Huskers Clash with No. 18 New Mexico

Tempe, Ariz. - The Nebraska women’s basketball team closes its five-day stay in Tempe, Ariz., by taking on No. 18 New Mexico on Monday, Nov. 13, at 4 p.m. central time in the Huskers’ third and final game of the Veterans Day Classic at Wells Fargo Arena.

Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, including 98.1-FM KFGE in Lincoln and worldwide on Huskers.com. Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch will call all the action as the Huskers take on their third straight 2006 NCAA Tournament team to open the season and their second top-20 opponent in three games.

Nebraska is coming off a 93-53 victory over Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon in Tempe. The Huskers raced to a 9-0 lead in the opening minute and built a 30-point halftime edge, before cruising to the win.

NU’s win followed on the heels of an 87-60 loss to No. 13 Arizona State on Friday in the season opener.

New Mexico has experienced similar results in its first two games. The No. 18 Lobos opened the tournament with a 77-47 win over Florida Atlantic on Friday, before suffering a 67-49 loss to the Sun Devils on Sunday.

Sophomore Kelsey Griffin has been a leader for the Huskers through the first two games. The 6-2 forward has averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the Veterans Day Classic, while hitting 12-of-16 shots from the field. The Eagle River, Alaska, native was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the win over Florida Atlantic, after scoring 17 points against Arizona State.

Freshman forward Cory Montgomery has also been solid for NU in her first collegiate games, averaging 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest in Tempe.

Another Montgomery with Nebraska connections has been a leader for the Lobos. Senior guard Katie Montgomery from Lincoln Pius X High School is averaging 11.0 points and 2.5 boards per game. Montgomery, who ranked second nationally in three-point field goal percentage in 2005-06, has connected on 6-of-16 threes in the tournament, but managed just six points while committing six turnovers in the Lobos’ loss to Arizona State.

Katie Montgomery helped New Mexico advance to the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 22-10 overall record. UNM closed with an 11-5 mark in a tie for third in the Mountain West.

Huskers Fly Past Owls, 93-53 Sunday

Nebraska rebounded from a season-opening loss to No. 13 Arizona State on Friday, by soaring past Florida Atlantic, 93-53, on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Huskers bolted out of the gate with a 9-0 surge in the opening minute before building a 30-point halftime lead at 55-25.

Nebraska’s 55 first-half points tied for the seventh-most points in an opening half in school history, and the highest first-half point total since NU scored 58 on Nov. 17, 2000 in a win over Oakland University.

Sophomore guard TK LaFleur enjoyed her best game as a Husker by tying career highs with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. LaFleur erupted for 12 points and four boards off the bench in the first half alone to help the Huskers pull away from FAU.

Freshman forward Cory Montgomery added a strong effort of her own by matching LaFleur for game-high scoring honors with 16 points, while adding five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Griffin also played a solid game with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, while pulling down a game-high seven rebounds in just 13 minutes.

Freshman center Nikki Bober also produced double figures in her Husker debut with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.

Nebraska dominated the game on the inside against the undersized Owls. The Husker interior players combined to hit 21-of-29 shots from the field, while scoring 49 of NU’s 93 points, while adding 18 rebounds to help the Huskers post a 42-31 rebound advantage.

The Huskers’ dominance allowed Coach Connie Yori to substitute freely and rest several starters in preparation for their showdown with No. 18 New Mexico on Monday. Senior Jelena Spiric played just 10 minutes while scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds. Griffin played just 13 minutes, and two-time first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy played just 15 minutes, but still managed to distribute seven assists, while adding four points, three rebounds and two steals.

Overall, all 11 of the Huskers played at least 10 minutes in the game, including a team-high 25 minutes from freshman Nicole Neals, 23 minutes from freshman Yvonne Turner, 22 minutes from Montgomery and 14 minutes from Bober. Kala Kuhlmann was the only Husker who did not play against FAU. The freshman guard sat out with an illness.

