Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie is growing weary of people expecting the Blue Devils to roll over teams in the NCAA tournament.

”We don’t want to be pretty, we want to advance,” McCallie said after the Blue Devils struggled offensively but used a solid defensive effort for a 53-45 victory over Nebraska in the Norfolk Regional of the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday.

”We want to advance. We want to find a way to keep going,” McCallie said.

Duke will play top-seeded Notre Dame on Tuesday night for a berth in the Final Four.

Tricia Liston had 17 points and eight rebounds and Alexis Jones had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Blue Devils shook off another slow start by using a 12-0 run to take the lead by halftime and then hang on with their defense.

”Somebody mentioned that we haven’t played a great game yet,”’ McCallie said. ”It’s about time we do. I’m kind of looking forward to that. We’ve had to gut some things out, handle some things differently.”

The Cornhuskers (25-9), in the round of 16 for just the second time in school history, shot 30.3 percent and hit just 3 of 24 3-point tries.

Nebraska arrived averaging 6.4 3-pointers and made eight last week in stunning Texas A&M on its home floor.

Duke also trailed Oklahoma State by 13 at halftime last week on its home floor before rallying.

”It can be frustrating at times,” Liston said of the offensive struggles, which have been made worse by the loss of All-American Chelsea Gray to a dislocated kneecap 10 games ago. ”That’s where our defense can come in.”

Duke’s Elizabeth Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but missed 10 of her 15 shots as Duke made just 21 of 64 shots, 32.8 percent, and 4 of 16 3-pointers.

Lindsey Moore led the Cornhuskers with 11 points, but on 5 of 18 shooting. Nebraska’s leading scorer, Jordan Hooper, who averages 18.2 points, left with an ankle injury with 8 minutes left and scored just six points, missing 11 of her 14 shots.

”Obviously we struggled,” said Moore, a part of both round of 16 teams in Nebraska history. ”I think we’re a better shooting team than we showed. … We just had to keep shooting them and hope they would start dropping for us.”

Moore said Duke also confused the Cornhuskers by continually switching defensive looks.

”I hope it was confusing because we’re trying to be confusing,” McCallie said.

Hooper hit a foul-line jumper 30 seconds into the second half, sparking an 8-4 run that got them within 27-26, but Duke responded with a 13-4 run. Liston started it with a 3-pointer, and Haley Peters and Richa Jackson each scored four in the run.

Moore’s basket in the lane got the Cornhuskers within 44-38 with 3:53 to play, but Jones and Peters converted Nebraska turnovers with inside baskets.

After Katie Simon scored for Nebraska, two free throws each by Liston and Jones extended the lead to 51-40 with 1:04 left.

Duke made just four of its first 20 shots and trailed Nebraska 18-11 before turning it around. The Blue Devils outscored the Cornhuskers 12-0 in the last 5:46 of the half, with Jones scoring seven.

— Associated Press —

Jordan Hooper scored 21 points and Lindsey Moore had 20 points and 10 assists to lead Nebraska to a 74-63 win over Texas A&M on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The sixth-seeded Cornhuskers used two big runs in the first half to build the lead and never trailed in the second half to earn their first trip to the round of 16 since 2010. Nebraska will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between second-seeded Duke and No. 7 Oklahoma State in the regional semifinals Sunday.

Nebraska (25-8) led by 16 before a 13-4 run pulled the Aggies within 64-57 with less than 3 minutes remaining. But Hailie Sample made a pair of layups before the Cornhuskers added six free throws to hold on.

Third-seeded Texas A&M (25-10), which won the national title in 2011, was led by Adrienne Pratcher’s 17 points. The loss keeps the Aggies from making the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.

During A&M’s late run, Courtney Walker scored the first four points and freshman Jordan Jones took over after that, scoring nine straight points. She made consecutive 3-pointers before swiping the ball from Moore and hitting an off-balance layup. She was fouled on the play and knocked down the free throw.

But just as they had earlier in the quarter, Nebraska shut down A&M’s rally attempt.

Moore and Hooper proved to be a potent combination in this one, and they combined for five 3-pointers. Hooper also had eight rebounds, three steals and a block, and Moore had six rebounds and a steal.

Sample was the only other Cornhusker in double figures with 10 points, and she led the team with 11 rebounds.

The Cornhuskers were helped by almost perfect free throw shooting, where they made 14 of 15. A&M got to the line only twice and made one of those shots.

It looked as though the Aggies were finally gaining some momentum when they scored four quick points to cut the lead to 10 with about 15 minutes left. But two minutes later they were down 56-40 after 3-pointers by Hooper and Moore.

