GIRLS STATE HOOPS BEGINS TODAY:
The 2023 Nebraska State Girls Basketball Championship Tournament begins today in Lincoln with Classes D1, C1, and A kicking off action. The three-day tournament will utilize Pinnacle Bank Arena and the Bob Devaney Sports Center throughout the tournament with championships set for Saturday at PBA.
In the opening matchups of the day, #1 Ravenna took down #8 SEM 51-37 and will face #4 Hastings St. Cecilia after the Bluehawks won 49-37 over Elmwood-Murdock in the Class D1 semifinals
#3 Adams Central is currently in action with #6 Gothenburg in the Class C1 opening matchup.
Start times and locations can be found at the NSAA Website. Classes B, C2, and D2 begin their quarterfinals on Thursday with all semifinals set for Friday.
HUSKER MEN CONTROL FIRST HALF; OUTSHOT BY SPARTY IN SECOND FALLING ON SENIOR DAY:
An energy-filled Pinnacle Bank Arena just didn’t have enough for Nebraska men’s basketball on Senior Night.
A strong second half for Michigan State put away Big Red 80-67. The Huskers fall to 15-15 on the year and 8-11 in the Big Ten.
After honoring seniors Emmanuel Bandoumel, Sam Griesel, Keisei Tominaga and Derrick Walker, Nebraska sprinted out the gate. Although Michigan State scored first, NU put together an 8-0 run that was followed up with a 9-0 run a few minutes later.
Nebraska’s lead grew to as much as 15 in the first half before a 38-26 score shown at halftime.
MSU put together a 15-1 run as NU went 7:58 without making a shot.
Michigan State shot 67.9 percent in the second half, including making 12-of-17 3s.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Nebraska, which closes the regular season on the road Sunday at Iowa.
EIGHMEY WINS MIAA COACH OF THE YEAR; FOUR LOPERS NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE:
Four members of the Nebraska Kearney women’s basketball team have earned 2023 All-MIAA honors with Carrie Eighmey named the Coach of the Year.
Super senior wing Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) was named to the second-team as well as making the All-Defensive squad. This is her fourth All-MAA honor. Next, super senior forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) earns her third all-conference honor (3rd-team) with redshirt juniors Shiloh McCool (2nd-team) and Sarah Schmitt (h.m.) tabbed All-MIAA for the first time.
Eighmey has guided the Lopers to a 27-3 record and the 2023 MIAA regular season title (20-2). UNK has won at least 23 games in each of the past four years and will be in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight time. Finally, Eighmey now has the second most wins (164) in school history, surpassing Carol Russell (2003-10) last Saturday, and is up to 232 as an 11th year head coach.
The Lopers are the top seed in the MIAA Tournament and will play Thursday at 6 p.m. against either Newman or Northwest Missouri.
NEBEKER EARNS ALL-MIAA HONOR:
Super senior forward Darrian Nebeker represents Nebraska Kearney on the 2023 All-MIAA team as an Honorable Mention addition.
Nebeker (West Jordan, Utah) had some of the best all-around numbers in the league once again this year; 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 76% at the line and 49% from the field. He ranked second in the MIAA in assists, third in scoring, sixth in assist/turnover ratio, 11th in FG pct. and 21st in rebounds.
The Construction Management major began his career at Snow (Utah) College and ends his career with nearly 1,500 points and 400 assists.
LOPER SOFTBALL HAS WEEKEND CHANGES:
The schedule for the Nebraska Kearney softball team has changed this weekend due to expected wintry weather in Springfield, Mo.
The Lopers (7-11) were scheduled to play two games Friday and two more on Saturday in the Drury Classic. The tourney has been pushed back a full day with the Lopers still facing the host Panthers (9-9) and Augustana (2-4) on Saturday but now playing NAIA Cottey College, Mo. (7-6) and No. 9 Central Oklahoma (8-3) on Sunday.
The Blue & Gold was supposed to play Minnesota-Crookston and NAIA Evangel (Mo.)