 

Scouting the New Mexico Lobos

No. 18 New Mexico enters Monday’s game with Nebraska owning an identical 1-1 record as the Huskers. The Lobos have played strikingly similar games as the Huskers with their two common opponents. UNM made quick work of Florida Atlantic by running to a 30-point win over the Owls on Friday, before scrapping to keep the host Sun Devils within striking distance before falling behind by more than 20 points midway through the second half.

New Mexico is led by senior guard Katie Montgomery. The Lincoln native ranked second nationally in three-point field goal percentage last season while helping the Lobos to a 22-10 overall record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Lincoln Pius X graduate is one of four Lobos averaging in double figures with 11 points per game. Montgomery has hit 6-of-16 threes in the tournament, but managed just six points while committing six turnovers in the Lobos’ loss to Arizona State. She hit for 16 points on 4-of-10 shootinger from three-point range in the win over Florida Atlantic.

Montgomery will be playing the 97th game of her career, while making her 60th career start at New Mexico. Last season she averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while hitting 47.8 percent of her three-point field goal attempts. She also connected on 86.5 percent of her free throws

Senior guard Julie Briody has been the most productive Lobo in the tournament with 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, including 17 points against FAU, Briody has committed a team-high 10 turnovers with five in each game. Junior guard Brandi Kimble has added 12.0 points and 6.5 boards per game, while adding 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Junior forward Dionne Marsh has added 10.5 points and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds per contest, while 6-3 sophomore center Angela Harthill rounds out New Mexico’s probable starting lineup with 6.5 points and 4.0 boards per game.

Senior forward Timi E-Nunu adds size and athleticism off the bench for the Lobos with 2.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Amy Beggin has also provided solid minutes in the backcourt with 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and a team-leading 5.0 assists per game.

 

Nebraska vs. New Mexico Series History

Nebraska and New Mexico have split the all-time series with two wins apiece. The Huskers were victorious in the last meeting with a 76-59 win over the Lobos in Norfolk, Va., in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 13, 1998. Nicole Kubik led the Huskers with 17 points in that game, while Anna DeForge pulled down a game-high 15 boards to power a record-setting day for the Huskers on the glass.

Nebraska outrebounded the Lobos 55-27 in that game, which at the time ranked as one of the top-10 most lopsided rebound margins in NCAA Tournament history. NU’s rebounding edge included a staggering 29-6 margin on the offensive boards. Abby Garchek, New Mexico’s all-time leading scorer with 1,836 points, led the Lobos with 21 points in the final game of her career. The Lobos finished the 1997-98 season with a 26-7 record.

That loss to Nebraska marked the first of nine consecutive postseason appearances for Coach Don Flanagan and New Mexico, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos are pursuing their sixth straight NCAA bid in 2007.

Monday’s meeting between Nebraska and New Mexico will mark the fourth clash on a neutral court for the two programs. NU and UNM first met on Dec. 1, 1979 at the California Invitational, where the Lobos cruised to a 74-56 win. Nebraska avenged the loss in the same tournament the following season with an 88-63 pounding of New Mexico on Dec. 6, 1980.

The Lobos won the closest game in the series with the Huskers by claiming an 85-79 win in Albuquerque on Jan. 4, 1985. That meeting is the only contest in the series that has been decided by single digits and the only game played on a team’s homecourt.

 

Huskers Hope to Give Page, Kuhlmann Happy Birthdays

Nebraska true freshman Kala Kuhlmann will celebrate her 19th birthday on Monday when the Huskers take on New Mexico. Hopefully the first day of her 19th year will bring better feelings than the final day of her 18th, since she missed Nebraska’s 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic with illness.

Husker junior forward Danielle Page would like to celebrate her birthday a day early with a win over the Lobos. The 6-2 native of Monument, Colo., will turn 20 on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

 

Talented Nucleus Leads Huskers into 2006-07

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 1,429 career points. The 5-6 shooting guard from Kansas City, Mo., is also NU’s career leader with 198 three-pointers. She needs just two 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.

In Nebraska’s exhibition opener, Spiric had 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 22 minutes of action. She hit 5-of-7 field goal attempts, including 2-of-4 three-pointers. She also knocked down 5-of-6 free throws. Spiric added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, while adding six rebounds against UNO.

The return of Spiric also allows 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.

