Brown Leads Husker Charge Up Big 12 Leaderboard

Waco, Texas - Elli Brown fired the second-best individual round and the Nebraska women's golf team produced the second-best team round at the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon, as NU jumped from a tie for seventh into a tie for third heading into Wednesday's final round. 

The Huskers sit just eight shots back of tournament leader Oklahoma State, which produced Tuesday's best round with a 303 to close the day with a two-round total of 611. Texas A&M, which opened with the tournament's best round (300) on Monday, settled for a 315 on Tuesday to fall four strokes behind the Cowgirls at 615. Nebraska and Baylor are tied for third at 619.

Brown fueled Nebraska's climb up the Big 12 leaderboard by firing a two-over-par 74 in rainy conditions in Waco. The junior from Meridian, Idaho, matched Oklahoma State's Pernilla Lindberg for the second-best individual round of the day, trailing only Kansas' Amanda Costner's 73. Brown vaulted 13 spots in the individual standings, climbing from a tie for 15th into a tie for second. Costner, who also fired the best round of the tournament with a 71 on Monday, enters the final round with a commanding lead at even-par 144, seven shots ahead of Brown and OSU's Sarah Bradley at 151.

"Elli made a lot of birdies today and even though she faced adversity several times and had to settle for a couple double-bogeys, she just kept coming back and battling," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She was just very determined and she battled all day long, and at the end she found herself near the top of the leaderboard."

Brown's second round featured six birdies, including four on the back-nine (11, 12, 16, 18). Brown's birdies were mixed with double-bogeys on 10 and 14, along with bogeys on 2, 7 and 9.

Allison Stewart joined Brown in the top 10 by adding a 79 on Tuesday. The junior from Vermillion, S.D., enters the final round 10 shots off the lead at 154 in a four-way tie for ninth. 

Nebraska's Kate White is in a pack of eight golfers in a tie for 13th just one shot back at 155. The true freshman from Waukegan, Ill., managed a solid round with a 77 on Tuesday.  White's round was also peppered with inconsistency on Tuesday, as she knocked down four birdies, but settled for a trio of double bogeys.

Krapfl said the seemingly inconsistent play was created by consistently challenging pin placement throughout the second round.

"Part of the inconsistency that everyone saw on the course today was caused by the conditions with the mist and rain all day, but it was made even more difficult by the pin placement," Krapfl said. "I think it was consistently the toughest pin placement I've seen out there today. Nothing came easy for anybody, so I think it makes our round that much better."

Husker senior Chrissie McArdle added to Nebraska's team success in the second round by adding a 77 of her own to close the day in a tie for 32nd place at 159.

The Huskers will make their final push for the Big 12 title in Wednesday's final round. JC Stevenson, who managed an 82 on Tuesday, will tee off hole No. 1 for the Huskers at 8:30 a.m., followed by McArdle, White, Stewart and Brown. NU will be paired with Kansas and Oklahoma in the final round, while Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Baylor will follow in the second group off the first tee beginning at 9:20 a.m.