NU women lose tourney final in OT
BY CURT McKEEVER Lincoln Journal Star

 

Paul Sanderford had said he expected Wisconsin to have a Top 10 women's basketball team this season. It's just that he was hoping the Badgers would wait past Sunday to prove him right.

"It's hard to lose in this building," the NU coach said after Wisconsin tripped up his No. 24 Huskers 92-85 in overtime to win the Time Warner Cable Classic before a Devaney Sports Center crowd of 2,649. "I'm surprised to lose any time we lose ... (but) I hate to lose at home. I think this really hurts us losing this early." Sunday's result marked just the third time in 32 games under Sanderford that Nebraska (1-1) had lost at home.

Wisconsin (2-0), with all five starters back from the 1999 WNIT runner-up, harassed NU's All-Big 12 Conference guard Nicole Kubik into a 4-for-17 shooting performance and game-high 10 turnovers en route to pulling off the upset.

"I've been coaching a long time and this win here is as big as any this program has known," said 16-year UW Coach Jane Albright. "I think Nebraska is as good as everybody said they were, maybe a little better." But it's hard to get better than Wisconsin was in overtime. The Badgers, who won an NCAA record five overtime games last season, opened the five-minute session with a 7-0 run, then sank 15 of 17 free throws to keep Nebraska at a safe distance.

"The experience this team has is overtime," Albright said. "I think I was probably more nervous than any of them, (but) I don't have to say a lot to my team. They compete." Wisconsin has beaten a higher-ranked opponent on the road on just five occasions.

Sunday, the Badgers overcame a 13-4 start. Down 24-20, they scored 13 straight points -- eight by guard Kelley Paulus -- to show they planned on sticking around. Kubik, who missed her first eight shots, then sank one on a clear-out play just before the halftime to make it 33-26.

"We thought size probably bothered her more than quickness, so we kept switching up with size," said Albright, in regard to defending Kubik.

The Huskers, getting a career-high 25 points from senior guard Brooke Schwartz, still scrambled back to take a 41-39 lead with 12:45 left in regulation. But Wisconsin righted itself with a 9-0 flurry.

UW led 58-50 when Schwartz hit a three from the corner to start a 10-0 run that Charlie Rogers capped with a close-range basket off an offensive rebound to put Nebraska up 60-58 with 3:05 left in regulation. Wisconsin refused to go away and, with five players scoring its next 10 points, took a 68-64 lead on two free throws by Tamara Moore with 41.1 seconds left.

Kubik drew NU to within two with a pair of free throws, then stole the ball from tournament MVP Jessie Stomski and fed to Casey Leonhardt for a basket that tied the game. Wisconsin called timeout with 12 seconds to go to set up a final play, but Moore's off-balanced try from 30 feet rimmed off and the teams headed to overtime.

Paulus put the Badgers ahead to stay in the first seven seconds of the extra session before LaTonya Sims hit a three-pointer and Missy Konieczny got free inside following a turnover to make it 75-68.

Nebraska would get no closer than five points thereafter.

"Their interior defense was very good," Sanderford said. "That took away some things that we like to do. ... They fronted and doubled Casey, and with our other players they bodied them up." Although Wisconsin committed 35 turnovers, the Badgers didn't let their frustrations get to them at the other end, and caused most of Nebraska's 32. Ironically, the Huskers had been 5-0 under Sanderford when committing 30 or more turnovers.

"We'll learn from this," said Sanderford, whose team plays at Montana Friday. "This team is still going to be pretty good."