GARNER NAMED TO ALL SHOWCASE TEAM:
After a 13 point performance – including three triples in the first half against York – Kearney senior Kierstynn Garner was named to Saturday’s Nebraska Girls Basketball All-Showcase team.
Others named to the team included: Anselmo-Merna’s Jaide Chandler, Clarkson-Leigh’s Chloe Hanel, York’s Mesa Scheierman, Adams Central Libby Trausch, and Bridgeport’s Olivia Loomis-Goltl.
WIEGERT NAMED TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME:
Nebraska All-American and Outland Trophy winner Zach Wiegert is one of 21 individuals who will make up the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class. The 18 players and three coaches were announced on Monday by the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame.
The 2022 Hall of Fame class includes nine winners of major college awards, 10 unanimous first-team All-Americans and four members of national championship teams. Wiegert is the only member of the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame class who was a member of four conference championship teams. A Fremont, Neb., native, Wiegert is among the group of players selected from the national ballot that included 78 All-Americans.
Wiegert becomes the 20th Nebraska player to earn induction into the College Hall of Fame. Nebraska is one of 12 programs nationally with 20 or more players in the College Football Hall of Fame. Wiegert is the seventh Nebraska offensive linemen to join the College Football Hall of Fame, including four coached by Tom Osborne and offensive line coach Milt Tenopir.
BUSCH NAMED SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR FOR HUSKERS:
Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost announced Monday the hiring of Bill Busch as the Huskers’ special teams coordinator. Busch moves into the role as a full-time assistant at Nebraska after spending the 2021 season as a defensive analyst in the program.
Frost also announced that Mike Dawson will continue to coach Nebraska’s edge rushers, while adding the duties of tutoring the interior defensive linemen. Dawson previously coached the NU defensive line in 2018.
Busch brings three decades of college coaching experience to the Nebraska staff and is in his third stint with the Cornhuskers. During Busch’s career he has worked for three national championship coaches including Tom Osborne, Urban Meyer and Ed Orgeron.
MARKOWSKI EARNS THIRD BIG TEN FRESHMAN HONOR:
Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski was named the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week for the third time this season when the conference announced its weekly award winners.
Markowski, a 6-3 forward/center out of Lincoln Pius X High School, averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds last week in home games against No. 8 Michigan (Jan. 4) and No. 22 Iowa (Jan. 9).
She erupted for a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds and grabbing a career-high two steals in the upset win over the Wolverines.
UNK MEN’S MATCHUP WITH LINCOLN RESCHEDULED:
The Nebraska-Kearney/Lincoln University men’s basketball game has been rescheduled for Monday, January 31st.
The Blue Tigers (1-10, 0-6) were slated to come to Kearney last Thursday (Jan. 6) but COVID issues within the LU program postponed a trip to the Health & Sports Center and to Fort Hays State. The makeup game will tip at 3 p.m.
HUSKER MEN BATTLE ILLINOIS TUESDAY NIGHT:
After a two-game road trip, Nebraska returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena Tuesday evening, as the Huskers host No. 25/24 (AP/Coaches) Illinois. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The Huskers (6-10, 0-5 Big Ten) look to bounce back from a disappointing 93-65 loss at Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.
lllinois (11-3, 4-0 Big Ten) has won nine of its last 10 games following a 76-64 win over Maryland on Thursday night.
NEBRASKA WOMEN FALL TO RANKED IOWA AT PBA:
Sam Haiby scored 18 points to lead four Huskers in double figures, while Jaz Shelley added her fifth double-double, but it was not enough to prevent hot-shooting No. 22 Iowa from running to a 95-86 women’s basketball win over Nebraska in front of a season-high crowd of 8,415 at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Alexis Markowski added 14 points and eight rebounds in her second straight start, while Ashley Scoggin pitched in 13 points and four assists in a gritty effort, but Nebraska still slipped to 13-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
The Huskers return to Big Ten road action at No. 6 Indiana on Thursday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Hoosiers in Bloomington is set for 5 p.m.
HUSKER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME COMMENTS:
WILLIAMS – NOT FOCUSED DEFENSIVELY
Head Coach Amy Williams of the Nebraska Women’s Basketball team was in awe of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ shooting during Nebraska’s loss on Sunday afternoon, but added that she was hoping to see her defense more locked in…
The Huskers’ next test comes at Indiana against the No. 6 Hoosiers in Bloomington on Thursday.
WILLIAMS – SMARTER ON PLAYING WITH FOULS
Amy Williams spoke in her postgame interview after the home loss to Iowa Sunday afternoon that she was hoping to see freshman Alexis Markowski battle against the Hawkeyes early and often, but fouls kept her out of the contest early…
The Huskers aim to bounce back against Indiana on Thursday.
