03.25.2010 / NU Women: Big 12 Done, NCAA Tourney Next!
The Nebraska ladies basketball team finished their Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship run on Saturday, falling to number 11 ranked Texas Tech in the semifinals. The game was fought hard by the Huskers but just was not their day.
The Huskers made just 22 of 59 field goals, including 7 of 20 three pointers and a dismal 19 of 32 from the free throw line. Kelsey Griffin scored 15 with 7 rebounds but was less than effective after committing her 4th foul early in the second half. Junior guard Dominique Kelly and senior Yvonne Turner added 18 and 14 respectively. The Aggies dominated the Huskers on the glass, outrebounding the ‘skers 46 to 32. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Danielle Adams, led the game with 22 points and 9 rebounds, and helped seal off the Huskers with 20 points in the second half. The Huskers simply got off to a bad start and Texas Tech never let them recover.
However, not all is glum for the Husker women...
They dominated the end of the year Big 12 awards ceremony with Kelsey Griffin becoming the first Husker woman to be the Big 12 Player of the Year, Coach Connie Yori earning her first Big 12 Coach of the Year award, and Yvonne Turner nabbed Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Brittney Griner of Baylor.
As a testament to Griffin’s skill, she also became the fourth woman Husker to be a first-team All Conference selection three times in her career, joining Karen Jennings (1991, 1992, 1993 All Big Eight), Maurtice Ivy (1986, 1987, 1988 All Big Eight) and Kiera Hardy (2005, 2006, 2007 All Big 12). Griffin was also placed on the Big 12 All-Defense team for the first time. Not to mention, this past week, she was also added as one of seven to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region 5 team. Yvonne Turner nabbed her third Big 12 All-Defense selection.
Coach Yori also recieved the WBCA Regional coach of the year award and is a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award to be announced in early April.
As if this list wasn’t long enough already, Griffin, Turner and senior Cory Montgomery were also selected to the All-Big 12 first team; and freshman Lindsey Moore received one of five distinguished spots on the Big 12 All-freshman list.
On top of all that, the Husker women also reigned in a #1 at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament Monday evening. The Huskers, who finished an impressive season at 30-1 overall and 16-0 in the Big 12, will face Northern Iowa in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA tournament. If they win, they will play the winner of the No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 9 North Carolina State game on Sunday.
The Huskers first round game is set for Sunday, March 21st at 6 p.m. and will be shown on both ESPN2 and ESPN360.com. Tickets for the first two rounds can be purchased from the University of Minnesota’s box office by phone at 1-800-U-GOPHER or online at http://www.gophersports.com.
Got any feedback on the recent success of the Husker Women? Let’s hear it!
Do you think this list of accomplishments warrants Griffin’s number in the rafters, as Mike Babcock predicts here?
