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Nebraska women roll to 87-69 home win over Penn State

riggertNebraskaLincoln – Jessica Shepard scored 20 points, Natalie Romeo added 19 and Anya Kalenta pitched in her first career double-double off the bench as Nebraska ran to an 87-69 women’s basketball win over Penn State on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Nebraska notched its seventh win in the last eight games to improve to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten, while Penn State slipped to 8-14 and 3-8 in the conference.

The Huskers, who trailed 17-15 after the first quarter, took control with a huge 23-10 edge in the second period to take a 38-27 lead to the locker room at the half. The Big Red continued to pull away with a 26-16 advantage in the third quarter, that included NU’s biggest lead of the game at 27 points.

Shepard notched her 13th 20-point game of the season by going 9-of-14 from the field while hitting both of her free throws. She added four points and four assists in 28 minutes of work.

Romeo continued her torrid shooting, knocking down 5-of-10 threes and both of her free throws to finish with 19 points. She added four rebounds of her own, while push her nation-leading three-point total to 78 on the season.

Kalenta, who had just six total points through the first 10 Big Ten games this season, tied her career high with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor while knocking down all four of her free throws. She added 11 boards, including six on the offensive end.

Despite the big numbers from Shepard, Romeo and Kalenta, senior point guard Rachel Theriot may have had the most dynamic night for the Big Red. Theriot posted the 10th double-digit assist game of her career by dropping 14 dimes, while adding nine points and eight rebounds. She hit 4-of-6 shots from the field, including a three, while adding two steals and one block in 30 minutes. She committed just one turnover.

With Theriot at the controls, Nebraska dished out 26 assists on 33 made baskets while shooting 50 percent (33-66) or better from the field for the 10th time this season. The Huskers knocked down 7-of-17 threes and connected on 14-of-16 free throws.

Nebraska dominated the glass against a big Penn State team, outrebounding the Lady Lions, 47-30. The Huskers also committed just eight turnovers in the game.

The Huskers got strong contributions up and down their roster. Junior center Allie Havers continued her solid play with eight points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Jasmine Cincore pitched in five points, a career-high-matching four rebounds and a career-high four assists.

Redshirt freshman Darrien Washington saw the most significant Big Ten action of her career by playing six minutes, including an appearance in the first quarter. The 6-2 Washington scored five points while grabbing a rebound and a block while hitting both of her shots from the field. Freshman Maddie Simon added four points, a rebound and an assist, as Nebraska reached 80 points on the scoreboard for the 11th time this season to complete a season series sweep of Penn State.

The Huskers held PSU to just 37.1 percent (23-62) shooting from the floor, but the Lady Lions did connect on 6-of-12 threes. They also hit 17-of-23 free throws and committed just six turnovers.

In a back-and-forth first quarter, Penn State took a 17-15 lead by scoring the final six points of the quarter after Nebraska had taken its biggest lead at 15-11. Romeo led the Huskers with five first-quarter points, while Shepard and Kalenta each added four points inside.

Khaliyah Mitchell, who entered the game averaging 9.8 points per game, had 10 in the first quarter to lead the Lady Lions. She finished the game with a team-high 16.

Nebraska answered quickly in the second quarter taking its biggest lead at 22-17 on a Theriot three with 7:10 left, but Penn State rallied to tie the score at 24. NU led 28-27 after a Lindsey Spann three with 2:51 left in the half. Spann finished the game with 14 points, including 4-of-6 three-point shooting.

The Huskers closed the half on a 10-0 run that included a pair of Romeo threes and two baskets from Shepard to take a 38-27 lead to the locker room. The Huskers hit 5-of-7 shots down the stretch to end the half to finish at 46.7 percent (14-30) from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. NU also hit all six of its first-half free throws. The Big Red won the rebounding battle, 23-16, in the half to offset a 5-2 disadvantage in first-half turnovers.

Penn State hit just 32.4 percent (11-34) of its first-half shots, including 3-of-7 threes. The Lady Lions were 2-of-3 at the free throw line.

Romeo led all first-half scorers with 13 points, while Shepard added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Kalenta came off the bench to score six points and grab five rebounds in the first half, while Theriot contributed five points and eight assists.

Nebraska continued to surge at the start of the second half, pushing the lead to 18 points at 47-29 off a Kyndal Clark three-pointer with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Penn State scored on the next possession, but Nebraska used a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 27 points (58-31) on a Kalenta jumper with 2:08 left in the quarter.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Super Bowl Sunday, when the Huskers travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana. Tip-off between Nebraska and the Hoosiers is set for 1 p.m.

