Hester finds a home in NU's lineup
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — You draw comfort from the inside from the fact that’s where your team’s two most-experienced players, Danielle Page and Kelsey Griffin, hang out.
On the perimeter, you need to be patient with new starters, sophomore Vonnie Turner and freshman Dominique Kelley. But considering they’d been two of the most visible high school players in the state, and that they’re familiar with one another’s games after years of club team competition, you’re sure they’ll click.
But what about your fifth starter — that hard-to-find, athletic wing who needs to be both quick and physical in order to handle a variety of defensive assignments and keep opponents from cheating inside? You wind up with a kid from a California junior college who was there primarily because she didn’t like the scene during her one season at Texas-El Paso.
Yeah, you’re crossing your fingers on that one.
No longer.
Tay Hester has quietly gone about filling the no-nonsense, sometimes unappreciated role Connie Yori figured was crucial for her Nebraska women’s basketball team to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
“First of all, Tay’s really smart in terms of understanding the game,” said Yori, whose team will face Xavier in an NCAA regional opener here today at 11 a.m. “We’d like to see her skill level improve, but in terms of her understanding what needs to be done, how to defend certain sets, she’s one of our smarter players. And that comes with experience.”
NU assistant Tory Verdi found the 5-foot-10 Hester at Mt. San Antonio College, where she was MVP at the California State Junior College Championships after averaging 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds to help her team win the title last season. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native ended up back in her home state after deciding to leave UTEP, where, as a freshman, she’d started eight games and averaged 4.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
This year, the Miners earned their first NCAA Tournament bid, so it could be easy for Hester to second-guess herself. Then again, she began her Husker career by producing 13 points and 12 rebounds in a win against her former school, becoming the first wing at NU in four seasons to post a double-double. And she’s gone on to start every game this year.
So, yes, Hester has found a home complementing Griffin, a-time first-team All-Big 12 Conference pick; Page, who received league honorable mention; and Turner, a member of the Big 12 all-defensive team.
Hester says she goes into each game looking to build off her “defense and rebounding. Every night I’m probably on the best 2 guard, or beside the point guard, so I just try to not let them get the ...”
She works to make it difficult for them to get good looks.
Hester averages a modest 6.4 points (along with 4.2 rebounds. She’s also third on the team with 65 assists and 32 steals). But some of her best offensive efforts have come against teams that made the NCAA field.
She scored a career-high 14 points, with four assists, at Ohio State, had 10 points and six rebounds at Baylor, 10 points and five boards at Oklahoma, and had a career-high six assists with no turnovers in a home win against Iowa State. Against Robert Morris, she had 11 points and six rebounds.
“She’s a different player,” Griffin said. “Not only is she a hard worker, she bring a physicality that we don’t really have in the guards. To have a slasher like that and someone who rebounds well ... and now she’s screening and finding people a lot better, she’s been key.”
Like a fifth wheel is to a semi-truck — and Hester can’t wait to getting rolling today.
“I’m excited about it,” she said of her first NCAA Tournament game. “(Back) in Nebraska practicing, it’s like we’ve got another (regular) opponent, (but) we’re really in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve got to go in and get that win.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
On the perimeter, you need to be patient with new starters, sophomore Vonnie Turner and freshman Dominique Kelley. But considering they’d been two of the most visible high school players in the state, and that they’re familiar with one another’s games after years of club team competition, you’re sure they’ll click.
But what about your fifth starter — that hard-to-find, athletic wing who needs to be both quick and physical in order to handle a variety of defensive assignments and keep opponents from cheating inside? You wind up with a kid from a California junior college who was there primarily because she didn’t like the scene during her one season at Texas-El Paso.
Yeah, you’re crossing your fingers on that one.
No longer.
Tay Hester has quietly gone about filling the no-nonsense, sometimes unappreciated role Connie Yori figured was crucial for her Nebraska women’s basketball team to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
“First of all, Tay’s really smart in terms of understanding the game,” said Yori, whose team will face Xavier in an NCAA regional opener here today at 11 a.m. “We’d like to see her skill level improve, but in terms of her understanding what needs to be done, how to defend certain sets, she’s one of our smarter players. And that comes with experience.”
NU assistant Tory Verdi found the 5-foot-10 Hester at Mt. San Antonio College, where she was MVP at the California State Junior College Championships after averaging 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds to help her team win the title last season. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native ended up back in her home state after deciding to leave UTEP, where, as a freshman, she’d started eight games and averaged 4.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
This year, the Miners earned their first NCAA Tournament bid, so it could be easy for Hester to second-guess herself. Then again, she began her Husker career by producing 13 points and 12 rebounds in a win against her former school, becoming the first wing at NU in four seasons to post a double-double. And she’s gone on to start every game this year.
So, yes, Hester has found a home complementing Griffin, a-time first-team All-Big 12 Conference pick; Page, who received league honorable mention; and Turner, a member of the Big 12 all-defensive team.
Hester says she goes into each game looking to build off her “defense and rebounding. Every night I’m probably on the best 2 guard, or beside the point guard, so I just try to not let them get the ...”
She works to make it difficult for them to get good looks.
Hester averages a modest 6.4 points (along with 4.2 rebounds. She’s also third on the team with 65 assists and 32 steals). But some of her best offensive efforts have come against teams that made the NCAA field.
She scored a career-high 14 points, with four assists, at Ohio State, had 10 points and six rebounds at Baylor, 10 points and five boards at Oklahoma, and had a career-high six assists with no turnovers in a home win against Iowa State. Against Robert Morris, she had 11 points and six rebounds.
“She’s a different player,” Griffin said. “Not only is she a hard worker, she bring a physicality that we don’t really have in the guards. To have a slasher like that and someone who rebounds well ... and now she’s screening and finding people a lot better, she’s been key.”
Like a fifth wheel is to a semi-truck — and Hester can’t wait to getting rolling today.
“I’m excited about it,” she said of her first NCAA Tournament game. “(Back) in Nebraska practicing, it’s like we’ve got another (regular) opponent, (but) we’re really in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve got to go in and get that win.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.