Hooper made a 3-pointer under heavy pressure before Moore missed a 3-point attempt. Sample grabbed the rebound and kicked it back out to Moore, who remained in the same spot of the miss, and this time she knocked it down.

Texas A&M’s 6-foot-4 star Kelsey Bone didn’t get into foul trouble like she did in the team’s opening round game, but she was still held below her 16.7 point average by finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. It could be the junior’s last game at A&M as she contemplates leaving school early for the WNBA draft.

Jones finished with 12 points for the Aggies and Williams added 11.

The Aggies led 14-6 early after a run which included consecutive 3-pointers by Bone and Williams. Nebraska then scored the next seven points as the beginning of a 19-2 spurt that put the Cornhuskers up 25-16 with eight minutes left in the first half. Hooper had eight points with two 3-pointers in that span for Nebraska.

She had 12 points at halftime after managing just three points in the first half of Nebraska’s first-round win over Chattanooga on Saturday.

Texas A&M soon answered that run by Nebraska with a 12-5 run powered by seven points from Pratcher to get within 32-30. Jones was also key in that run by knocking down a 3-pointer and grabbing a rebound.

Nebraska closed out the first half by outscoring A&M 11-2 to take a 43-32 lead into halftime. Rachel Theriot made a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left and hit a jump shot as time expired in the first half to extend the lead.

It was the first meeting between these former Big 12 foes since an 84-49 victory by A&M in 2011.

— Associated Press —

Brett Hundley passed for 305 yards and four touchdowns in an outstanding Rose Bowl debut, Datone Jones sacked Taylor Martinez for a tiebreaking safety with 8:44 to play, and UCLA surprised No. 17 Nebraska 36-30 Saturday night.

Johnathan Franklin rushed for 217 yards and caught an 8-yard TD pass with 2:13 to play for the Bruins, who improved to 2-0 under new coach Jim Mora with an impressive offensive performance against the Cornhuskers (1-1).

Joseph Fauria caught two TD passes and Steven Manfro grabbed another from Hundley, the redshirt freshman who went 21 for 31 and coolly led the Bruins to 653 total yards.

After Jones’ ferocious sack put the Bruins ahead in a defense-dominated second half, Andrew Abbott intercepted a long pass by Martinez and returned it to the Nebraska 16, setting up Franklin’s TD catch.

Martinez passed for 179 yards and made a 92-yard TD run in his return to his native Southern California.

Ameer Abdullah rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskers, who struggled on both sides of the ball in the second half.

Martinez went 17 for 31, but just 4 for 14 after halftime on the field where the Corona, Calif., native always imagined playing for the Bruins, who only recruited him as a safety and never offered him a scholarship.

After a tentative third quarter for both teams, UCLA got a break when Jones somehow was left unblocked on Nebraska’s first snap after a punt from its own 5, emphatically sacking Martinez. Franklin broke a 54-yard run moments later for the Bruins, but they missed a field goal with 6:49 left.

After Abbott’s interception on a poorly thrown ball and Franklin’s TD, Brett Maher’s third field goal pulled the Huskers within 36-30 with 1:38 left. But UCLA recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock on just its second win over Nebraska in eight meetings since 1973.

The Bruins were undeniably impressive in the home debut of Mora, the veteran NFL coach who took over for Rick Neuheisel last winter after four mostly dismal seasons. Mora arrived with no significant college experience, but the former Falcons and Seahawks coach immediately energized UCLA by hiring a strong staff and landing an impressive recruiting class.

With this effort against a perennial national power, the excitement in Westwood will only grow.

UCLA has topped 640 yards of offense in each of its first two games under new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, the former Arizona State coordinator. Hundley, who rushed for a 72-yard TD on his first collegiate snap last week, repeatedly targeted Fauria, his 6-foot-7 tight end, and hit freshman Devin Lucien three times for 70 yards.

Blue-clad Bruins fans might have barely outnumbered an enormous contingent of red-wearing Huskers supporters who filled the Rose Bowl parking lots hours before kickoff and raised chants of ”Go Big Red!” in the stadium. Eight Nebraska players are from Southern California.

Nebraska made its first visit to the Rose Bowl since losing the 2002 BCS title game to Miami, and the Huskers came into Pasadena hoping to return on New Year’s Day as the Big Ten’s representative.

Both offenses moved easily in the 24-24 first half, combining for 705 yards. Manfro’s 49-yard TD catch-and-run put the Bruins ahead late, but Maher’s 54-yard field goal at the gun evened the halftime score at 24.