— NU Athletics —

K-State’s Fritz signs contract extension through 2020

riggertKansasStateMANHATTAN, Kan. – Suzie Fritz, K-State volleyball’s winningest coach and leader of the program for the last decade-and-a-half, has signed a four-year contract extension, K-State Athletics Director John Currie has announced.

Fritz agreed to the extension through the 2020 season, which was approved by the K-State Athletics, Inc., Board of Directors and President Kirk Schulz. Fritz had one year remaining on her current five-year contract signed in 2012. Under the new deal, she will receive a base salary of $161,500 in 2016; $166,500 in 2017; $171,500 in 2018; $174,500 in 2019; and $177,500 in 2020.

“First, I would like to thank President Kirk Schulz and Athletics Director John Currie for their continued support of me, my staff and our program,” Fritz said. “Under their leadership, we have seen tremendous things happen at Kansas State University, and I am extremely proud to have the opportunity to be a part of their team. We place tremendous value on being part of the K-State Family and are very blessed to work at such an exceptional University within the wonderful community of Manhattan.”

Fritz, 43, is 295-168 (.637) in her 15-year head coaching career, all of which has been spent at K-State. The longest-tenured coach in program history has accumulated 158 of her 295 wins in Big 12 play, placing her fourth in league history in career conference wins.

“Being the volleyball coach at K-State is sincerely my dream job,” Fritz added. “During our time here we have coached and been a part of the lives of many extraordinary young women who have gone on to have impactful careers, which is an incredibly rewarding experience for us as coaches. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to have that role in addition to maintaining the wonderful relationships with our exceptional staff and administration. My family loves K-State and Manhattan, and we are thrilled to serve and represent both for many years to come.”

Originally from Clay Center, Kansas, Fritz has guided K-State to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four over the last five years. Since 2001, the Wildcats’ 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament are the second-most by current Big 12 teams.

“Under Coach Fritz’s leadership, we have achieved sustained success with 11 NCAA Tournaments in her 15 seasons including appearances in four of the past five years,” Currie said. “She has done a tremendous job as head coach while being a great role model and mentor for our student-athletes, and we look forward to continued success with her leading our volleyball program.”

The Wildcats have been ranked 124 times under Fritz while she has also taken three teams that were not ranked in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll to be slotted in the final poll of the respective season. The last time she lifted a team from outside the top-25 into the final poll was in 2011 when K-State reached the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history.

From an individual awards standpoint, Fritz has tutored Wildcats to earn 12 All-America honors, 18 all-region selections, 40 All-Big 12 awards, and 101 Academic All-Big 12 distinctions (the most in the conference since 2001).

The Academic All-Big 12 honors represent Fritz’s leadership in success on and off the court. The Wildcats, who had a perfect APR score in 2013-14, have garnered 12 AVCA Academic Team Awards under Fritz, including one in each of the last five years. This past season, Katie Brand and Kersten Kober were the only Big 12 student-athletes to earn academic all-district honors, bringing the total honorees of that award to 18 in Fritz’s tenure. Kober also earned the program’s first Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award this past season.

Last season, Fritz helped a team without any seniors overcome a 1-3 start to conference play by winning eight of its final 12 regular season matches to capture its highest finish in the Big 12 standings in four years. The Wildcats also reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Fritz is a two-time winner of the Big 12 Coach of the Year award, capturing the honor during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. The 2003 campaign was the best in program history as the Wildcats set a school record for wins (30) and were a perfect 16-0 at home en route to winning the Big 12 title.

Fritz was originally named the head coach during the 2001 season after earning the interim head coach title prior to the start of that campaign. She served as an assistant coach with the program from 1997-2000, helping the team reach four NCAA Tournaments. Fritz has served as a coach for 15 of K-State’s 16 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Next year’s team will return 14 letterwinners, including two-time All-America Honorable Mention Brand alongside fellow seniors Kober, Katie Reininger and Brooke Sassin. Other key returnees include 2014 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kylee Zumach, 2015 All-Big 12 Freshman Team selections Macy Flowers and Alyssa Schultejans, and rising junior Bryna Vogel, who finished third on the team in kills and digs last season.

— KU Athletics —

Mizzou’s Houck earns USA Baseball International Performance of the Year

riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball sophomore Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) was honored by USA Baseball when the organization released its annual awards on Tuesday (Feb. 4), earning USA Baseball’s International Performance of the Year for his efforts in a combined no-hitter against Cuba. The game was part of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team’s five-game series with Cuba over the summer.