WILLIAMS – IOWA TOO COMFORTABLE SHOOTING
Head Coach of the Husker Women’s Basketball team Amy Williams spoke in her postgame interview following the loss to Iowa that the Hawkeyes were given too much cushion for their impressive shooting performance…
The Hawkeyes shot 62 percent on the day including 11-19 from three.
FORMER LOPER FOOTBALL STAR ALLIEU DIES IN SUNDAY CRASH:
Former UNK Loper Football standout student-athlete Hinwa Allieu died in a car crash early Sunday morning according to a statement released by UNK.
Allieu graduated from UNK in July 2021 with a degree in construction management.
A high school graduate of The Avalon School in Wheaton, Maryland, Allieu was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He moved to the United States in 2013.
Allieu played football for UNK from 2016-19, recording 160 tackles and 15.5 sacks for the Lopers as a defensive lineman. The three-time All-MIAA selection signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in April 2020. He later played professional football for the Houston Blues in The Spring League, a developmental league featuring former college and NFL players.
Allieu was 24.
HAMES ANNOUNCES NEBRASKA RETURN:
Nicklin Hames announced on Sunday that she will return for a fifth season with the Nebraska volleyball team in 2022. Hames is taking advantage of an extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic.
Hames has been the Huskers’ starting setter for the past four seasons – leading Nebraska to two National Championship matches – but she will take on a different role for the Huskers next season. After exhausting her eligibility in 2022, Hames intends to stay with Nebraska and begin her coaching career as a graduate assistant for the 2023 season.
Hames has earned All-America recognition in each of her first four seasons at Nebraska. She was a second-team All-American as a junior and earned honorable-mention accolades as a freshman, sophomore and senior. She was also a two-time first-team All-Big Ten
FROST OUT WITH COVID AT START OF WINTER CONDITIONING:
The Nebraska Football team begins winter conditioning this week but will be without Head Coach Scott Frost for the foreseeable future. Sunday morning Frost received a positive COVID-19 test with mild symptoms, and will work remotely for the rest of the week – according to a statement from the University of Nebraska Athletics.
The Huskers look to improve from their 3-9 record from the previous season and aim to get Frost’s first winning season in Lincoln.
NFL PLAYOFFS SET AFTER SUNDAY ACTION:
Playoff matchups are now set for the upcoming weekend as the NFL concluded its regular season on Sunday night:
AFC:
No. 1 Tennessee Titans (BYE)
No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs v. No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 3 Buffalo Bills v. No. 6 New England Patriots
No. 4 Cincinnati Bengals v. No. 5 Las Vegas Raiders
NFC:
No. 1 Green Bay Packers (BYE)
No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers v. No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles
No. 3 Dallas Cowboys v. No. 6 San Francisco 49ers
No. 4 Los Angeles Rams v. No. 5 Arizona Cardinals.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
TUESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Double Dual @ Lincoln Southwest
- V. LSW & v. Lincoln North Star
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Double Dual @ Lincoln Southwest
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Double Dual @ Lincoln Southwest
- V. LSW & v. Lincoln North Star
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Lexington
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Lexington
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Double Dual @ Lincoln Southwest
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
WEDNESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. No. 10 Morningside @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 6 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Morningside @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 7:45 PM
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- WRESTLING: Varsity Dual @ North Platte
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Broken Bow
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Broken Bow
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Missouri Western St. – 5:30 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: @ Missouri Western St. 7:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Lincoln High Invite
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Lincoln Northeast
- Pregame on KGFW at 5:45 PM
- BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Lincoln Northeast
- Pregame on KGFW at 7:30 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Lincoln High Invite
- WRESTLING: @ Gibbon Invite
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Hastings St. Cecilia
- BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Hastings St. Cecilia
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ Graduate Classic, Lincoln NE
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- WRESTLING: HAC Championships@ Columbus High School
- SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Lincoln High Invite
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Papillion-LaVista South – 2 PM
- Pregame on KGFW at 1:45 PM
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Papillion-LaVista South – 3:45 PM
- Pregame on KGFW at 3:30 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: @ Lincoln High Invite
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. North Platte
- BOYS BASKETBALL: v. North Platte
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ Graduate Classic, Lincoln NE
- WRESTLING: v. Grand View, IA – 1 PM
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Northwest Missouri St. – 2 PMMENS BASKETBALL: @ Northwest Missouri St. – 4 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- MENS WRESTLING: @ Lakeland, FL
- Fire Duals
- WOMENS WRESTLING: @ York Open
- M/W T&F: @ Doane Invite
- WOMENS BASKETBALL @ College of St. Mary – 2 PM
- MENS WRESTLING: @ Lakeland, FL
