Nebraska at Oklahoma

[Noah121]

It's just 15 minutes to tipoff, and I'm quite surprised there isn't already a thread!

:OU: vs. :NU:

[Noah121]

YORI: Competing is what we have to do on the glass.

She's got that right, but it's more than just competing. After the failing effort at rebounding that we had against Kansas, we will really have to crash the boards.

[Noah121]

It's a three from Vonnie Turner and it's 5-0 Huskers with less than a minute gone! A five-second turnover led to the three.

[Noah121]

Ouch. After that 5-0 start, OU has gone on a 13-2 run. We've had too many turnovers and it sounds like we've tried to force a lot of shots. We can't be careless and expect to win.

[SAXkid1407]

so yahoo and espn's scoreboard is behind...ugh. i'm counting on ya'll to keep me updated with the score while i "read" my psychology chapter...yes the iowa st. vs texas game is on!

[Noah121]

Sure sounds like the travel has been really emphasized tonight. I think there have been at least three travels called so far.

It's now 19-9 Sooners.

[Noah121]

Jeff Griesch is implying that if we win this game, we will win it in the last minute, because our depth might give us that advantage. It's now 13-21. We at least must keep it within single digits.

[ChipperF1]

Nebraska took a huge punch and but I like the way we came back to compete!!! We are playing hard, but not exactly being smart at the moment!!!

Vonnie Turner is playing her butt off!!!!

[Noah121]

There's 4:58 left in the first half and it's currently 25-30.

Gametracker is frozen, which is really annoying. At least I've got the HuskersNSide audio.

[Noah121]

OU is outplaying the Huskers with a bunch of easy shots off fastbreak points and turnovers. We're already down by 9 in just a few seconds after it was 29-30.

[Noah121]

That's a rare occurrence. Neals was called for a foul and got a chance at a five-point play after a three. Unfortunately we missed the shot.

Then, the last play was a Neals three! It's 36-38 at halftime. What a half of runs!

Off to a meeting.

[Noah121]

It evidently has gotten out of control. It's 50-60 with less than 8 minutes remaining. I was at a meeting for quite some time, so I missed the first 10 minutes.

[Noah121]

Turner has 16 after a three, but it's still 55-66, and the Huskers must make it back. We have to shoot more and accurately. We're forcing it too much.

[Noah121]

Twenty-four turnovers is completely unacceptable.

[Noah121]

I haven't seen the game, but Matt implied that the last foul on Burke was uncalled for. Have there been a lot of no-calls or partial calling tonight?

[ISUbballfan]

What is the score and time?

[Noah121]

Unfortunately, we lost. The final score was 72-80. We had some fight in the last few minutes, but it wasn't enough. These droughts were too much for us to endure.

[ChipperF1]

The refs called it pretty tight tonight, but it was solid and consistent. I like the way the games was called

Tough to lose like this, but you don't win when you have opportunities and you kill yourself. 25 turnovers.

I love me some Danielle Robinson. D-Rob is the truth. I hope she keep working hard because she can play. An athletic kid who can make the plays...unlike Nebraska most athletic player, who reminded me of Griechaly Cepero out there, and that is not a complement.

We have a way to go before we can be a contender in this league. We saw that tonight, but we also saw that we are capable, but you have to capitalize.

"WE'VE GOT TO GET MORE OUT OF KELSEY!!!" THANK YOU CONNIE FOR CALLING HER OUT!


"We looked a little bit young.. This game reminded me of Chelsea and Kiera's freshman year..." -- Connie Yori...
This game wasn't nearly that bad, we were competitive tonight.

I like that Connie isn't making excuses. She sounds very disappointed in the outcome.

[Noah121]

She definitely sounds more like you this year.

Additionally, I fully agree with you that Hester's athleticism isn't helping us out. It might be able to get you by in high school or junior college if you have pure athleticism but not basketball fundamentals.

But as you say, This is Division I basketball! It's not intramurals (or high school or juco, for that matter)!

[swok34]

I think that's about one of the most entertaining games I've seen in a long time.