In the exhibition-opening win over Nebraska-Kearney, Aubry erupted for 15 points and six rebounds, while burying all three of her three-point attempts.

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.

Griffin put on an exhibition in the opener against the Lopers, scoring 35 points on 14-of-16 shooting, while pulling down 13 rebounds in just 22 minutes.

She has been Nebraska’s most productive player in Arizona, averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while hitting 75 percent (12-16) of her field goal attempts.

 

Ford Adds More Experience to Starting Lineup

Joining the four returning starters in Nebraska’s starting lineup is senior point guard Ashley Ford. The Lincoln Northeast graduate had an excellent offseason and has not only expanded her knowledge of Nebraska’s system but improved her offensive game.

In the exhibition victory over Nebraska-Omaha, Ford scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds, while also dishing out two assists and grabbing one steal in just 18 minutes.

She added a career-high seven points and a career-best four assists while playing a career-high 23 minutes in the Huskers’ win over Florida Atlantic on Sunday.

 

Page Making Miraculous Return from Knee Injury

Junior Danielle Page has made a remarkably fast 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 before NU’s final exhibition game against UNO.

Although she was not expected to be ready for a full return until the start of the Big 12 Conference season in January, Page saw game action in Nebraska’s exhibition finale against Nebraska-Omaha.

Page showed no ill-effects of her injury. In fact, Page showed the exceptional lateral quickness that made her one of Nebraska’s top shot-blockers in school history. She also connected on three mid-range jumpshots on her way to scoring 10 points. She added seven rebounds, one block, one steal and one assist in just 15 minutes of action off the bench.

Page made major contributions to open the regular season by averaging 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in NU’s first two games in Arizona. She has averaged 16 minutes per game off the bench. Last season, Page averaged 15.6 minutes per contest, while contributing 4.3 points and 3.6 boards per game.

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.

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 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.

She demonstrated her improvements with the best performance of her career in Nebraska’s 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 12. LaFleur tied her career highs with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Owls. She scored 12 points and pulled down four boards in the first half alone to power the Huskers to a 30-point halftime lead.

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 Perform Well in First Collegiate Action

Nebraska’s five-player freshman class has made an immediate impact on the Husker lineup. Cory Montgomery, a 6-2 forward from Cannon Falls, Minn., has showed strong offensive skills by ranking second on the team with 11.0 points per game through the first two contests. Montgomery established a career high with 16 points in the Huskers’ 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 12. She has added 4.0 rebounds per game, while also snagging a pair of steals to help the Huskers on the defensive end.

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.

Montgomery provided a strong offensive option against UNK in her debut with 16 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action. She added seven points and eight rebounds in the win over UNO.

Nicole Neals, a native of nearby Chandler, Ariz., has also helped the Huskers in Tempe. Neals is averaging 6.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while leading the Huskers in minutes played through two contests. Neals also led the Huskers with a game-high 16 points, including a 4-for-4 shooting effort from three-point range in the exhibition win over Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 4. She also led the Huskers with four steals against UNO.

Freshman center Nikki Bober enjoyed a solid debut by scoring double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in NU’s win over Florida Atlantic. 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.

WBCA High School All-American Yvonne Turner dished out six assists in the win over Florida Atlantic and is averaging 1.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. 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.

Des Moines Register Iowa Female Athlete-of-the-Year Kala Kuhlmann played 11 solid minutes off the bench against No. 13 Arizona State on Nov. 10, before missing the win over Florida Atlantic with an illness. 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.

 

Huskers Hope to Knock Off Top 25 Foe

Nebraska has not defeated a top-25 team away from the Devaney Center since beating No. 21 Kansas in Lawrence on Jan. 11, 2000. Nebraska has not knocked off a top-25 non-conference opponent away from home since beating No. 16 Western Kentucky, 84-70, in Storrs, Conn., in the Preseason WNIT on Nov. 20, 1997.

If the Huskers can pull an upset of No. 18 New Mexico in Tempe, it would mark the highest-ranked opponent NU has beaten away from home since beating the Hilltoppers.

