Saturday Morning Sports – Bearcats Head to Omaha After Split Night with Links, Storm Comeback Falls Short, Husker Football Officially Announces Hires, Husker Men’s & Women’s Basketball Preview, Local Sports Recap and Preview

KEARNEY BASKETBALL SPLITS DAY WITH LINKS; HEADS TO METRO:

The Kearney basketball squads split their home doubleheader with Lincoln High Friday night, as the girls fell to the Links 55-39 while the boys team won 56-50. Full recaps can be found at KGFW.com.

A quick turnaround is ahead for the Bearcats as both teams head to the Metro to face Omaha Northwest with games tipping off at 1 PM and 2:45 PM. 

Both games can be heard on KGFW with the pregame beginning at 12:45 for the doubleheader. 

STORM COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AT HOME:

The Tri-City Storm’s efforts for a comeback victory fell short in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss on home ice to the Omaha Lancers. Daimon Gardner, Sebastian Törnqvist, and Dane Dowiak scored the Storm’s goals during the matchup.

Tri-City hits the ice again on tonight  in a road game against the Lincoln Stars. Puck drop for the game is set for 6:05pm CT.

RHULE OFFICIALLY NAMES TWO MORE TO HUSKER FOOTBALL STAFF:

Nebraska Head Football Coach Matt Rhule has added a pair of assistant coaches to his Nebraska staff. Tony White will serve as the Huskers’ defensive coordinator, while Donovan Raiola will be Nebraska’s offensive line coach.

White joins the Huskers after spending the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse. In his time with the Orange, White helped transform the Syracuse defense into one of the top units in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Raiola will continue on the Nebraska staff after serving as the offensive line coach in 2022. 

HUSKER BASKETBALL FACES TOUGHEST TEST YET AGAINST PURDUE:

Nebraska wraps up a stretch of three straight games against nationally ranked teams on Saturday afternoon when the Huskers host No. 4 Purdue at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 1:15 p.m.

Today’s game with Purdue concludes a stretch of playing three straight top-15 teams to open the month of December.

The Huskers (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) battled No. 14 Indiana before losing 81-65 on Wednesday night. NU was without Sam Griesel, who was a late scratch because of illness.

Purdue (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) comes to Lincoln following an 85-66 win over Hofstra on Wednesday evening.

NEBRASKA WOMEN LOOK TO CLOSE OUT STRONG WEEK AGAINST SAMFORD:

The Nebraska women’s basketball team is back for the second game in its five-game home stand when the Huskers play host to Samford on Saturday night in Lincoln.

Tip-off between the Huskers (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten) and Bulldogs (4-7, 0-0 SoCon) is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Pregame on KGFW begins at 5:45 PM.

Nebraska enjoyed a triumphant return home on Wednesday, improving to 2-0 in Big Ten play with an impressive 82-54 victory over Wisconsin.

Over the last five games, Jazz Shelley has averaged 21.4 points and 5.6 assists while hitting 53.7 percent (22-41) of her three-point attempts.

Coach Carley Kuhns brings the Samford Bulldogs to Lincoln for their first-ever meeting with the Huskers on Saturday. The 2020 and 2021 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Kuhns is in her fourth season leading the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs return three starters from last year’s team, including SoCon Player-of-the-Year candidate Andrea Cournoyer.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Girls Basketball: v. Lincoln High
    • LHS 55-39 KHS
  • Boys Basketball: v. Lincoln High
    • KHS 56-50 LHS
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Basketball: v. Ord
    • KCHS 46-35 Ord
  • Boys Basketball: v. Ord
    • KCHS 50-29 Ord
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: v. UNK Pre-Holiday Classic @ Cope Coliseum
    • UNK: 17 event wins / 7 national marks

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Wrestling: @ Council Bluffs Wrestling CLassic Tournament @ Mid-America Center
  • Girls Basketball: @ Omaha Northwest – 1 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 12:45 PM
  • Boys Basketball: @ Omaha Northwest – 2:45 PM
    • KGFW Pregame after GBB contest
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Basketball: @ Northwest Missouri State @ Maryville, MO – 1:30 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: @ Northwest Missouri State @ Maryville, MO – 3:30 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney High Girls Basketball @ Omaha Northwest (12:45 PM – 2:45 PM)
  • Kearney High Boys Basketball @ Omaha Northwest (2:45 PM – 4:45 PM)
  • Nebraska Women’s Basketball v. Samford (5:45 PM – 9 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Wrestling: @ Fort Hays State Open @ Hays, KS – 9 AM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • N/a