I was impressed with the 2 Nebraska PG's that kept Danielle on her toes. It was starting out to look like a run up and down the court all night kind of game. Lots of hands in passing lanes. The Commish made the comment to me that if we had shot our usual FT %, the game would have been tied. I'm not sure what team that was down there in OU uniforms that can shoot free throws so well, but I hope they keep showing up. They shot 19 of 20. Yvonne Turner was excellent tonite.

Sherri was NOT happy with the final 5 minutes or so and said that she felt they thought they had won something and were not playing smart at the end of the game.

[HoopScoop]

Yep - Coach Coale was not happy at all with the turnovers. Kind of a frustrating win down the stretch. There were some frustrated exchanges between Coale, Stevenson and Thompson.

But it's a win. And this season more than ever - I'LL TAKE IT!

Next up - a big showdown with Baylor. Once again our "White Out" game is against Baylor and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

[Row6Seat10]

Congratulations OU. Robinson and Amanda Thompson played great. Maybe I'm crazy but Thompson reminds me of old KU great Lynn Pride the way she plays. Vonnie played inspired ball, it's too bad she had to play with foul trouble. Griffin has played great all season but didn't show up on this night. This was a good game to watch until the Huskers decided to not score and turn the ball over every other time down the court midway in the second half.

[Gator]

This is the FIRST OU home game I have missed in 5/6 years - sigh. At 5:30 it was raining/snowing and with temps heading down, I thought black ice was NOT what I wanted to deal with. TV is great if there is no alternative but ...

I was impressed with Nebraska - much too impressed from time to time:)

[CrimsonHelmet]

We have a way to go before we can be a contender in this league.


Uhh, you're one game out of first place........

[ChipperF1]

"Uhh, you're one game out of first place."

More performances like last night and we'll need a Hubble Telescope to see first place.

Nebraska is a contender? That's looks as phony as Mitt Romney right now.

[CrimsonHelmet]

I just think that every team (with the possible exception of Kansas) is still a contender at this point. Not a single conference team is a shining paragon of basketball excellence right now. Given the current circumstances, being one game back is not a bad place to be.

If the Huskers don't get better, then what you say is true, they will not contend. My point is, at this moment, the same can be said of every other team in the conference. Nebraska's in the same boat with everyone else, which means, for the moment, they too are contenders.

Who's going to improve, and who's going to regress?

[tx4OU]

The refs called it pretty tight tonight, but it was solid and consistent. I like the way the games was called

Tough to lose like this, but you don't win when you have opportunities and you kill yourself. 25 turnovers.

I love me some Danielle Robinson. D-Rob is the truth. I hope she keep working hard because she can play. An athletic kid who can make the plays...unlike Nebraska most athletic player, who reminded me of Griechaly Cepero out there, and that is not a complement.

We have a way to go before we can be a contender in this league. We saw that tonight, but we also saw that we are capable, but you have to capitalize.

"WE'VE GOT TO GET MORE OUT OF KELSEY!!!" THANK YOU CONNIE FOR CALLING HER OUT!


"We looked a little bit young.. This game reminded me of Chelsea and Kiera's freshman year..." -- Connie Yori...
This game wasn't nearly that bad, we were competitive tonight.

I like that Connie isn't making excuses. She sounds very disappointed in the outcome.

Aside from a few muggings down low, which is getting to be the norm, I agree with you Chip about the officiating. But I'm pretty bias, and to tell you the truth CP3 got away with a few, so I guess it evens out in the wash. I think Noah pointed out that rare chance at a 5 pt. play......I saw that, even the slow mo replay. AT leaped out to the side of Neals and into the OU bench to attempt to disrupt her shot. However, Neals did a good job of getting the official to call the foul, b/c in the replay AT barely brushed her. Still you can't give the officials an opportunity to make a call.

I didn't realize the Huskers had so many TOs, I guess I was too much focussed on our own. Aside from that, I was very impressed with NU's new faces in the guard positions. Looks like Connie's reloading instead of rebuilding finally. And Vonnie definitely gave us fits. I too was surprised with Griffin's disappearance. I didn't even notice her until she made a bucket in the middle of the 2nd half. Overall, I thought Nebraska played a tough game and made us earn it on our HOME floor.

