Monday Morning Sports – Kearney Boys Head to Millard North, Husker Women Stomp Out Northwestern, Nebraska Baseball Clean Sweep at South Alabama, Husker Men Continue Winning Ways, Loper Women Clinch MIAA Title, Loper Athletics Weekend Recap, Local Sports Schedule

KEARNEY BOYS HEAD TO MILLARD NORTH FOR DISTRICT TITLE:

The Kearney Boys Basketball team landed a semifinal district win on Saturday night over Lincoln Pius, claiming a chance to punch their ticket to state with a matchup in the A-2 District Title at Millard North tonight. 

Kearney (17-7) must win to be one of the final eight teams, while returning back-to-back state champions Millard North (20-4) could possibly claim a wildcard berth with a loss. A win guarantees a placement at the State Tournament. 

Pregame coverage on KGFW begins at 5:45 PM tonight from Millard North with tip-off set for 6 PM. Join Austin Jacobsen on the call. 

Hear Bearcat Basketball on 1340 KGFW, 96.1 FM, on the free KGFW Mobile app, and online at KGFW.com.

HUSKER WOMEN STOMP OUT NORTHWESTERN:

Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski both put up big double-doubles to lead four Huskers in double figures, as the Nebraska women’s basketball team rolled to an 80-64 win over Northwestern at PBA. 

The Huskers (16-13, 8-10 Big Ten) outscored the Wildcats (9-20, 2-16 Big Ten) 50-34 in the second half, including 16 points and 12 rebounds in the final 20 minutes from Markowski.

Shelley, who finished with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with six assists and three steals.

Nebraska will be back in action to open the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, March 2. The Huskers earned the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 seed Michigan State on the second day of the tournament with tip-off set for 11:30 a.m.

NEBRASKA BASEBALL COMPLETES SWEEP AT SOUTH ALABAMA:

Josh Caron belted two home runs, and Michael Garza dealt six one-hit innings in relief to lead Nebraska to a 9-3 win in the series finale at South Alabama on Sunday afternoon.

The sweep is Nebraska’s first road non-conference series sweep in a traditional three or four-game format since the Huskers swept Hawaii-Hilo to start the 2005 season.

Nebraska (3-3-1) scored nine runs on 13 hits in the finale, while South Alabama (4-4) had three runs on eight hits and an error.

Nebraska travels to Minneapolis next weekend for the Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium.

HUSKER MEN CONTINUE WINNING WAYS:

Sam Griesel’s 19 points led six players in double figures as Nebraska continued its late-season surge with a 78-67 victory over Minnesota in front of a sellout crowd of 15,489 at Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday afternoon.

Griesel scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, as Nebraska withstood a number of Gopher rallies in the second half to improve to 15-14 overall and 8-10 in the Big Ten.

Nebraska plays its final regular-season home game Tuesday night as the Huskers host Michigan State.

LOPER WOMEN CLINCH MIAA TITLE:

The seventh-ranked Nebraska Kearney women’s basketball team sank 11 three pointers and was plus 27 on the glass to blast rival Fort Hays State, 64-48, in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

The Lopers (27-3, 20-2) win the 2023 MIAA regular season title outright and earn the top-seed in next weekend’s 10-team league tourney in Kansas City. UNK will play on Thursday night at 6 p.m. against either Northwest Missouri or Newman.

It was a memorable day at Buckle Court as the win streak grew to 14 in a row, the home court streak ballooned to 19 in a row and the super senior class of Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.), Brooke Carlson (Elkhorn), Maegan Holt (Council Bluffs, Ia.) and Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, Ia.) was honored post-game. Classmate Shiloh McCool will be back in 2024 as she missed the sophomore season due to injury.

UNK WRESTLING FINISHES SECOND IN SUPER REGION TOURNEY:

The fifth-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team scored 110.50 points to place second at the Super Region VI Tournament Saturday night in Chadron.

The Lopers qualified six for the NCAA Division II Championships March 10-11 in Cedar Rapids, Ia. A top-three finish in one of 10 weight classes is good for a trip to nationals.

Not surprisingly, UNK’s heavy hitters in the upper weights rolled to first place finishes. That trio consists of Kearney redshirt senior Lee Herrington (285 lbs.), Kansas redshirt senior Austin Eldredge (McPherson, Kan.) and Omaha redshirt junior Billy Higgins (184 lbs.). Higgins is ranked first nationally, Herrington second and Eldredge third.