Both teams made significant mistakes in the third quarter, with Nebraska fumbling on its first play and UCLA later failing on a fake field goal from 37 yards. When Hundley left the game for a few plays to get his right ankle re-taped, the Bruins had to settle for a field goal inside the Nebraska 5.

The Huskers didn’t convert a third down until the first play of the fourth quarter, but Maher barely missed a go-ahead, 37-yard field goal with 12:12 to play.

— Associated Press —

Taylor Martinez saw immediate results from all the offseason work he did to improve his passing.

Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and matched his high with five touchdown passes to lead No. 17 Nebraska to a 49-20 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday.

“We’ve been practicing all along like that, against our defense, so we knew as an offense that our offense is really good,” Martinez said. “We’ve got to be able to keep that momentum going. I don’t think no one could stop us if we keep going like that. We have so many dynamic athletes out there.”

Martinez, in his third year as the starter, might be the most dynamic of them all if he keeps passing like he did against the Golden Eagles.

The junior always has been a running threat. The knock against him has been his inconsistency as a passer.

The past two years fans and media harangued Martinez for an unconventional motion that often had him throwing off his back foot and wildly off the mark.

“I think for a while I was probably his only friend,” offensive coordinator Tim Beck told reporters.

Why?

“Just how he gets criticized all the time. Today he’ll be up for the Heisman. Tomorrow you guys will want to…,” Beck said, not finishing his thought.

The last time Southern Miss came to Lincoln (2004), the Eagles left with a 21-17 victory. Any threat of an upset was gone by halftime.

The Huskers won their nation-leading 27th straight opener. Nebraska has scored 40 or more points in seven openers in a row, and all but one of the wins during their streak have been by double digits.

First-year Southern Miss coach Ellis Johnson said Martinez wasn’t the biggest factor in the game.

“The biggest thing was they man-handled us on the line,” Johnson said. “I thought that was obvious the whole game. The thing they did well was their tempo. They run a power offense with a tempo, which is unusual, and we didn’t have the ability to keep up with them a couple of times.”

Southern Miss backup quarterback Anthony Alford carried 15 times for 84 yards in his first college game.

The Golden Eagles scored their first touchdown on Tracy Lampley’s 100-yard kickoff return. They tied it 14-14 on first-time starter Chris Campbell’s 24-yard pass to Dominique Sullivan.

Nebraska’s go-ahead TD came on Martinez’s 9-yard pass to Jake Long early in the second quarter.

The only damper for Nebraska was an injury to Rex Burkhead. Nebraska played the last three quarters without the 1,300-yard rusher last season. He went out with a sprained ligament in his left knee after opening the scoring with a career-long 57-yard run.

Coach Bo Pelini said Burkhead was “day-to-day, week-to-week.”

Burkhead’s backup, Ameer Abdullah, ran 15 times for 81 yards and made an acrobatic catch for an 11-yard TD.

Beck had said throughout fall camp that all signs pointed to his charges being more comfortable in the second year of his spread-option system.

The Huskers looked comfortable and confident early, not to mention dominant. They amassed 205 yards on their first three series with a 50-50 run-pass mix and finished with 632, the most since Pelini took over as coach in 2008.

Martinez had starred as a runner in his previous two openers, combining for 262 yards and six touchdowns on 26 carries.

It was all about his passing this time.

He said last month that his goal was to complete 70 percent of his attempts this season. He went out and hit on 26 of 34 (76 percent).

He completed five straight short passes to start, then missed on a throw to Kenny Bell that Deron Wilson nearly intercepted. That was one of Martinez’s few mistakes. In fact, he lofted a beauty of a pass to Bell for a touchdown on the next play.

“It’s what I expected from Taylor,” Pelini said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of good things. I thought, to be efficient, he’s got to handle the offense well. I thought he directed things very well. He got us out of some bad plays and into some right plays.”

Martinez promised Beck after last season that he would dedicate himself to becoming a better passer.

He hired a personal quarterback coach in the spring and summer and attended the Manning camp in July.

Against Southern Miss, he went through his progressions, set his feet and threw with new-found zip.

Martinez said he couldn’t tell if his mechanics were perfect.

“I haven’t watched film yet,” he said, “so I’m not real sure. But I was really comfortable.”

Was it a statement game after all the heat he has taken from fans and media?

“I guess if you guys want to say that,” he said.

Receiver Jamal Turner said he’s sure Martinez was driven to prove the doubters wrong.