Weather permitting, the Lopers host Missouri Western (March 10) and Northwest Missouri (March 11) next weekend at Patriot Park.
BEARCAT WRESTLING NAMES SCHLENDER FIRST GIRLS WRESTLING COACH:
Kearney High School has hired its first-ever Girls’ Wrestling coach.
Trey Schlender grew up in Kearney, wrestled for Kearney High School, and began his coaching career at KHS. He is now the head coach for the new KHS Girls’ Wrestling Team.
This past year, Schlender has been the assistant wrestling coach at Bellevue East High School (2022-2023). Prior to that he was the head wrestling coach at Kenesaw High School and brought home a few state medals including one state runner-up (2020-2022). Schlender started his coaching career by volunteering and assistant coaching at Kearney High School and Horizon Middle School (2015-2017).
Schlender was a 2013 KHS graduate and wrestled all four years in high school and was a state medalist in his senior year. After high school, he continued his education and athletic career at UNK where he earned a degree in K-12 Health and Physical Education. As an athlete, Schlender was a three-year starter for the Lopers at 197 lbs and placed 5th at Regionals.
SHELLEY LEADS HUSKERS ON ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS:
Jaz Shelley claimed first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches to headline a group of four Huskers who earned all-conference accolades when the league announced its women’s basketball regular-season awards.
Shelley, a 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia, led Nebraska with 14.3 points, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals while adding 4.8 rebounds per game in her second season with the Big Red. She also led the Huskers and ranked among Big Ten leaders with 67 three-pointers on the season.
In Big Ten play, Shelley was even better, ranking 10th in the league in scoring (15.2 ppg), 25th in rebounding (5.5 rpg), fourth in assists (5.9 apg), 16th in steals (1.7 spg), third in three-pointers made per game (2.6) and fourth in free throw percentage (.881).
Alexis Markowski added second-team All-Big Ten honors from league coaches and media for the second straight year.
Isabelle Bourne added honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition from league coaches and media for the third consecutive season.
Finally, Sam Haiby joined Bourne as a three-time All-Big Ten award winner by claiming honorable-mention recognition from the conference media for the second straight season.
NEBRASKA T&F EARN 11 BIDS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Nebraska track and field team secured 11 bids to the NCAA Indoor Championships, set for March 10-11 in Albuquerque, N.M. The 11 entries are the most for the Huskers at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2011.
The top 16 student-athletes in each event qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships each year. Nebraska’s qualifiers are Mayson Conner (high jump), Lishanna Ilves (long jump), Axelina Johansson (shot put), Taylor Latimer (weight throw) Darius Luff (60m hurdles), Maxwell Otterdahl (shot put and weight throw), Jenna Rogers (high jump), Brithton Senior (60m hurdles), Till Steinforth (heptathlon) and Jonah Wilson (shot put).
Live championship coverage will be streamed on ESPN+ on Friday, March 10 starting at 10:30 a.m. (CT) and Saturday, March 11 starting at 12:30 p.m.
NCAA TO CONSIDER SHORTER FOOTBALL GAMES:
College football leaders are meeting this week in Indianapolis to consider three rules changes that could shorten game times and reduce the number of plays during games this upcoming season, a continued push to monitor player safety as the sport prepares for a 12-team College Football Playoff beginning in 2024.
The rule changes under consideration include: running the clock after a first down is awarded, except in the last two minutes of either half; eliminating the option for teams to call consecutive team timeouts; and carrying over any fouls to the next period instead of finishing with an untimed down.
Steve Shaw, NCAA football secretary rules-editor and officials coordinator, told ESPN on Tuesday that the combined changes are estimated to shorten average length of games by seven to eight minutes and eight plays.
According to Shaw, college football games have averaged 180 plays per game over the past three regular seasons and typically last three hours, 21 minutes.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
WEDNESDAY:
- 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
- Women’s Basketball: MIAA TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO
- 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)
