan. 6. The home game with the Sooners will start a stretch of nine consecutive games against 2006 postseason clubs for the Huskers.

The nine-game stretch will include a game with 2005 NCAA and Big 12 champion Baylor at the Devaney Center on Feb. 3, along with road contests at 2006 NCAA qualifiers Missouri (Jan. 20) and Texas A&M (Jan. 24). Big 12 North series with 2006 WNIT champion Kansas State and WNIT qualifier Kansas will be completed during the run, while the Huskers will also face WNIT qualifier Iowa State at home on Jan. 31.

If Nebraska can capitalize on its opportunities during the first 10 games of the Big 12 schedule, the Huskers could have a chance to build momentum heading into the postseason with four of their last six league games coming against teams that did not advance to postseason play a year ago.

The Huskers will honor their four-player senior class on Feb. 27 in the regular-season finale against Colorado, before heading to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the COX Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., March 6-10.

Huskers Fifth in Preseason Big 12 Poll
The Nebraska women’s basketball team was tabbed as the No. 6 team in the Big 12 by the league coaches, the conference office announced in its preseason poll on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Defending conference champion Oklahoma was picked to win its second consecutive conference title in 2006-07. The Sooners received all 11 possible first-place votes for a total of 121 points. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Texas A&M was selected second (107 points), followed by Texas in third (101 points), Baylor fourth (94 points) and Iowa State fifth (68 points), with the Huskers just two points behind the Cyclones in sixth with 66 points.

The second tier of conference teams opened with a tie for seventh between Kansas State and Texas Tech with 57 points. Missouri (ninth, 43 points), Kansas (10th, 36 points), Colorado (11th, 26 points) and Oklahoma State (12th, 16 points) round out the preseason ballot.

Oklahoma is ranked as high as second nationally in preseason publications, while Texas A&M, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas, Kansas State and Texas Tech have also received recognition in preseason polls. Nebraska has received votes in several preseason publications.

Baylor and Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2005-06 and were joined in the NCAA Tournament by Texas A&M and Missouri. Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska competed in the WNIT.

Yori Leading New Growth in Nebraska Program
Now in her fifth season at Nebraska, Coach Connie Yori hopes to have the Huskers heading into the growth stage of what began as a major rebuilding project in 2002.

Yori arrived in Lincoln on June 24, 2002, and was left with only a handful of healthy scholarship players and three consecutive losing seasons behind the existing players. After a challenging first season, Yori guided the Huskers to one of the nation’s top turnarounds in 2003-04.

Nebraska finished the season with an 18-12 record and the Huskers’ 10-game improvement tied for the ninth-best swing in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in 2003-04. More impressively, NU’s final record came against a powerful schedule that included 19 games against teams that advanced to postseason play.

The Huskers raced to a 10-1 non-conference record that included victories over No. 13 Ohio State and eventual WNIT champion Creighton, before notching one of the biggest wins in school history with an 81-63 victory over No. 9 Kansas State in league play. The Huskers finished with a 7-9 record in the Big 12 to finish in a tie for seventh place. NU may have been a two-point loss to Missouri or three-point loss to No. 13 Colorado away from earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.

The Huskers made their first postseason appearance since 2000 and played host to a postseason tournament game for the first time since 1993. Nebraska notched just the second home postseason victory in school history with a first-round WNIT win over Drake, before hosting just the third postseason game in school history in the second round against Oregon State.

Nebraska continued the momentum in 2004-05 by replacing four senior starters from 2003-04 and finishing with an 18-14 overall mark and its second straight postseason bid. The Huskers’ 8-8 Big 12 mark was their best finish since 2000, and included the biggest victory in school history, a 103-99 triple overtime win over eventual national champion and then-No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 12, 2005.

The Huskers also won their first Big 12 Tournament game since the 2000 campaign and continued their climb in the classroom as well. NU posted a team GPA of better than 3.0 during the spring 2005 semester, as 10 Huskers earned spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor.

Nebraska kept building in 2005-06 by winning two postseason games for the first time in school history. NU’s 19-13 record also marked the Huskers’ most victories since the 1998-99 campaign. The Huskers finished with an 8-8 league mark for the second straight year and won a game in the Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Perhaps most impressively, the Huskers went 5-0 in regular-season rematches with Big 12 North Division opponents and completed the first three-game sweep of Colorado in school history. Overall, Nebraska posted a 7-3 regular-season mark against Big 12 North foes.