I am so happy we are finally hitting our FTs. Aside from the Cowgirls game, we've been great against ISU and now NU. Hopefully we can come up from the black hole that is the NCAA's rankings of some 300 teams in FT%. aTm looms on the horizon, so we've got to be able to convert all of our opportunities we can get.

This game is just another example of how young we are. We look outstanding for a few minutes and then fall apart. There are moments of greatness, and then other times it looks like we have no rhythm to our game. Just a lack of time playing together. Since the Tenn. game I haven't really seen us play with intensity for a complete 40 mins. And that game wasn't what I'd call a complete game, b/c of the FTs. Yeah, I know I'm tough on 'em, but maybe not as tough as Chipper.;)

[ChipperF1]

"I too was surprised with Griffin's disappearance."

Kelsey has Kiera Hardy Syndrome. In a big game, she disappears.

Oklahoma's a young team, but man that talent! D-Rob impressed me last night, as did Plumley again. I don't know why Coach doesn't keep her in their as QB more often. She just has a better handle on it.

Overall, the Sooners where what we thought they were. I thought we'd win the day, but when you give opportunities away to a team with that much talent, they will cash them in and OU did. That is the difference between a contending team and a pretending team.
My lasses gave it an effort, but the gap between us and the contending class is this league is still somewhat wide (sorry Gene Rayburn, its the truth. ;))

The Sooner put bodies on us and played into our biggest weakness at the perimeter. We have player who cannot handle the basketball playing in spot where handling is a must-have. Tay Hester is such an athlete, but her basketball skills are really subpar. She's about the worst basketball playing athlete I've seen since Griechaly Cepero, and you have to work at being that bad. She has the athleticism to make plays, but she lacks the fine skills to do it consistently.

[Matt Coatney]

I'm not trying to make any excuses for Kelsey, but I'd ask everyone to cut her a little slack. Her father started treatments for cancer yesterday and she was playing with a very, very heavy heart. Do want you want, but right now the entire Griffin family could use some thoughts and prayers.

Matt

[tx4OU]

I'm not trying to make any excuses for Kelsey, but I'd ask everyone to cut her a little slack. Her father started treatments for cancer yesterday and she was playing with a very, very heavy heart. Do want you want, but right now the entire Griffin family could use some thoughts and prayers.

Matt

Thanks Matt for letting us know this. My comment was in response to Chipper's as I truly didn't notice her until she hit that 2nd half shot. I can't imagine having to go on and play a competitive basketball game when a family member is in a medical situation as you've just described. For some it could be an outlet, but I think that's the exception.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her dad, and the rest of her family.

[Matt Coatney]

I don't usually post in response to disagreeing with an opinion, but I have no idea how ANYONE can say a proven first-team All Big 12 player who led her team to their first NCAA Tournament in seven years who has played all year with a cracked rib wearing saran wrap mummy tape and a flak jacket, who had to get a shot before our first few games just to be able to play, and who told her coach at 4:30 before a 7 p.m. opener against UTEP, after not practicing all week, that she could go play and had a huge game, has taken 13 charges with a cracked rib and the only reason she didn't play 4 games was because of a coach making her sit, can be called out for not showing up.

Further, she had a huge game against OU last time, so obviously Oklahoma game-planned to make sure that didn't happen again. I don't know. If I'm an opposing coach, and every opposing coach game plans to stop her, and I have the Paris twins and Amanda Thompson and my focus is taking Griffin away, and I'm at home with 8,000 fans behind me, I like my chances. That's without even talking about the kid being completely distraught over learning about her father's medical situation. This isn't a 35-year old pro player. This is a 20-year old college student who got back on a plane after the game for a mandatory one-hour study hall during the flight.

Give me a ballot for the toughest players in the league and five lines and I'll write in "Kelsey Griffin" five times.