Houck shares the award with Texas A&M’s Ryan Hendrix, Clemson’s Chris Okey and Florida’s A.J. Puk. Houck started the opening game of a five-game series against Cuba and tossed 4.0 perfect innings before Hendrix and Puk shut the door over the final five frames. In all, Cuba had just two baserunners in the game (walk and error) while Houck did not allow a Cuba player to reach base during his four innings. The win snapped a five-game winning streak for Cuba against the USA Collegiate National Team and it is the only time Cuba’s national team has been no-hit in international play.

The start against Cuba was the highlight of what was a very successful summer with USA Baseball for Houck. He led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and starts while boasting an 11-1 strikeout-walk ratio and a .159 opponent batting average.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Michaelis scores 20 as No. 22 Missouri wins at Ole Miss 60-46

riggertMissouriOXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Sierra Michaelis scored 20 points with eight rebounds and five assists and No. 22 Missouri handled Mississippi 60-46 on Sunday.

Michaelis went 6 of 9 from the field with four 3-pointers. Jordan Frericks had 17 points with nine boards, Sophie Cunningham had 10 points with 11 rebounds and Cierra Porter grabbed 10 more rebounds as Missouri (18-4, 5-4 SEC) dominated the glass 50-32.

Mississippi (10-11, 2-6 SEC) was led by A’Queen Hayes and Shandricka Sessom with 15 points apiece. Shequila Joseph added 10 points. Ole Miss was limited to 24 percent from the field, including 5 of 34 (14.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Ole Miss led after a slow first half, 19-18, as the teams combined for seven points in the second quarter. Missouri heated up in the third, though, as Michaelis hit 3-pointers on the Tigers first two possessions, then closed the frame with a 7-2 spurt.

Missouri finished the game with an 11-3 run over 5:11.

— Associated Press —

Handy’s four-point play lifts No. 6 Griffons past Missouri Southern

MWSUJOPLIN, Mo. – It looked like the sixth-ranked Missouri Western women’s basketball team was going to suffer its third-straight loss, but someone forgot to tell Sarafina Handy it was over.

The Griffons’ leading three-point shooter launched a line drive three at the rim with 1.4 seconds left and her team down 70-67 that splashed home to tie the game. That just wasn’t enough of a storyline for this day though, as the senior was fouled on the shot and sank her free throw to seal a 71-70 win for the team, it’s first in Joplin since 2008.

Handy’s free throw gave Missouri Western its first lead in the game since the 1:41 mark of the third quarter. The Griffons had built a six-point lead that Missouri Southern would turn into a two-point deficit before the third quarter ended. Southern would jump ahead by as many as five points in the fourth. That was the spread with 3:11 left in the game when Handy knocked down her first three of the game to pull Missouri Western within two at 63-61. From there the two teams traded free throws until Deb Holcomb knocked down her sixth three of the game to give Southern a three-point lead with just under a minute to go. LaQuinta Jefferson made two free throws to cut the lead to one. Missouri Western fouled Sharese Jones on the Lions’ ensuing possession. Jones made the first and missed the second. Jefferson struggled to pull down the rebound, eventually losing it out of bounds. The Griffons would foul Jones again, and again, she made the first and missed the second setting up Handy’s miracle off a Jefferson rebound.

Jefferson led Missouri Western with 17. Miliakere Koyamainavure and Mhykeah Baez each had 12 points. Baez finished with a team-high seven rebounds. Chelsea Dewey added 10 points nad Handy finished with nine. The win improved Missouri Western to 19-2 on the year and 13-2 in the MIAA. It stopped a seven-game losing streak in Joplin.

The Griffons return home next week to host Lindenwood on Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. and Lincoln on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou drops sixth straight game with home loss to Mississippi State

riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The difference in Mississippi State’s 76-62 victory over Missouri Saturday night boiled down to one category; 3-point shooting.

The Bulldogs shot 8 of 23 from 3-point range while Missouri made only two of its 25 3-point attempts.

Malik Newman led all scorers with 19 points, including 11 in the first half. He shot 4 of 7 in the first half, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Quinndary Weatherspoon had 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, marking his first career double-double.

It’s the Bulldogs’ first road victory since Feb. 14, 2015 when they defeated Missouri 53-43.

“That was a great win for us,” said Mississippi State coach Ben Howland. “It’s huge to get a win, period. But when it’s on the road, it’s always sweeter. I always tell my team the funnest wins are on the road because it’s us against the world.”

Missouri struggled offensively, particularly in the first half. Following an old fashioned 3-point play by K.J. Walton, Mississippi State turned up the defense and held the Tigers scoreless for 3:11 seconds.

Howland attributed Missouri’s poor shooting to his team’s defense.

“We elected to go back to the zone which is something I promised I wouldn’t do the rest of the year, but it was the right thing to do,” Howland said. “Missouri is not a great 3-point shooting team. We hadn’t played in a zone for the last four games so I don’t think there was any preparation by Missouri for us to play zone.”

