Griffin Earns Spot in ESPN Top Five

Lincoln - Nebraska senior Kelsey Griffin was recognized by ESPN.com as one of the country's top five power forwards in an article published on-line Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Griffin, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection and 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award candidate, joined Xavier's Amber Harris, Gonzaga's Heather Bowman, Arizona's Ify Ibekwe and Florida State's Jacinta Moore on the listing of the top power forwards in the country. Harris and Ibekwe are juniors, while Bowman, Monroe and Griffin are all seniors.

On Friday, the 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, will be making her first regular-season appearance for the Huskers since the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament at College Park, Md. Interestingly, Griffin went head-to-head with a two of the nation's top 10 big players in College Park.

In the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Griffin took on Xavier's Harris, who was ranked as the No. 1 power forward, and center Ta'Shia Phillips, who made the list as one of ESPN.com's top five centers.

Griffin dominated the game with the Musketeers, erupting for 26 points, while adding four rebounds and three steals. She also took three charges against Xavier despite playing with a protective vest around her mid-section to protect a broken rib. Griffin alone outscored Harris (14) and Phillips (9) who combined for 23 points, as Nebraska posted a 61-58 victory. Like Griffin, Harris missed the 2008-09 season with an injury.

Griffin, who became just the third player in Big 12 Conference history joining Oklahoma's Courtney Paris and Texas' Tiffany Jackson to earn three preseason first-team All-Big 12 honors, is one of four current conference players to earn spots on the ESPN.com power rankings.

Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson was chosen as the nation's top point guard, while Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley also made the list at the point. Kansas' Danielle McCray, the 2009-10 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, was selected as one of the country's top five small forwards.

ESPN.com's selection panel of Mechelle Voepel, Charlie Creme, Melanie Jackson and Graham Hays picked Stanford's Jayne Appel as the nation's top center, while Connecticut's Maya Moore was the country's top small forward. Virginia's Monica Wright was tabbed the best shooting guard in the nation entering the 2009-10 season.

Griffin and Nebraska open the 2009-10 campaign by playing host to Davidson at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:05 p.m. For tickets, visit Huskers.com, or call 1-800-8-BIGRED.