HUSKER WOMEN TOPPLE GOPHERS:
Freshman Allison Weidner led four Huskers in double figures with career highs of 23 points and three three-pointers to power Nebraska to its highest scoring total of the season in Big Ten Conference play with a 93-70 run past Minnesota on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Playing in front of the second-largest crowd of the season with 6,566 fans on hand at PBA, Nebraska improved to 20-7 on the year and 9-7 in Big Ten play, while sweeping the season series from the Golden Gophers, who fell to 12-16 and 5-11 in the conference.
Nebraska, which entered the day at No. 22 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, used a 30-point outburst in the third quarter to notch its 18th 20-win season in program history and second under Head Coach Amy Williams. Weidner led the Huskers with seven points in the quarter, while Alexis Markowski added back-to-back three-point plays. Sam Haiby added six points of her own in the quarter, as Nebraska outscored Minnesota 30-13 to turn a seven-point halftime lead into a 24-point edge heading to the fourth.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Wednesday when the Huskers travel to Wisconsin. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Badgers is set for 6:30 p.m.
NEBRASKA WOMEN’S TEAM FACES SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OVER WEEKEND:
The Husker Women’s Basketball team won on Sunday despite a flurry of changes from Saturday.
An NU spokesman confirmed that Ashley Scoggin had been removed from the roster. Hours earlier, NU announced that associate head coach Chuck Love had been suspended.
Scoggin was not with the team Thursday at Penn State, officially deemed “not available”. In the media release for Sunday’s game with Minnesota, she was left off the roster. Love was not on the bench for Nebraska’s loss Thursday at Penn State. This is his sixth season at NU and 10th overall on head coach Amy Williams’ staffs.
Scoggin does not appear on the roster at Huskers.com.
A statement Saturday morning from the university’s Athletic Department says Love has been “suspended with pay effective immediately” and that it is a “personnel matter.”
LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT SUNDAY, CLOSES TOUGH WEEKEND FOR HUSKER BASEBALL:
The Nebraska baseball team brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning but couldn’t convert, as the Huskers fell 6-3 in the series finale at Sam Houston on Sunday afternoon in Huntsville, Texas.
The Huskers (1-3) scored three runs on nine hits and two errors, while the Bearkats totaled six runs on 10 hits and committed one error.
The weekend was not a strong start to a much-anticipated season for the Huskers, as Nebraska was picked as the pre-season favorite to win the Big Ten conference.
The Huskers return to the Lone Star State next weekend, as the Huskers tangle with the reigning Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion TCU in a three-game set at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
LOPER BASKETBALL DOMINATES IN JEFFERSON CITY:
The UNK Basketball teams dominated at Lincoln University on Saturday to clean up their MIAA records after a shortcoming Thursday at Central Missouri.
To start, Junior forward Elisa Backes scored 20 in the first half and redshirt sophomore forward Shiloh McCool posted a double double to help Nebraska-Kearney breeze by Lincoln, 70-49.
The Lopers reach 20 wins for the third straight season and for the fourth time in the last five years. This also marks the 20th 20-win season in UNK history.
Meanwhile the Nebraska-Kearney men’s basketball team shot 59 from the field and sunk 14 threes to pull away from Lincoln University, 80-59.
The Lopers (11-15, 7-13) win at LU for the first time in six years and keep its MIAA Tournament hopes alive.
UNK hosts Northwest Missouri (Wed.) and Missouri Western (Fri.) next week to finish up the regular season.
UNK SOFTBALL EARNS A WIN IN OKC TOURNEY:
Senior Kelsey Goodban threw five shutout innings and senior first baseman Hailey Schaneman knocked in four runs to help Nebraska-Kearney win at Southern Nazarene, 7-3, Saturday evening in Bethany, Okla.
