NU will open season with young squad
Connie Yori boldly insists her Nebraska women’s basketball team may be even more talented than last year’s club that went 22-10 and played in the NCAA Tournament. Just don’t ask her to compare the difference in experience.
With first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin sidelined recently because of a concussion, there’s a chance when the Huskers play Nebraska-Kearney in an exhibition today at 7:05 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center that their lineup will include no one who’s ever started.
The Huskers must find it flattering, then, that they received votes in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Top 25.
While Griffin is the only returning starter, Yori is expecting more than just a rebuilding season. She notes the experience of senior forward Danielle Page and touts a young group of guards that includes freshman Dominique Kelley, the state high school player of the year from Lincoln Northeast, sophomores Nicole Neals and Vonnie Turner, and junior college transfer Tay Hester.
“People are going to have a lot of questions with our guards, but they’re playing hard, they’re playing, for the most part, smart,” Yori said. “We’ve got some kids who really understand the game.
“I think we’ll probably turn it over a lot (early), because of lack of continuity and not having played together a lot. But I think our guard play is not going to be what most people think it’s going to be. We’ve got a pretty good set.”
While Griffin is suffering lingering affects from having hit her head in practice last Saturday, Turner is getting closer to full-speed after having surgery in early September to repair a strained abdominal wall.
Meanwhile, UNK returns four starters from a team that finished 22-10 and ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II. The Lopers are the preseason pick to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Nebraska, which received seven votes in the national preseason poll, is picked to finish seventh in the Big 12. The Huskers have one more exhibition game, against Nebraska-Omaha on Monday, before opening the season against Texas-El Paso next Friday.
With first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin sidelined recently because of a concussion, there’s a chance when the Huskers play Nebraska-Kearney in an exhibition today at 7:05 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center that their lineup will include no one who’s ever started.
The Huskers must find it flattering, then, that they received votes in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Top 25.
While Griffin is the only returning starter, Yori is expecting more than just a rebuilding season. She notes the experience of senior forward Danielle Page and touts a young group of guards that includes freshman Dominique Kelley, the state high school player of the year from Lincoln Northeast, sophomores Nicole Neals and Vonnie Turner, and junior college transfer Tay Hester.
“People are going to have a lot of questions with our guards, but they’re playing hard, they’re playing, for the most part, smart,” Yori said. “We’ve got some kids who really understand the game.
“I think we’ll probably turn it over a lot (early), because of lack of continuity and not having played together a lot. But I think our guard play is not going to be what most people think it’s going to be. We’ve got a pretty good set.”
While Griffin is suffering lingering affects from having hit her head in practice last Saturday, Turner is getting closer to full-speed after having surgery in early September to repair a strained abdominal wall.
Meanwhile, UNK returns four starters from a team that finished 22-10 and ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II. The Lopers are the preseason pick to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Nebraska, which received seven votes in the national preseason poll, is picked to finish seventh in the Big 12. The Huskers have one more exhibition game, against Nebraska-Omaha on Monday, before opening the season against Texas-El Paso next Friday.
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