 

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 dove 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 fell to No. 13 Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz, on Nov. 10, before rebounding with a 93-53 win over 2006 NCAA qualifier Florida Atlantic in the second game of the Veterans Day Classic on Nov. 12.

The Huskers face their third straight 2006 NCAA Tournament squad when they take on No. 18 New Mexico in Tempe 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 Sixth 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) rounded 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 Championship 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.

 

Hardy Set to Ascend Husker Career Scoring Ladder One of the leading scorers in school history, senior Kiera Hardy enters her final season at Nebraska already ranked in the top 10 on the career scoring list. The 5-6 guard from Kansas City, Mo., has amassed 1,429 points in her four seasons in Nebraska’s lineup to rank No. 10 on the list.

Hardy could climb another rung on the ladder against New Mexico. She needs just four points to catch Diane DelVigna at No. 9 on the list with 1,433 points. No. 8 Angie Miller is also well within striking distance during NU’s 14-game non-conference season at 1,541, just 112 points ahead of Hardy.

A preseason honorable-mention All-American by Street & Smith’s and a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, Hardy averaged 17.5 points per game last season, after pouring in 19.0 points per contest as a sophomore. In her first three seasons at Nebraska, Hardy has averaged 15.6 points per contest.

Hardy scored a career-high 37 points in Nebraska’s 103-99 triple overtime victory over eventual national champion Baylor on Jan. 12, 2005. It is one of three 30-point performances in Hardy’s career. She has scored 20 or more points on 27 occasions in her 93-game career.

 

Hardy Ranks Among Big 12’s Three-Point Elite

Along with her abilities as a pure scorer, Kiera Hardy has placed her name among the best long-range shooters in Big 12 Conference history.

Nebraska’s career three-point leader with 198 triples, Hardy ranks 14th in league history. Her first three-pointer of the year against Arizona State moved her into a three-way tie for 12th, and she needs just five to move into a tie for 11th. The league’s top-10 list is just 16 threes away, and by the time Big 12 Conference play opens, Hardy could rank eighth all-time.

Hardy, who hit a school-record 85 three-pointers as a sophomore in 2004-05, and added 81 threes a year ago while leading the Big 12 with 2.53 made per game, could realistically climb to No. 2 on the all-time chart. Megan Taylor of Iowa State ranks second in league history with 287 career three-pointers as a four-year starter at Iowa State from 1998 to 2001. Laurie Koehn from Kansas State owns the Big 12 record with 392 three-pointers in her career from 2001 to 2005.

Hardy smashed Nebraska’s three-point record with six three-pointers against Texas on Jan. 18. She finished the night with 158 threes in 75 games, shooting past current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge’s previous mark of 155 three-pointers in 117 career games.

With seven three-pointers against Iowa on March 21, 2005, Hardy shares Nebraska’s single-game record and has hit six or more three-pointers in a game on five occasions.

 

Griffin Gunning for Spectacular Sophomore Season

After a record-breaking start to her Nebraska career in 2005-06, Kelsey Griffin wants to show the Big 12 and the nation that her best is yet to come for the Huskers.

The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, captured Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year honors from the Dallas Morning News and was one five players chosen to the coaches Big 12 All-Rookie team a year ago. Griffin averaged 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a true freshman, despite being limited by illness during Nebraska’s final nine games of the season. She also managed to battle through her condition to start all 32 games for the Huskers, becoming the first NU freshman since Meggan Yedsena in 1990-91 to start every game of her rookie campaign. Griffin is just the fourth Husker freshman in history to start every game in her first year.

She finished the year with 424 points, to rank as the fourth-best total by a freshman in school history. Her 54.1 field goal percentage ranked third among all freshmen in school history, while her 121 made free throws set NU’s freshman record.

Griffin produced one of the best rookie performances in Nebraska history with 31 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 27, 2005. She also tied the school record with 18 free throw attempts against the Islanders. She added 28 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots at Kansas State on Feb. 4.

The 2005 Gatorade Alaska High School Player of the Year put up an even better performance in Nebraska’s exhibition opener against Nebraska-Kearney to open her sophomore campaign on Nov. 1. Griffin poured in 35 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the field and pulled down 13 rebounds in just 22 minutes of action.