This was day two of the OC/UCO Tournament in the Oklahoma City area. UNK (3-7) fell to Arkansas Tech, 12-2, earlier on Saturday and to nationally-ranked Harding (Ark.), 9-7, and Oklahoma Christian, 8-0, on Friday. On Sunday, the Lopers were clipped by Southern Arkansas, 4-2.
NEBRASKA SOFTBALL CLOSES OUT WEEKEND WITH RUN RULE WIN:
The Nebraska softball team (6-4) finished the weekend with a 4-1 record to be named the Troy Cox Classic champions after an 11-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana (6-2) Sunday morning. The Huskers tallied four home runs including a grand slam from senior Olivia Ferrell and two home runs from sophomore Sydney Gray.
Courtney Wallace (5-1) pitched a complete game for the Huskers, throwing for six innings and recording 3 strikeouts.
The Huskers are back in action at the Wooo Pig Sooie Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., next weekend, Feb. 25-27. NU will face Kansas and Arkansas on Friday, Louisville and Arkansas on Saturday and finish the weekend playing Southeast Missouri State on Sunday.
NEBRASKA WRESTLING DROP TIGHT MATCH WITH HAWKEYES:
In the final dual of the season, the No. 10 Nebraska wrestling team battled No. 2 Iowa to the end but ultimately it was the Hawkeyes who secured a 20-15 triumph in front of 3,170 fans at the Devaney Center on Sunday night.
NU finished the night with four victories, including a pin by No. 20 Taylor Venz at 184 over No. 16 Abe Assad and a top five win by decision for Mikey Labriola (174).
The Huskers return to the mat at the 2022 Big Ten Championships, hosted at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln Neb., March 5-6. Session I begins on March 5 at 10 a.m and will be televised on BTN.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
SATURDAY:
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln U.
- UNK 70-49
- MENS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln U.
- UNK 80-59
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln U.
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. No. 16 Northwestern College @ Lynn Farrell Arena
- HC 73-51
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Northwestern College @ Lynn Farrell Arena
- NW 82-69
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. No. 16 Northwestern College @ Lynn Farrell Arena
MONDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
TUESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- BOYS BASKETBALL: C1-11 Sub Districts @ Kearney Catholic
- #1 Kearney Catholic v. TBA
- BOYS BASKETBALL: C1-11 Sub Districts @ Kearney Catholic
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
WEDNESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Northwest Missouri State @ Health & Sports Center – 5:30 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Northwest Missouri State @ Health & Sports Center – 7:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WOMENS BASEKTBALL: @ No. 9 Morningside University – 6 PM
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: Districts
- TBA
- SWIMMING & DIVING: State Tournament
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: Districts
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: State Tournament
- BOYS BASKETBALL: C1-11 Sub Districts Championship @ Kearney Catholic
- TBA
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: Districts
- TBA
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: Districts
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ MIAA Championships @ Maryville, MO
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Missouri Western State @ Health & Sports Center – 5:30 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Missouri Western State @ Health & Sports Center – 7:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- BASEBALL: @ Ottawa, KS
- @ Ottawa University – 12 PM
- @ Ottawa University (Doubleheader)
- SOFTBALL: @ Hillsboro, KS
- @ Tabor College – 2 PM
- @ Tabor College (Doubleheader)
- BASEBALL: @ Ottawa, KS
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- BOYS BASKETBALL: Districts
- TBA
- BOYS BASKETBALL: Districts
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ MIAA Championships @ Maryville, MO
- WRESTLING: @ NCAA Super Region VI @ Grand Junction, CO
- SOFTBALL: @ Washburn Classic @ Topeka, KS
- v. Mary
- v. St. Louis
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
-
- WOMENS WRESTLING: @ KCAC Conference Tounament @ St. Mary’s KS – 9 AM
- BASEBALL: @ Ottawa, KS
- @ Ottawa University – 12 PM
- @ Ottawa University (Doubleheader)
- SOFTBALL: @ North Newton, KS
- @ Bethel College – 1 PM
- @ Bethel College (Doubleheader)