Coatney's Call - Dec. 1

Nebraska vs. South Dakota
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 7:05 p.m.(CST)
Site: Lincoln, Nebraska
Arena: Devaney Center
Nebraska Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-Play-by-Play; Jeff Griesch-Color Analyst) ?98.1 KFGE-Lincoln (Froggy 98) , 93.3 KTWI-Omaha (Twister 93.3) and 880 KRVN-Lexington.
Internet: Live Radio on Huskers.com

Kelsey Griffin was named tournament MVP and the Nebraska Women’s Basketball team celebrated Thanksgiving on the west coast by winning both games in the Saint Mary’s Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Tournament. Griffin had a combined 55 points and 27 rebounds in wins over UALR and Saint Mary’s. She became only the sixth Husker in program history to have 1400 points and 700 rebounds in their career. 6-2 senior forward Cory Montgomery was also named to the all-tournament team. Nebraska’s perfect record of 6-0 is their best start to the season since 1996-97. Next up for NU is a home game Thursday night against the South Dakota Coyotes.

USD is in its second season of transitioning to Division I. Two seasons ago, the Coyotes advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. Last season, South Dakota finished with an overall record of 18-11. One of those losses was a tight six-point loss at #11 North Carolina.

The Coyotes have started the season 1-2, with a win over NAIA Division II Iowa Wesleyan and losses to Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wichita State. They return three starters from last year’s squad, including 5-10 senior Jasmine Mosley. The Nebraska native was a high school teammate of Husker guard Yvonne Turner at Bellevue East High School. Mosley is fourth on the team in scoring (6.7 ppg).

USD welcomes back another Nebraska native who was part of their run to the NCAA Division II national championship game in 2007-08 . 6-1 sophomore forward Amber Hegge, a native of Crofton, Nebraska, redshirted in 2008-09. She currently leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Hegge won three Nebraska Class C-1 state championships at Crofton High. As a senior in 2007, she hit one of the most memorable shots in the history of the Devaney Center. Hegge took an inbounds pass and drove the length of the floor and pulled up at the top of the key to nail a buzzer-beater that beat Norfolk Catholic 47-46.

5-10 junior guard Abby Kinder is second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg). She transferred to USD from Danville Area Community College. 6-1 senior Kara Iverson has started all three games this season and averages 2.0 ppg. 5-6 junior point guard Teresa Case rounds out South Dakota’s starting lineup. She averages 2.7 ppg.

Second-year head coach Ryun Williams came to USD from Wayne State (Neb), where he was the winningest women’s basketball coach in school history. During his collegiate days, he led the nation in free throw percentage (91.2%) playing for South Dakota, his alma mater.

It’s been a generation, but the Huskers and Coyotes have faced each other nine previous times, with Nebraska victorious in all but one game. USD’s only win in the series was 87-85 in overtime in Vermillion on Valentine’s Day 1981.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and I for Nebraska Women’s Basketball on the Husker Sports Network. Our radio broadcast Thursday evening against South Dakota begins with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 6:45 p.m (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on KFGE 98.1 FM (Froggy 98) in Lincoln, KTWI 93.3 FM (Twister 93.3) in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington. All Husker Women’s Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com. I hope you can join us.

Go Big Red! Matt