Mississippi State led 37-20 at halftime after closing the first half on a 14-5 run. The Bulldogs made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the half, while Missouri missed all 13 of its 3-point attempts.

After trailing by as many as 22 points, Missouri found life in the second half following a 15-4 run that cut the deficit to 11 and reenergized the crowd. That energy was short lived as the Bulldogs answered with an 11-4 run.

“We obviously didn’t shoot the ball well,” said Missouri coach Kim Anderson. “It probably was the difference in the game. I don’t think we’re a great team, but I think we’re better than we played tonight. I think we’re struggling with our confidence.”

Namon Wright led Missouri (8-13, 1-7 SEC) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Wright had 10 points in the second half and shot 6 of 12 from the field.

“We don’t show up every night,” Wright said. “Good teams in this league show up every night, at home, and that’s what we have to do to become a good team.”

Jakeenan Gant had 11 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes and Terrence Phillips had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Mississippi State (9-11, 2-6) outrebounded the Tigers 43-34 without their best rebounder, Gavin Ware, who is out with a concussion. Ware is the Bulldogs leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

TIP-INS

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lead the SEC in free-throw percentage at 74.5 percent. …Freshman Elijah Staley is no longer on the team after joining in December. Staley is a backup quarterback and has chosen to concentrate his efforts on football. …Craig Sword is the active scoring leader in the SEC with 1,327 career points. He finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Missouri: Freshman Kevin Puryear scored his 200th point in a 60-57 loss to Georgia Jan. 20 becoming the sixth-fastest player in school history to eclipse that mark. …Tramaine Isabell was suspended indefinitely prior to the game. Anderson cited Isabell’s “practice attitude and conduct” for the suspension. Isabell did not play in Missouri’s previous two games, an 88-54 loss at No. 20 Kentucky and a 66-53 loss at No. 10 Texas A&M.

WHERE’S WARE?: Mississippi State’s leading scorer Gavin Ware did not travel with the team due to a concussion. Ware averages 15.7 points per game and also leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game. His player efficiency rating of 30.33 ranks second in the SEC behind LSU’s Ben Simmons (32.16).

COURTSIDE: Missouri held its Annual Coaches vs. Cancer “Whiteout” theme, encouraging all fans to wear white. Missouri’s coaching staff wore white tennis shoes in recognition of cancer research and awareness.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State hosts Alabama Tuesday.

Missouri hosts Ole Miss Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western men fall at Southern for third straight loss

MWSUJOPLIN, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team couldn’t hang on to an early lead in a 94-71 loss at Missouri Southern Saturday.

Hot shooting from Missouri Southern brought the Lions back in front early in the first half and helped them mount a 14-point halftime lead that Missouri Western just couldn’t overcome. Southern shot 57.4 percent from the field for the game, including 70.8 percent in the second half with just seven missed field goals after the break. Missouri Western shot 36.5 percent from the field and 37.5 from three-point range.

Four Griffons scored in double figures led by Aaron Emmanuel’s 14 points. Trey Sampson finished with 13 points. Currie Byrd added 12 and Xavier Newson had 10 points with a team-high five rebounds. The loss dropped Missouri Western to 6-15 overall, 4-11 in the MIAA and stretched the program’s losing streak in Joplin to 10 games.

The Griffons return home next week to host Lindenwood on Thursday and Lincoln on Saturday.

Bearcats hold off Gorillas for 81-74 road win

Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team picked up an 81-74 road victory at Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.

Sophomore Justin Pitts had a game-high 26 points, going 8-of-11 from the charity stripe with three assists and a pair of steals.

The Bearcats took the lead for good at the 16:22 mark of the second half and never trailed after that.  Northwest held a 33-29 advantage at halftime.

Conner Crooker reached double figures with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting with a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the charity stripe. He also grabbed four rebounds and added two assists.  Chris-Ebou Ndow recorded his third straight game in double figures with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting. He also recorded his third straight game with

Northwest shot 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) and finished the game 20-of-26 from the charity stripe (76.9 percent)

Pitt State held a 27-25 rebound advantage. The Bearcats had nine turnovers but forced 14 Gorilla miscues. Northwest scored 28 points off of Pitt State turnovers.

Northwest went on a 17-4 run midway through the first half sparked by Pitts who had seven points in a stretch of just over five minutes. Schneider contributed a three and the run was capped by Ndow hitting a pair of jumpers to put the Bearcats up 27-13 with 7:01 left in the half. During the run, Pitt State was just 2-of-7 shooting and committed a pair of turnovers.

