Yori Meets Media to Tip-Off 2009-10 Season

Lincoln - Nebraska Coach Connie Yori met the media at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday morning to tip-off the Huskers' 2009-10 women's basketball season.

Yori, who is entering her eighth season as Nebraska's head coach, said she was excited about the Huskers' chances heading into the 2009-10 campaign, which opens with the first official full team practice of the season on Friday, Oct. 16, at 8 p.m.

"This is my 20th year of being a head coach at the college level, and I've always been a realist and tried to be accurate in my assessment of my teams over the years," Yori said. "Some people would call it negative, I like to call it realism. I'm really, really excited about our team. I feel like, on paper, this should be the best team that we've had since I've been at Nebraska."

Yori is able to base her high hopes for the Huskers on a group of six seniors that includes two-time first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin, honorable-mention All-Big 12 forward Cory Montgomery and two-time All-Big 12 Defensive Team member Yvonne Turner.

Griffin, a 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, recently became just the third player in Big 12 history to earn three preseason All-Big 12 selections, joining All-Americans Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) and Tiffany Jackson (Texas) on that elite list. Griffin, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, returns for her fifth season at Nebraska after leading the Huskers to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

"I think Kelsey Griffin is one of the top 15 players in the country. She is one of the top two or three players in our league. I think she is as good as anyone in our league. We obviously missed her last year," Yori said. "Not only did we miss her on the court - her versatility, her toughness, her ability to score and rebound, but also we missed her leadership. 

"With her back this year, it has been obvious that our leadership has been improved. Coaches say that anytime your best player can be your hardest worker that it makes it pretty easy to coach. Kelsey is our best player, and we have a lot of kids who work hard, but she is the leader of the pack in that area."

While Griffin has been a clear-cut leader in the Husker program for the past three seasons, Montgomery enjoyed a breakout year in her first season as a starter in 2008-09. The 6-2 forward from Cannon Falls, Minn., ranked among the top 10 players in the Big 12 in both scoring and rebounding, while averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds per game over the final seven games of conference play. Montgomery was a key in the Huskers posting a 5-2 record in their last seven Big 12 games in 2009. She also joins Griffin as one of the top 10 returning career scorers and rebounders in the Big 12 Conference this season.

"Cory got overlooked the last couple years. First of all, Cory had a great sophomore year. She played really well. She carried that over to last season. You look at what she did during the second half of the Big 12 year last season, she averaged almost 20 points and nine rebounds per game, so she put up All-Big 12-type numbers. I still think she's getting overlooked. We feel like we have as good of a post game as anyone in our league. Not only do we have two great post players in Kelsey and Cory, who are as good as anyone in our league, we also have depth and experience that we didn't have last year."

Montgomery and Turner, a 5-8 guard from Omaha, Neb., who averaged nearly 12 points per game in league play last season, helped power the Huskers to their sixth consecutive postseason appearance in 2008-09 with a trip to the second round of the Postseason WNIT. NU finished with a 15-16 overall record and a 6-10 Big 12 mark to tie for seventh in the nation's most powerful conference.

"We were disappointed in our year last year, but at the same time, I think our players have really bought in well to getting better in the offseason," Yori said. "Right now, this is the best-conditioned team that I have coached. Our kids have gone through a really difficult conditioning month - actually the last five weeks - and yet they've handled it really well.

"We return six starters, if you consider that we have Kelsey Griffin back, who started two years ago for us, and was previously an All-Big 12 player. We have six seniors in our program, so I think the thing that has been exciting for us this fall, and really since the end of our season last year, is our players have held each other accountable. They've held themselves accountable for pushing forward and having a great season."

The Husker seniors, which also include three-year letterwinners Kala Kuhlmann, Nicole Neals and Nikki Bober, have been driving Nebraska's offseason improvement with their focus on a great final season.

"They are hungry and they want to have a great season. We have six seniors in our program who know this is there last crack at it, and they want to do something great. I've been able to kind of sit back this fall and watch our leadership develop. I haven't had to be the one being demanding at this stage of the year, which is unusual, because our leadership is so good right now. We have a lot of upperclassmen, and we return a lot of starters, and we have a chance to have a great season."

In addition to the leadership provided by six seniors, including three returning starters, Nebraska's four-player junior class also features three returning starters. Guards Dominique Kelley and Kaitlyn Burke, and center Catheryn Redmon, return as starters from last year's club, while a key reserve from NU's stretch run late last season, center Jessica Periago, also returns to the junior class.

Overall, Nebraska returns 11 letterwinners and one redshirt freshman, shooting guard Layne Reeves, while adding three true freshmen, including Parade High School All-American Lindsey Moore.

Nebraska lost just two players from last year's squad, including senior part-time starter Tay Hester, and reserve guard Monique Whittaker.

The Huskers open practice on Friday night, and Yori and Griffin will attend Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Full coverage of Big 12 Media Day will be available on Big12Sports.com.

Nebraska opens exhibition play on Tuesday, Nov. 3, against Pittsburg State, before concluding the exhibition season on Sunday, Nov. 8 against Nebraska-Kearney. The Huskers open the regular season against Davidson at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Friday, Nov. 13.