“I’m sure he feels good about his performance, to kind of hush some of his critics,” Turner said. “I’m sure he pays attention. Nobody wants to be talked about and criticized about not being able to throw the ball. I’m sure it gets to him a little bit. That’s the drive you need to go out and fix it and get better.”

— Associated Press —

Nebraska I-back Rex Burkhead received preseason recognition honor on Monday, as the senior was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List on Monday.

Burkhead is one of 65 players on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, which has been presented to the nation’s outstanding football player since 1937.  Burkhead earned All-Big Ten honors, rushing for 1,357 yards and accounting for 17 touchdowns in 2011. He totaled seven 100-yard rushing efforts as a junior while ranking third in the Big Ten with 104.4 rushing yards per game.

Burkhead, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior from Plano Texas, had a Nebraska record 38 rushing attempts for 160 yards in the regular season finale victory over Iowa. He also racked up 35 carries in a win over Michigan State and had a career-high 170 rushing yards at Wyoming. Burkhead’s 284 carries in 2011 were just two shy of the season record of 286 by Lawrence Phillips in 1994. Burkhead also showed his receiving ability with 21 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

A three-year performer for the Huskers, he enters his senior year ranked 12th on Nebraska’s career rushing chart with 2,654 yards and could make a strong push to finish in the top five with a strong 2012 campaign.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced October 29, and the three finalists for each award will be unveiled November 19. The winners of the 2011 Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show held on December 6.

— NU Sports Information —

Nebraska senior linebacker Lavonte David has joined elite company in Cornhusker history, being named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association on Monday.

The 6-1, 225-pound David has led Nebraska in tackles the past two seasons and become one of the top five tacklers in school history despite playing just two seasons as a Husker. David is the 96th first-team All-American in Nebraska history, and when including 14 two-time selections, David gives Nebraska 110 all-time first-team All-America picks.

David is joined at linebacker by Georgia sophomore Jarvis Jones and Alabama junior Dont’a Hightower. David is one of six Big Ten players named to the AFCA All-America team and gives Nebraska an AFCA first-team selection for the third consecutive year, joining Ndamukong Suh in 2009 and Prince Amukamara in 2010. Overall, Nebraska has had a total of 46 players earn 51 overall first-team AFCA All-America honors.

A finalist for the Butkus Award and the winner of Big Ten Linebacker-of-the-Year honors, David finished the regular season with a team-leading 122 tackles. He had five games with double-figure tackle totals, including four in Big Ten play. David also led Nebraska with two interceptions, two fumbles caused, two fumble recoveries and 11 tackles for loss, while ranking second on the team with 3.5 sacks.

David has led Nebraska in tackles seven times in 2011, and 14 times in 26 career games at Nebraska. His 274 career tackles are fifth in school history, while his 122 tackles this season rank 10th on NU’s single-season list. Last season, David registered a school-record 152 tackles and was a second-team All-America pick by the Associated Press.

— NU Sports Information —

Nebraska’s Rex Burkhead hurt so good after running over and around Iowa.

Burkhead started the week with his right foot in a walking boot and finished it by running for 160 yards and a touchdown on a school-record 38 carries in Nebraska’s 20-7 victory Friday.

“A little sore — definitely a little sore,” Burkhead said afterward. “It feels good. It was a great win. To see the seniors go out in that fashion. That’s the best thing.”

Burkhead pounded away at Iowa’s defense 4 or 5 yards at a time and looked like his old self after being held to a season-low 36 yards in last week’s loss at Michigan.

After quarterback Taylor Martinez tweaked his left ankle on a first-quarter run, offensive coordinator Tim Beck told Burkhead that he would be the main man.

“Whatever coach Beck wanted to do, whatever the team needed to do — pound the rock and throw passes when we needed to,” Burkhead said.

The win kept alive Nebraska’s hopes of landing a berth in the Capital One Bowl, if two Big Ten teams are invited to BCS games, or the Outback Bowl.

Nebraska (9-3, 5-3) has nine or more wins in each of Pelini’s four seasons and for the 38th time in 42 seasons.

“Every now and then you guys might be a little critical of us,” safety Austin Cassidy told reporters, “but nine wins, that’s a dang good season no matter how you cut it. It’s tough to come in week in and week out and bring it every week. We wanted to win the Big Ten. We want to win every game. When we’re old and reflecting on the season, nine wins is something we’re going to be proud of.”

Iowa (7-5, 4-4) could slip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl or TicketCity Bowl.

Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said Nebraska never allowed his team to establish an offensive rhythm.