Pairings for the NCAA’s will be released later next week.

UNK MEN END SEASON WITH HOME LOSS TO HAYS:

All-American candidate Kaleb Hammeke had a double double and regionally-ranked Fort Hays State used a last second stop to slip past Nebraska Kearney, 45-42, Saturday evening.

UNK ends at 5-22 (3-19) with 13 of its setbacks coming by 10 points or less.

STORM COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP:

The Tri-City Storm completed a two-game weekend sweep of the Sioux City Musketeers Saturday night at the Viaero Center in a 4-2 victory.

Dane Dowiak, Artemi Nizameyev, Jake Richard, and August Falloon scored for the Storm in the win. 

Tri-City returns to action next weekend with back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday against the Sioux Falls Stampede. 

UNK’S T&F FERGUSON AND STUCKEY CLAIM MIAA TITLES:

Veteran distance runners Wes Ferguson and Luke Stuckey won MIAA titles and Nicole Messbarger and Micah Swedberg set new 600-yard school records to pace Nebraska Kearney on the final day of the 2023 MIAA Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kan.

Ferguson (Fremont) won his third straight MIAA indoor 800-meter title by turning in a 1:50.85

Stuckey won his first league indoor title by taking the mile in 4:06.64.

The list of NCAA Championships qualifiers will be released early this week; the meet is March 10-11 in Virginia Beach. The outdoor season begins in mid-March, weather permitting.

LOPER SOFTBALL FALL IN TOPEKA:

The Nebraska Kearney softball team fell behind early on and lost to both St. Cloud State, 9-4, Minnesota-Crookston, 10-4, Sunday afternoon in Topeka, Kan.

This was the third and final day of the Washburn Invite. The Lopers (7-11) tour of the Midwest continues next weekend with a tourney in Springfield, Mo.

UNK faces Crookston again to start the Drury Invite on Friday.

UNK TENNIS NEARLY PULLS OFF TOP UPSET, FALL IN GRUNDY CENTER:

Argentina sophomore Nefeli Zafeiri rallied to win at number three singles to help No. 8 Central Oklahoma get past Nebraska Kearney, 4-3, in the seventh-place match of the ITA Women’s Indoor Team National Championships Sunday at the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center.

The Lopers (8-5) fell 4-1 to seventh-ranked Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. UCO (4-4), defending National Runners Up, lost 4-0 to ninth-ranked North Georgia in its consolation match.

UNK is now off until March 9 when it faces Northwest Missouri State to begin MIAA play. That dual will be held in the Grundy or at Harmon Park, depending on the weather. 

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Basketball: A-2 DISTRICT FINAL @ Millard North
    • #2 Kearney @ #1 Millard North – 6 PM
      • KGFW Pregame at 5:45 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • DISTRICT FINAL: Kearney Boys Basketball @ Millard North (5:45 PM – 7:45 PM)

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 7 PM)
  • Nebraska Men’s Basketball v. Michigan State (7 PM – 10:45 PM)

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Men’s Tennis: v. Sterling – 11 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Sterling – 11 AM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Basketball: MIAA TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO
    • UNK v. Northwest Missouri State/Newman – 6 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Women’s T&F: @ NAIA Indoor Championships @ Brookings, SD – 1 PM
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Fort Hays State – 2 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Women’s Basketball v. BIG TEN TOURNEY – TBD (11:15 AM – 2:15 PM)
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Softball: v. Minnesota-Crookston @ Springfield, MO – 10 AM
  • Softball: @ Drury @ Springfield, MO – 12:15 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Women’s T&F: @ NAIA Indoor Championships @ Brookings, SD – 1 PM
  • Softball: @ Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic @ USA Softball HOF
    • v. Mid-America Christian
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • TBD

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Softball: v. Evangel, MO @ Springfield, MO – 10 AM
  • Softball: v. Augustana @ Springfield, MO – 12 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • Women’s T&F: @ NAIA Indoor Championships @ Brookings, SD – 1 PM
  • Softball: @ Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic @ USA Softball HOF
  • Baseball: v. Mayville State – 12 PM
  • Baseball: v. Mayville State – 3 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • TBD

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Baseball: v. Mayville State – 1 PM
  • Baseball: v. Mayville State – 4 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Men’s Basketball @ Iowa (12 PM – 3:45 PM)