[Dale8R]

You know, where this conversation is headed, and indeed a large part of what we say here at HoopScoop is what we used to call "tavern talk", so named because in our community, the tavern was the meeting place for people of all ages after all the ball games. People tossed their opinions, good, bad or ridiculous, out into the air for everyone to hear.

Now a large percentage of those opinions went nowhere in particular. Some people might not be listening to a certain person's game analysis or might just dismiss what that person had to say as being of no value. Perhaps they were across the room and failed to hear it completely. So any one person's audience was necessarily small in relationship to the total people in the tavern.

But even more importantly, what was said rarely left the room. After people drifted off to their homes and the doors were shut and locked, the intelligent conversations, the heated debates, the mindless drivel were all put aside. Of course, everything would gear up again after the next ball game,

Here we have a different phenomenon. What we say, whether informed or some of that mindless drivel, can be read the next day by whoever happens by and opens a particular thread. Did I say next day? What about next year or several years down the line? What we say, unless of the most vile nature, is left for anyone to read who chooses to do so for as long as the site lasts. (Which we all hope is a really, really long time!)

So if we say something to the effect that Abigail Brownley has a crap game or that she had a less than stellar night trying to guard the opposing star who managed to light up the board for say 37 points and 16 rebounds, then that opinion stays here for all to see, including Abigail herself, or perhaps her parents.

If Abigail is having trouble with her grades, we say it. If she was out partying night before last, we say it. We say it even when we heard she was doing it and it turns out to be false. One of our recent threads had some rather definite pronouncements before all the facts were known. It's the way we talk in the tavern, in other words. It's just that in the tavern, those words drift away and are rarely heard again.

Now we are way better than most boards out there. We all know that and pride ourselves on how clean we manage to keep it. In the last few days, I happened to go to a few volleyball places to see what was being said about a certain topic. Well, you never saw such a gabble of wild opinions, body slams and unsubstantiated rumors in among the informed comments in your life.

That doesn't mean we can't do a better job of self-policing what we have to say before we say it. I am a contributor to another site with a vastly different purpose and every now and then I have a really fiery retort in mind to answer what I feel is a truly ridiculous opinion. So I type it all out and after I have my say, it lays there and then in the next day or so, I dump it in the trash. Then I write a more thoughtful response or perhaps just leave it alone. Some things aren't worth responding to. Rarely do I hit anyone as hard as my first draft would indicate.

I can see that I have gotten well off the track and have taken up a lot of your time if you are still reading, that is.

I guess what I am saying is, we should know our facts and be kind. Even when we have a negative to say, find a gentle way to say it. To paraphrase what Matt said, these are kids, consider their feelings when we talk about them.

[TTU79]

Dale 8R, That is the best post I have read in ages!. Thank you.

[BearLady]

we should know our facts and be kind. Even when we have a negative to say, find a gentle way to say it. To paraphrase what Matt said, these are kids, consider their feelings when we talk about them.

Dale, I did read all the way to the end of your comments, and there I found a most important few words. Once again, thank you for your kind way of reminding us of the importance of choosing our words carefully.

Many of us could sure stand to gain from more additional words of wisdom like these.

As for Kelsey, I have to admit that I hadn't followed her play this year that closely earlier. But during the first coaches' teleconference, I recall Coach Y mentioning that they had held her out of a few games in an effort to finally get her some rest and hope that would help her heal better overall. I still didn't know the nature of her injury, though, until probably last week-end.

I can't even imagine trying to play any collegiate sport with cracked ribs, much less one which is as strenuous as wcbb. And then today I read about her dad, thanks to Matt's posting.

Enough said, imo.

[ChipperF1]

To Kelsey Griffin's Dad: Kick Cancer's Butt! Don't give up! Don't ever give up! Husker Nation is praying for you and with you!

To Kelsey: We're praying for you and your dad. The best medicine you can give him? KEEP PUTTING THE NUMBERS ON THE BOARD! Matt Coatney saying 'Kelsey Griffin for two GOOD!' is the strongest chemo in the world.