Northwest finished the last 3:19 of the contest by scoring 17 of the game’s final 30 points to take the win. Pitts and Crooker found themselves at the line frequently in the closing minutes. Crooker hit all six of this attempts while Pitts knocked down four free throws.

Northwest returns to Bearcat Arena on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 7:30 p.m. MIAA contest against Lincoln University.

— Northwest Athletics —

Selden helps No. 4 Kansas rally past 20th-ranked Kentucky in OT

riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Wayne Selden Jr. was tired of driving into the teeth of the Kentucky defense and getting his shot swatted away, so the Kansas guard decided in overtime to dunk no matter who got in his way.

His emphatic slam over 6-foot-11 freshman Skal Labissiere proved to be the exclamation point on the finest performance of his career — and an important victory for the Jayhawks.

Selden finished with a career-high 33 points, seven of them in overtime, and fourth-ranked Kansas beat the No. 20 Wildcats 90-84 on Saturday night in the premier showdown of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

“Just had to get back out there and be aggressive, be a tougher team than we had been the last few games,” Selden said. “This was a good step in the right direction.”

The Wildcats built an eight-point lead midway through the second half before Kansas switched to a zone defense and mounted a comeback. Perry Ellis made the second of two free throws to tie the game 76-all with 9 seconds left, and Tyler Ulis coughed up the ball at the other end before Kentucky got off a shot.

In fact, the turnover gave Frank Mason III a chance for a half-court heave that he nearly made.

When the game went to overtime, Selden simply took over.

He opened the extra session with a couple of free throws, and then on the next trip down drove to the rim and dunked over Ulis and Labissiere to bring the crowd to its feet. Selden added two more foul shots later in overtime to help the Jayhawks end the Wildcats’ three game winning streak.

“It’s as good a game as he’s played since he’s been here,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

Mason contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, and Devonte Graham added 11 points for the Jayhawks (17-4), who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats (16-5) by winning their 35th game in a row at Allen Fieldhouse.

Ulis finished with a career-high 26 points and eight assists for Kentucky. Jamal Murray added 15 points, Alex Poythress had 13 and Isaiah Briscoe scored 12.

“We’re still learning how to win,” Wildcats coach John Calipari said. “In the guts of the game, we’re just learning now what it means to win, and the plays you make — and the plays just as importantly you don’t make. Not at winning time.”

The prizefight-nature of the game was evident from the opening minutes, when Briscoe was hit with a technical foul for winging an elbow during a scrum beneath the basket.

That jumpstarted a back-and-forth affair between college basketball’s winningest programs.

The Jayhawks made the first big charge behind Selden, who had 13 first-half points while helping his team to an early six-point cushion. But Ulis and Poythress were quick to answer, going a combined 10 of 12 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes to help Kentucky to a 46-40 lead at the break.

The Jayhawks were fortunate to be that close.

Ellis, their leading scorer, spent all but 6 minutes on the bench with two fouls, while the Wildcats spent the final 14:09 of the first half in the bonus.

Kentucky pushed its lead to 57-49 early in the second, but that’s when Self mothballed his beloved man-to-man defense for a triangle-and-two. The Wildcats appeared confused by the sudden switch to a zone and struggled to get good looks before the shot clock wound down.

“It made it difficult to get into our normal set,” Poythress said.

Selden’s 3-pointer from the corner gave Kansas a 75-74 lead with 49.2 seconds left, but Murray hit a pull-up jumper a few seconds later to give the Wildcats the lead back.

Ellis was fouled at the other end and, after struggling at the line all night, made the second of two free throws to tie the game. And when Ulis turned the ball over with 2.2 seconds left, the Jayhawks nearly had an improbable victory in regulation when Mason’s half-court heave bounced off the rim.

Turned out the miss merely delayed the celebration for 5 more minutes.

“We’ve taken some shots. We’ve taken some hard losses,” Selden said. “We’ve been battle-tested for a couple of years now, this season especially, and I feel like this is going to make us better.”

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

During halftime, the original 13 rules of basketball set down by Dr. James Naismith were unveiled in Allen Fieldhouse. The document from 1891 was purchased by Kansas alum David Booth at auction for $3.8 million in 2010, at the time the most paid for a piece of sports memorabilia. The rules will reside in an $18 million building connected to the school’s basketball arena.

TIP-INS

Kentucky: Briscoe missed three straight free throws early in overtime. … The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the field but just 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.

Kansas: Ellis finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. … The Jayhawks had a 42-31 advantage on the glass. … Kansas still trails the all-time series, 22-7.

UP NEXT

Kentucky travels to Tennessee on Tuesday night.

Kansas welcomes Kansas State to the Phog on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —

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