Huskers Enjoy Emotional Alumni Weekend

Lincoln - Nebraska Coach Connie Yori and the current Huskers welcomed back nearly 50 former players and coaches for Alumni Weekend, Sept. 27-28 in Lincoln. More than 300 members of the Fastbreaker Booster Club, former players and their families and the current members of Nebraska women's basketball program gathered at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday for an Appreciation Luncheon and Alumni Game.

A pair of featured guests helped make the Alumni Weekend an overwhelming success for everyone involved in the event. Nebraska's all-time winningest coach Angela Beck returned to the program she helped build for an emotional weekend. Beck led the Huskers to 191 victories and the 1988 Big Eight championship during her stay in Lincoln from 1986 to 1997.

As Beck took center stage to address the crowd at the Devaney Center, she fought off tears as she looked upon the many former players in attendance and thanked Yori for the invitation.

"I am so honored to be here among so many friends," Beck said. "It took a person with the kind of character that Connie has to make this happen. To look back and bring together so many former players and coaches for such a great weekend, I think it says a lot about the direction of this program."

In addition to Coach Beck, former Husker assistants Theresa Becker, Carol Russell, Karin Nicholls, Amy Bullock Kramer, Bobbi Morse and Brenda Van Lengen were on hand for the weekend's events.

Another featured guest at the events was former Husker great Karen Jennings. The 1993 Wade Trophy winner and All-American was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame earlier this year. Jennings, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, was honored on the field during Nebraska's Saturday night football game with Virginia Tech.

Jennings, who is a successful real estate agent in Omaha and still a close follower of the Huskers, discussed her memories as a Husker and her impressions of the growing success of the current NU program.

"When I was in Tampa at the Hall of Fame induction earlier this summer, I spoke with Holly (Rowe) from ESPN, who was a speaker at the event and who also happened to be the sideline reporter for ESPN at Nebraska's NCAA Tournament games in Maryland last year," Jennings said. "She was so impressed with how hard Nebraska played and how tough and determined they were. I think that says a lot about where this program is headed, when that is the impression a sideline reporter is left with three months after the game."

In addition to the comments by Beck and Jennings, former Huskers from across the more than three decades of Nebraska women's basketball spoke to the crowd, including current WNBA star Anna DeForge. The two-time WNBA All-Star was an honorable-mention All-American at Nebraska in 1998. She began her career under Beck in 1994-95, before leading the Huskers to an NCAA Tournament victory as a senior in 1998. DeForge also played one season for Beck with the San Jose Lasers in the American Basketball Association in 1999. DeForge earned WNBA All-Star appearances with the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever and recently concluded the 2008 season with the Minnesota Lynx.

DeForge and more than 20 former Huskers participated in a fun-filled Alumni Game following the luncheon. A strong contingent of former Huskers from NU's late-1990s NCAA Tournament teams covered the floor, including Cori McDill Culp, Kate Benson Allen, Jami Kubik Hagedorn, Nicole Kubik, Charlie Rogers, Amanda Buchholz and Amanda Went.

Former Huskers Nafeesah Brown Morrow, Roquayyah Brown, Rissa Taylor, Tina McClain, Shawn Taylor, Shawn Collains, Sally Studnicka, Pam Fiene Dubas, Terri Parriott Craig and Shelly Block Tvrdy, also competed along with a pair of recent Huskers Ashley Ford and Alexa Johnson.

Ford, a Lincoln native who graduated from Nebraska in May of 2008, is a current graduate assistant manager with the Huskers. Johnson, who competed in Yori's first season as the Huskers' head coach in 2002-03, made the trip out to Nebraska from her home in California.

The Reds played the Whites to a 49-49 tie in the game, with the Reds tying it on a 16-foot three-pointer with under five seconds left. At the time, there were at least 20 former Huskers going head-to-head on the court simultaneously.

"This was a great event for the past, present and future of our program," Yori said. "It was awesome to see Angela with so many of her former players, and you could tell how much it meant to all of them to get back together and share their memories and catch up with each other. I think the tradition of this program is underrated, and you can see that first hand when you see all these women who are successful now in their lives return to Lincoln. It is great to have them all connect with our program."

Following the Alumni Game, Coach Yori led the current Huskers in a one-hour workout at the Devaney Center. The former Huskers, Fastbreaker Booster Club members, and the public got their first look at the 2008-09 version of the Nebraska women's basketball program, including freshmen Layne Reeves and Harleen Sidhu.

Nebraska advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 21-12 record. The Huskers return four starters and 12 of their letterwinners from last year's club. The Huskers tip off the 2008-09 campaign with an exhibition game against Chadron State at the Devaney Center on Oct. 31, at 7:05 p.m.