Now Mr. Coatney, I respectfully disagree with you and I'm going to tell you why.

"but I have no idea how ANYONE can say a proven first-team All Big 12 player who led her team to their first NCAA Tournament in seven years who has played all year with a cracked rib wearing saran wrap mummy tape and a flak jacket, who had to get a shot before our first few games just to be able to play, and who told her coach at 4:30 before a 7 p.m. opener against UTEP, after not practicing all week, that she could go play and had a huge game, has taken 13 charges with a cracked rib and the only reason she didn't play 4 games was because of a coach making her sit, can be called out for not showing up.

Okay Coats...First, I don't think anybody questions Griffin's heart. I certainly don't. But the UTEP story isn't germain to the contention here. Against Oklahoma, Griffin didn't perform to "All Big 12" standard. No amount of excuses changes that fact. Their "First All Big 12" players made plays, our didn't make nearly as many. Bruised ribs, spare ribs or prime rib, when your are out of that floor you have the bring the goods. This particular night, Kelsey Griffin didn't do that and at times in some meaty games, she's brings less than her "A" game.

Granted she did make All Big 12 last season and did lead Nebraska to an NCAA tournament last season...But the key is that's last season... And to be fair and balanced...how did that NCAA tournament game work for us? Last I saw it was Lady Comfort owning the Nebraska center wearing #23 down the stretch and leading her team to a win.

"If I'm an opposing coach, and every opposing coach game plans to stop her, and I have the Paris twins and Amanda Thompson and my focus is taking Griffin away, and I'm at home with 8,000 fans behind me, I like my chances. That's without even talking about the kid being completely distraught over learning about her father's medical situation. This isn't a 35-year old pro player. This is a 20-year old college student who got back on a plane after the game for a mandatory one-hour study hall during the flight.

Again, Coats. This sounds like an excuse. Expecially the matter of her father's situation. Now before anybody decides to call me a "prick", I will say that what Kelsey's going through is something that would be hard for anybody, whether they are a 35-year-old pro or a 12-year-old Saturday morning player at the "Y". Nothing is more precious than family. Nothing is more precious than life. What her dad is dealing with rates much higher than a ballgame. From someone who had to deal with a lot more real life in the last few months than I've ever dealt with in my life, I can relate.

However, when a player walks on that floor, IT'S GAME ON! There's nothing in the official scorebook that says, Not performing 100% due to father going in for chemo. The scorebook reads points, assists, rebounds, fouls, steals, block..and ultimate it read win or lose.
When it comes down to it, no excuses offered, none accepted. When #23 walks on that floor, the message is, "I am on deck, nominal and ready to do my job."

Now about having a subpar performance: Matt, Coach Yori said it on your post-game show...

And I quote. "We needed more from Kelsey Griffin."

Now if I perhaps heard it in a different context than was actually there, I stand corrected. But I heard it all and that came from Connie Yori's mouth. Granted it does mirror a number of times I've seen Griffin defer when she needs to attack. But that's my opinion. I may be wrong and at least 50%.

Now I understand where Coats is coming from. He sees the team with a different emotional attachment. I disagree with him but I'm not saying he's wrong because he's not wrong in the sense that sometimes "straight no chaser" can come across cold, especially given the additional info. I agree, at times, you have to temper fandom with some mercy. I know, I don't always do it as well...Be patient with me. God isn't through with me, yet.

However, that other side of this is just as valid. If you are on the floor you be judged on performance regardless of what else is going on. You can't fault fans for that nor should a player be automatically given a pass for that if they don't play well. Cut some slack? absolutely...But not too much.

[Jimi]

I have agreed and disagreed with Chipper for years. I knew he would respond and give thought to his response. I will say two things about ChipperF1.

He is consistent. He does not like excuses from anyone at anytime. You and I might think there is a big difference between a reason and an excuse. Chipper may too, but there are a lot of things I might think fall into the "reason" category Chipper is going to think is an excuse. He applies that to his team, my team, anybodies team, and anyone.