“They played a game you would script out if you were them,” he said. “We weren’t up to the challenge today.”

With Nebraska (No. 21 BCS, No. 22 AP) having joined the Big Ten this year, Friday’s game was long touted as the start of a natural rivalry. Iowa is Nebraska’s closest Big Ten opponent, and the farm states split by the Missouri River share a passion for football.

The universities further billed it as the inaugural “Heroes Game” and honored “citizen heroes” from each state at halftime.

What happened on the field bore little resemblance to those big Thanksgiving week games Nebraska used to play against Oklahoma and even a few against Colorado.

The Huskers were in full control all afternoon, with Burkhead helping the Huskers to a 16-minute advantage in time of possession.

“I don’t think fatigue was a factor,” Iowa linebacker James Morris said. “There were times we were able to get off the field. Then there were times when they had prolonged drives. That’s football, but that’s also a failure on our part.”

Burkhead ran on nine of 15 plays of an 80-yard drive that produced the Huskers’ first touchdown in the second quarter and put Nebraska up 10-0 at half. His 2-yard run around right end converted a fourth-and-1 inside the Iowa 30, and six plays later Kyler Reed scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard pass from Taylor Martinez.

“It was a huge drive for us,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “Not only did it give us great momentum going into the half, it gave us a two-score lead. That’s why I went for it on fourth down. I thought it could be a statement drive for us and real big going into the half. We executed right down the field.”

Burkhead had eight carries for 39 yards on a 10-play drive that ended with his 2-yard run and a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Burkhead went over 100 yards for the seventh time this season, and his 38 carries were one more than Cory Ross had in the 2003 Alamo Bowl against Michigan State.

Nebraska’s coaching staff got Burkhead the record on the second-to-last play of the game when the Huskers were in victory formation. Burkhead took a knee for a 3-yard loss.

“I didn’t want to do it in that fashion,” Burkhead said. “The rest of the line said they wanted me to do it for them, so they could be a part of it. I said, ‘All right, I’ll do it for you guys.'”

Burkhead and Martinez were among several players aching after the game. Marcel Jones and Jermarcus Hardrick limped off the field, further depleting a banged-up offensive line, and defensive tackle Chase Rome played hurt.

“That was a group of warriors today,” Pelini said. “We’re a beat-up football team. We have a lot of guys that were hurt, a lot of guys that had to play a ton of snaps because of other guys being hurt. I appreciate what they did today. I think they showed a lot of character and showed the type of pride that makes the group in there a special group.”

Burkhead came out of the 45-17 loss at Michigan banged up, and he was limited in practice all week.

He started and finished strong, breaking a 14-yard run on the Huskers’ first play from scrimmage and then going for 8 and 6 yards. Ameer Abdullah spelled him, but never for more than two consecutive plays.

“He didn’t practice very much, and I wasn’t sure if he’d play or not,” Martinez said of Burkhead. “I’m glad he played.”

The Hawkeyes avoided getting shut out for the first time in 11 years when Marcus Coker, who had 87 yards, scored on a 2-yard run with 3:26 left.

Martinez was 12 of 22 for 163 yards, and Kenny Bell caught five balls for a season-high 93 yards.

Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard shut down Marvin McNutt, holding Iowa’s record-setting receiver to two catches for 1 yard through three quarters. McNutt finished with four catches for 29 yards.

“I’m a competitive guy, and they told me I was going against him,” Dennard said. “I was up for the challenge.”

— Associated Press —

Nebraska senior linebacker Lavonte David was one of eight players named a semifinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy on Wednesday. The Lott Trophy is presented annually to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year.

David was one of five linebackers on the list and one of two players from the Big Ten Conference, along with Ohio State defensive lineman John Simon. The Huskers boast a semifinalist for the award for the second time in three seasons, as Ndamukong Suh was a finalist in 2009.

A Miami native, David leads Nebraska with 88 tackles this season, after setting a school record with 152 tackles in 2010. David has also paced the Huskers this fall with seven tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He ranks in the top 25 nationally with an average of 9.78 tackles per game, including four games with at least 10 tackles this season. He has twice been named the Lott Trophy IMPACT Player of the Week this season, earning the honor against both Ohio State and Michigan State.

In his career, David’s 240 tackles are the most among two-year players in school history. He enters Saturday’s game at Penn State in 13th place on Nebraska’s career tackle chart, needing only nine tackles to move into the top 10. David’s career numbers also stack up well against his current peers, as his career average of 10.4 tackles per game ranks fourth nationally among all active players.

— NU Sports Information —