The 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Yori led Creighton to a 24-7 overall mark and a 16-2 MVC record in 2001-02 to capture the league’s regular-season and tournament titles. Yori’s success at CU in 2001-02 capped a 170-115 career mark at Creighton. Her teams made two trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 2002. Before taking over the top job with the Bluejays, Yori led NCAA Division III Loras College to a 25-25 record in two seasons from 1990 to 1992. She also served as an assistant coach at Creighton from 1986 to 1989.

Yori was one of the top players in Creighton history, and she still owns the school record for career scoring average at 20.3 points per game. She ranks as CU’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer with 2,010 points, and she had her No. 25 jersey retired. She was inducted into the Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

A native of Ankeny, Iowa, the 43-year-old Yori is married to Kirk Helms, and the couple had their first child, Lukas, in early July of 2004.

Fastbreakers Booster Club
The Nebraska Women’s Basketball Booster Club, the Fastbreakers, and Lil’ Breakers Booster Club provide dynamic support to the Huskers. Membership benefits include regular e-mail news flashes during the season, a free Nebraska Yearbook, game information, invitations to social activities, access to preferred parking, an invitation to the postseason awards banquet and much, much more.

For more information on the Fastbreakers and Lil’ Breakers Booster Club, please visit the Nebraska women’s basketball home page on Huskers.com, e-mail mgreen@fastbreakersonline.com or call the Nebraska women’s basketball office at (402) 472-6462.

2007 Fastbreakers Membership Benefits
Tip-In ($50) -  (Access to Preferred Parking, game information, e-mail news, Yearbook, game day program, game notes, year-end banquet invite)

3-Pointer ($100) - (Same as Tip-In, plus one media guide and a free Lil’ Breakers membership)

Slam Dunk ($250) - (Same as 3-Pointer, plus Complimentary Preferred Parking, Eligible for Coach of the Game)

All-Star ($500) - (Same as Slam Dunk, plus a silver commemorative pin)

MVP ($1,000+) - (Same as All-Star, plus free admission for two at all Backboard Banquets and gold commemorative pin)

Nebraska’s History of Success at Home
Since the Bob Devaney Sports Center opened in 1976-77, the Huskers are 300-108 (.735) in games played in the arena, including 109-69 (.612) in conference games. Nebraska finished with an 11-4 record at home in 2005-06, including a postseason win over Drake at the Devaney Center on March 16.

The Huskers rolled to a 12-4 home record in 2004-05, after running to a 13-4 home mark in 2003-04. Nebraska is 3-2 all-time in home postseason play, with an 81-58 win over San Diego on March 17, 1993, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Devaney Center. The Huskers added a 73-60 win over Drake in the first round of the WNIT on March 18, 2004, before losing 75-67 in the next round to Oregon State on March 22, 2004. Nebraska closed its 2004-05 season with a 71-67 loss to Iowa on March 25, 2005 in the second round of the WNIT.

Attendance is a big part of the Huskers’ success. The Huskers drew their largest crowd outside of the month of February in school history with 7,114 fans at the Devaney Center on Jan. 7, 2006, for the Huskers win over Kansas. Nebraska ranks among the top 30 schools nationally with an average home attendance of 3,316 fans per game in 2005-06.

The Huskers ranked 25th nationally last season by averaging 4,022 fans per contest. In 2004-05, the Huskers attracted two of the four largest crowds in school history in back-to-back games on Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. NU drew its fourth-largest crowd in school history with a season-high 12,429 fans in attendance for an 88-59 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12. It was NU’s largest crowd in the past five seasons, dating back to a school-record crowd of 13,226 against Kansas State on Feb. 26, 2000.

The Huskers surpassed the mark in their next home game when 13,023 fans filled the Devaney Center to watch NU clash with Kansas State on Feb. 23. It was the first time in school history that Nebraska had back-to-back crowds of more than 12,000.

Nebraska ranked 14th nationally in average home attendance in 1999-2000 with 4,772 fans per game, after ranking 15th nationally with a school-record average of 5,000 fans per game in 1998-99. NU added an average home crowd of 4,204 in 2000-01.