Second, he cares about people and he particularly cares about players who put it all on the line. He likes to tell it as he sees it but it is not his intent to hurt anyone.

The results are what they are and that is one of the beauties of sport. I like that Matt is defending his player. I think he is right to do so. I hope everyone, particularly those that are close to Kelsey can also understand that ChipperF1 does not bother to be critical about a team or a person he does not care about. We can all be good fans who love our sport and the players and still see things differently. In my view this is one of those cases.

[BearLady]

Chipper . . .

Give it a rest!

I/we don't need a long explanation. Just please give Kelsey some due time.

[Bball Girl]

Matt, Dale, Chipper and Jim - y'all made wonderful points - all of you.

I come back to this. There's a huge difference between reality and an excuse. What someone should do vs. what they can do at that moment in time. It may be your expectation, but it's their life. They don't live to meet your (or my) expectation. That's not living - that's jumping through someone else's hoop.

I am on deck, nominal and ready to do my job.
I get that - I was a professional trainer during a time when Dad went through cancer and heart surgery - times when I was feeling ill. I had to put that aside, get on deck and do my job.
Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. But it did NOT MEAN that I did not give my all.

These are human beings - not robots that just turn on the basketball player and turn off the daughter.

I don't consider that an excuse - it's life. Life is more than a basketball court - and I know that Chipper knows that. I know he cares and we all care about this kids as people first and basketball players second.

I saw Kelsey play in Dallas when she was so sick - that most people would be in bed - I would. Watching her play was painful. That's a kid that was giving everything she had to give.

Maybe Kelsey gave EVERYTHING she had to give during this game. Sometimes that has to be enough.

Does it meet her own expectations - possibly not. Does it meet Chipper's expectations? No.

But if she wants to be a sane person, she'll learn that sometimes you give everything you have knowing it isn't enough. You don't bang on yourself about it. You just lace them up, get on deck and take on the next game.

[Matt Coatney]

Here's my real problem with what Chipper said originally:
Kelsey has Kiera Hardy Syndrome. In a big game, she disappears.


OK, that's a pretty blanket statement. Let's look at some facts:

Did she disapper against #13 Baylor last year when she held Bernice Mosby to a season-low 3 on national tv? Kelsey had 23 points and 13 rebounds in a 76-67 Nebraska win. That was a big game.

Did she disappear the previous game against Iowa State when she had 15 points when Hardy missed seven threes? Huskers won by 13 in a big North Division game.

Did she disapper in last year's OU game when she went for 22 points 8 rebounds at home in a tough 77-69 loss? That was a big game.

How about her 15 point 13 rebound effort to beat Florida on their home floor last year to give Nebraska their first ever tournament title since 1996? Florida hadn't lost their own tournament in over 10 years. That was a big game.

Maybe most importantly, when Nebraska was on the ropes on the road in the altitude at Wyoming in the postseason in the WNIT two years ago, she got a rebound late and beat the other nine players down the floor to finsih a layup in transition and got fouled. Did I mention she was battling illness then and could barely breathe? She was sick as a dog and beat every other healthly player down the floor. She almost single-handedly willed the Huskers to a win. A road win in the postseason in front of the largest crowd your opponent has ever had is a big game.

To make a blanket statement "In a big game, she disappers" is ridiculous. You want to criticize her for the OU game because Connie said on the post-game show "We've got to get more out of Kelsey Griffin", then be fair in noting she had a poor game against Oklahoma, but don't make it sound like this happens continually.

As far as this year, this kid has played the whole year with a cracked rib, has taken 13 charges and still is second on the team in scoring and rebounding and came up big against every team we've played up to this point. The kid took three charges against CSB and could not sleep the next night. To say she "disappers" in big games is absurd.

The statement is also pretty degrading to a wonderful young lady and a great player in Kiera Hardy who won many big games in her career at Nebraska (i.e. 37 against the eventual National Champions).

[ChipperF1]

"Ridiculous"? Hmm. Lets take a lot at some facts.

"Did she disapper against #13 Baylor last year when she held Bernice Mosby to a season-low 3 on national tv? Kelsey had 23 points and 13 rebounds in a 76-67 Nebraska win. That was a big game.

