Huskers finish strong against Miners
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Kelsey Griffin was feeling no pain.
Well, maybe a little. But you know what they say about wins providing a soothing buffer.
On Friday, no doubt inspired by the decision of its All-Big 12 Conference player to test how her rib injury would hold up, the fresh-faced Nebraska women’s basketball team showed some surprising savvy while rallying to beat Texas-El Paso 81-74 in its season opener before 2,162 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
“It was definitely a team effort,” said Griffin, who provided 15 points and eight rebounds, but also watched newcomer Tay Hester contribute 13 points and 12 boards, freshman Kaitlyn Burke have a 13-point debut and senior Danielle Page produce a career-high 19. “It amazes me. Even last year with the experience we had, we had a hard time finishing games, and so for us to be as young as we are . . . and finish like this gives me hope.”
The Huskers definitely needed Griffin, even if she had to wear a protective vest and multiple layers of padding and might have felt a little sluggish since she hadn’t practiced since getting hurt during Monday’s exhibition against Nebraska-Omaha.
But Connie Yori’s club had plenty of weapons as they produced a 19-2 run after UTEP had taken a 61-54 deficit with 7:49 to play.
During the decisive spurt, the senior forward Page produced nine points and drew the fourth and fifth fouls on 6-foot-5 center Izabela Piekarska.
“I was trying to be offensive-minded the whole game, but late game we were battling and my opportunities came and I took them,” she said.
Burke also hit her third three-pointer of the night near the start of the comeback.
“Our posts were getting doubled down pretty hard, so yeah, (it was nice) just to spot and help them out,” she said.
And finally, Hester, who began her career at El Paso before going to junior college, sank a pair of field goals, including a layup off a steal that put NU in front to stay, 65-63, with 4:53 left.
“I tried not to think about it too much,” she said of facing some former teammates, “but game time came, those lights went off and it was show time.”
The clutch efforts helped Nebraska overcome a marvelous 27-point, nine-assist performance by point guard Jareica Hughes, the Conference USA freshman and newcomer of the year last season.
Hughes was among three returning starters and top two reserves who returned from UTEP’s 22-8 team of last season. The Miners also added guard Natasha Lacy, a star at Texas Christian for three seasons who produced 18 points in her UTEP debut.
“This is a great win for us,” Yori said. “I mean, I would really expect UTEP, if they stay healthy and continue to do what they’re doing, this team has a chance to win 25 games this year. They’re a better team than they were last year.
“I thought our players showed a great deal of toughness. It was a game of runs, and we had the last one. I think the pace of the game was a factor.”
Nebraska had taken a 15-point lead only to have the Miners answer with a 25-7 run in the final 7:01 of the opening half that gave them a 41-38 lead at the break.
The second half included four lead changes before Hester’s steal and layup brought about the fifth and the start of a 13-0 spurt.
“To battle back, not once, but multiple times, shows a lot of ... I don’t know what the words are, but it shows something,” Griffin said.
It gave her the best pain relief medicine she could have taken.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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