Griffin has opened the regular season as Nebraska’s leading scorer and rebounder with 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She scored 17 points and grabbed seven boards against No. 13 Arizona State, before adding 13 points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes in a 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic. Griffin is shooting 75 percent (12-of-16) from the field through two games, including a 6-for-6 effort against FAU.

 

Spiric Set for Strong Senior Season After Knee Injury

Jelena Spiric returns for the 2006-07 season after missing all of 2005-06 with a knee injury. The 6-0 senior from Belgrade, Serbia, suffered a torn right ACL in practice on Oct. 18, 2005, just days after the start of fall practice. Spiric’s injury sidelined her for the duration of her second season at Nebraska.

An outstanding student and experienced international player, Spiric considered returning to Europe to pursue a professional career after earning her bachelor’s degree as a biochemistry major in May of 2006.

Spiric chose to return for her final season at Nebraska, and the Huskers are planning to make it a memorable one for the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

Spiric enters her final season at Nebraska in the best playing condition of her career and it showed in the Huskers’ 122-55 exhibition-opening win over Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 1. Spiric poured in 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-4 night from three-point range, while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Huskers. She added 13 points and six boards in a 97-59 win over UNO.

As a junior in 2004-05, Spiric averaged 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the year, but increased her averages to 9.3 points and 4.6 boards per game in conference action.

Spiric was slowed at the start of her Nebraska career after suffering a torn left ACL in the final game of her junior college career at Colby Community College. Spiric earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors in her only season at Colby, averaging 15.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

She opened her collegiate career at NCAA Division II UMass-Lowell, averaging 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the River Hawks as a freshman in 2002-03.

 

Low Turnover Totals High on Husker Agenda

Over the past four seasons, Nebraska has produced four of the top five single-season turnover marks in school history. Last season, the Huskers turned the ball over just 435 times in 32 games for an average of 13.6 miscues per contest, the second-best average in school history.

NU’s turnover average last year continued a progression of successively lower turnover marks for the Huskers since Coach Connie Yori’s arrival in 2002. Yori’s first Husker squad averaged 17.8 turnovers per game, which at the time was the second-best mark in school history. The 2003-04 squad beat that number by averaging just 16.2 turnovers per game, before the 2004-05 team improved again with just 15.4 turnovers per contest.

Nebraska’s school record for lowest turnover average came in 1991-92, when the Huskers averaged just 11.5 turnovers per contest.

 

Huskers Continue to Rank among Big 12 Leaders at Line

Nebraska continued its recent tradition of ranking among the top Big 12 teams at the free throw line in 2005-06, hitting 72.2 percent of its free throws.

Nebraska ranked third in the Big 12, trailing only Colorado’s 74.0 percent accuracy and Iowa State’s 73.7 percent success rate at the line. The Huskers’ percentage ranked as the fifth-best in school history.

In 2004-05, Nebraska hit 74.9 percent of its shots from the line, after knocking down 74.0 percent of its free throw chances in 2003-04.

 

Huskers Make Permanent Leap to Froggy

For the first time, all of Nebraska’s women’s basketball games this season will be available on the same Husker Sports Network station in Lincoln, Froggy 98.1 FM-KFGE.

All of Nebraska’s regular-season games, home and away, will be available on KFGE unless the game conflicts with a Nebraska football broadcast, including the Huskers’ Nov. 24 game at UC Irvine (possibly Colorado football) and a potential bowl game conflict on Dec. 28 or Dec. 29.

In the past, the women’s basketball team’s primary station in Lincoln has been 1400 AM-KLIN, the sister station of KFGE. Nebraska’s games carried on the entire Husker Sports Network were aired on KLIN, but if conflicts with football, men’s basketball or volleyball existed, the women’s basketball games were moved to KFGE, forcing Husker fans in Lincoln to search their radio dials for broadcasts.

This season, the women’s basketball games will be heard exclusively on KFGE and continue to be available for free around the world on Huskers.com.

Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch are teaming up for their sixth full season on the call of the game, with Coatney providing the play-by-play. The pregame show hits the air 25 minutes before each game.