Lady Comfort puts up key buckets late, past Griffin as Temple comes back to end Nebraska's season in the NCAA tournament. A loss that ended a stretch of six losses in the final seven games...Mr. Coatney, that's a pretty big game, too.

"Did she disapper in last year's OU game when she went for 22 points 8 rebounds at home in a tough 77-69 loss? That was a big game.

She didn't disappear there...but notice...we didn't win either.

"How about her 15 point 13 rebound effort to beat Florida on their home floor last year to give Nebraska their first ever tournament title since 1996? Florida hadn't lost their own tournament in over 10 years. That was a big game.

The last place team in the SEC vs. a team with serious NCAA aspirations.

"Maybe most importantly, when Nebraska was on the ropes on the road in the altitude at Wyoming in the postseason in the WNIT two years ago, she got a rebound late and beat the other nine players down the floor to finsih a layup in transition and got fouled. Did I mention she was battling illness then and could barely breathe? She was sick as a dog and beat every other healthly player down the floor. She almost single-handedly willed the Huskers to a win. A road win in the postseason in front of the largest crowd your opponent has ever had is a big game.

Go back to my post game on that contest. and you'll notice I give a lot of credit to the team and Griffin in particular. She was nails that night...but more recently...too many plays she didn't make in some meatier games than the WNIT.

"To make a blanket statement "In a big game, she disappers" is ridiculous. You want to criticize her for the OU game because Connie said on the post-game show "We've got to get more out of Kelsey Griffin", then be fair in noting she had a poor game against Oklahoma, but don't make it sound like this happens continually.

And again, look back at the last third of last season. I'm not saying she's not a serious player..But Kelsey Griffin now has to start being the straw that stirs the drink and in some of the money games. She's not doing it.
Wednesday night was a money game, much like Temple and Iowa State last year. That's not discounting the charges at Cal State Bakersfield, or the fact that she's got out there and plays hard with cracked ribs. Contrary to your belief, I think Kelsey can be an All-American, but to get to that level its not just about putting up numbers. When you need the plays against the teams that are a level above, she has to make those plays happen.


"The statement is also pretty degrading to a wonderful young lady and a great player in Kiera Hardy who won many big games in her career at Nebraska (i.e. 37 against the eventual National Champions).

Kiera Hardy? Wonderful kid. Absolutely.
Good Player? Yep. Very Good Player? You can say it.
Great Player? No.
37 points to beat Baylor...followed by 5-for-27 against KSU. Disappeared against Iowa State...mid-season losing streak...team fails to make NCAA tournament...Fumbles the game away in WNIT opener.

Kiera Hardy had the ball in her hand with a chance to win the game in the final possession four times in her senior year.

Texas A&M -- Clank. Nebraska loses.
Oklahoma State -- Clank. Nebraska loses.
Iowa State/Big 12 Tournament -- Clank. Nebraska loses.
Temple/NCAA Tournament -- Clank. Nebraska loses.


In any case. I agree to disagree. Punish Iowa State Saturday night and keep this Big Red Train a' movin' :)

[Matt Coatney]

Kiera Hits six three's against Oklahoma State and a layup at the buzzer. Nebraska wins.

Kiera hits big shots late at Texas. Nebraska wins in Austin for the first time ever.

Kiera hits big shots at Colorado. Nebraska wins there for the first time in 21 years.

Nebraska gets to the first NCAA Tournament in seven years with Kiera Hardy.

Temple puts four people on Hardy on the last play of the game and she misses. C'mon.

Kiera is the fourth all-time leading scorer in school history. Sometimes I don't know about you man.

[Noah121]

Yes indeed... it's always finding examples and counterexamples. I guess I won't try to get in on this one.

Unfortunately, basketball is certainly one of those "Any given _____day" (not necessarily just Saturday for those football fans) games given that there are so many games in the season. The off-the court factors do tend to sometimes create some sort of effect on the court, whether it be illness, family issues, academic issues, etc.