Coatney's Call: Pittsburg State Preview

Nebraska vs. Pittsburg State (exhibition game)

Date: Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010
Time: 2:05 p.m.(CST)
Site: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena:  Devaney Center
Nebraska Radio: Husker Sports Network  (Matt Coatney-Play-by-Play; Jeff Griesch-Color Analyst) 880 KRVN-Lexington
NO LOCAL RADIO IN LINCOLN FOR THE TWO EXHIBITION GAMES
Internet: Live Radio on Huskers.com

It's time to start the season, and the Nebraska women's basketball team will tip things off on Halloween afternoon with an exhibition game against Pittsburg State this Sunday at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. 

The Huskers are coming off a magical year that saw them race to an undefeated regular season, a Big 12 Conference title, the first No. 1 seed in an NCAA Tournament and a berth in the Sweet 16.  Head Coach Connie Yori  was the consensus National Coach of the Year, winning five such honors.  The challenge for NU will be to replace the loss of six seniors, including Big 12 Player of the Year Kelsey Griffin.

Nebraska's starting backcourt returns intact from last season's 32-2 team.  5-7 senior guard and Lincoln native Dominique Kelley  was named honorable-mention All-Big 12 after closing out the season with five straight double-figure scoring efforts and 15 of her last 18 games.  She averaged 12.6 ppg and ended her junior season with back-to-back career-high 22-point efforts in the NCAA Tournament.  Kelley has started 98 consecutive regular season games, but will most likely not play against Pittsburg State Sunday.  She underwent a microscopic procedure on her left knee in September, but is expected to be ready for the regular season opener in two weeks.

Lindsey Moore  had one of the best rookie seasons in NU school history.  The 5-9 point guard became the first player in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball history to start every game for a team that went undefeated during the regular season.  'Zeroes' was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after averaging 6.0 ppg and dishing out 154 assists, third on the all-time Husker freshman list.  Look for Lindsey to become more of a scorer in her sophomore campaign.

6-3 senior center Catheryn Redmon started 24 games two years ago and looks to have a major impact in the middle for the Huskers.  The 'Big Cat' is third on NU's all-time blocked shots list with 139.

Nebraska will welcome five freshmen onto the floor this season, led by 6-2 forward Jordan Hooper.  The two-time Nebraska  State High School Player of the Year closed out her career at Alliance High School with more than 2,000 points and 1,300 rebounds.

Nebraska will be facing two Division II opponents in exhibition games at the Devaney Center.  First up will be the Pittsburg State Gorillas from southeastern Kansas.  PSU finished 2009-10 with a 14-14 overall record and finished fourth in the MIAA Conference (12-8).  The Gorillas were a dramatically different team away from Pittsburg, racing to an 11-1 record at home, but losing all but three of their 16 road games.  PSU lost their top three scorers and three of their top four rebounders from last year due to graduation. 

5-11 senior wing Laura Glenn started 12 of 28 games and is the leading returning scorer from 2009-10 for Pittsburg State.  Glenn was fourth on the team in scoring (7.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.4 rpg).  She had five points but committed a game-high eight turnovers in last season's game against NU in Lincoln.  5-6 sophomore guard Drew Roberts started 19 games for the Gorillas last year and led the team in three-pointers with 38 while averaging 7.0 ppg.  Roberts was impressive against the Huskers, scoring a team-high 17 points and draining three triples.  6-1 senior forward Kylee Baldetti  transferred from Wayne State College.  She earned All-Northern Sun Conference honors in 2007 and 2008.  She led the team in steals and averaged 10.8 ppg and 7.7 rpg during 2007-2008, her last season at WSC.  6-6 sophomore center Lauren Brown did not start any games last season for PSU but is expected to start against Nebraska Sunday.  She had 14 points and 10 blocks in 20 games.  5-9 junior guard Courtney Tate rounds out the Gorillas' probable starting lineup.  She averaged 1.3 ppg in 27 games last year.

Lane Lord begins his 4th season as head coach of Pittsburg State with a career record of 44-40.  He was named the 2008-09 WBCA/NCAA Division II Region Six Coach of the Year.

Nebraska defeated Pittsburg State 68-54 last season in exhibition play in Lincoln.  Kelsey Griffin had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Huskers.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and  I as we begin our tenth season together as the play-by-play team for Nebraska Women's Basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Sunday afternoon beings with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 1:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 2:05 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network.  There will not be any local radio coverage in Lincoln for the two exhibition games, but it can be heard throughout the state of Nebraska on KRVN 880 AM-Lexington and other selected stations. 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