Sports – Page 678 – North Platte Post Archive

Rushing Offense, Defense Still Key in Big Ten

Posted on October 8, 2013October 8, 2013

With a full week of league play in the books, a familiar trend has emerged in the Big Ten.

Running the ball — and stopping others from doing likewise — will likely be huge for teams hoping to contend in the conference this season.

Five Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 nationally in rushing offense, the most of any conference in the country. The Big Ten is also first with six teams ranked in the top 20 in rushing defense, and four of them; Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan, are among the top 10.

By contrast, Indiana is the only league team in the top 30 in passing offense.

SPVA Volleyball Tournament Bracket

Posted on October 8, 2013

The SPVA Volleyball Tournament will be held at North Platte St. Patrick’s on October 17 and October 19.

Hooper Named to Preseason Wade Watch List

Posted on October 8, 2013

Lincoln – Two-time All-American Jordan Hooper earned a spot on the preseason Wade Watch List for the second consecutive year when the 25 candidates for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s National Player of the Year were announced on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Hooper, a 6-2 senior forward from Alliance, Neb., is a two-time WBCA and Associated Press honorable-mention All-American and a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. She enters her senior season poised to become just the third player in Nebraska history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in her career, joining 1993 Wade Trophy winner Karen Jennings and 2010 first-team WBCA All-American Kelsey Griffin.

Hooper, who has scored 1,685 points and pulled down 811 rebounds in starting the first 98 games of her Husker career, is also in position to shatter the school’s three-point record. She enters her senior season with 215 made three-pointers, just 52 shy of the school record held by three-time first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy (2004-07). Hooper has averaged nearly 72 three-pointers per season at Nebraska, including 81 a year ago when she helped shoot the Huskers to the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16.

Over the summer, Hooper helped the USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Team to a gold medal in Kazan, Russia. In the championship game, Hooper earned a start and scored nine points while grabbing nine rebounds while going head-to-head against several members of Russia’s 2012 Olympic Team.

Five of Hooper’s World University Games teammates joined her on the Wade Watch List, including Baylor senior Odyssey Sims, Louisville senior Shoni Schimmel, Oklahoma senior Aaryn Ellenberg, Connecticut junior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and LSU senior Theresa Plaisance.

Now in its 37th year, The Wade Trophy is named in honor of the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade. Regarded as “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball,” the award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year by the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and the WBCA.

The preseason list is composed of top NCAA Division I women’s basketball players who best embody Wade’s spirit from 18 institutions and seven conferences. A committee of coaches, administrators and media from across the United States compiled the list using the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team, and overall playing ability.

Hooper was one of three players from the Big Ten Conference to earn mention on the preseason Wade Watch List, joining Penn State’s Maggie Lucas and Minnesota’s Rachel Banham.

Hooper will make her first appearance with the Huskers of the 2013-14 season, when the women’s basketball team hosts Big Red Tip-OffTuesday on Oct. 15 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The event, which begins at 5 p.m., will include a sneak peek at a portion of Nebraska’s practice, introductions of the 2013-14 Huskers by Coach Connie Yori, an opportunity for fans to select their seats for season tickets, and autographs with the 2013-14 Huskers.

Nebraska tips off exhibition play in its first season at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Oct. 27, against Pittsburg State at 2 p.m.

Preseason Wade Watch List

Player	Institution	Position	Year
Natalie Achonwa	Notre Dame	Forward	Senior
Rachel Banham	Minnesota	Guard	Junior
Brittany Boyd	California	Guard	Junior
Gennifer Brandon	California	Forward	Senior
Jerica Coley	FIU	Guard	Senior
Stefanie Dolson	Connecticut	Center	Senior
Aaryn Ellenberg	Oklahoma	Guard	Senior
Bashaara Graves	Tennessee	Forward	Sophomore
Chelsea Gray	Duke	Guard	Senior
Bria Hartley	Connecticut	Guard	Senior
Jordan Hooper	Nebraska	Forward	Senior
Maggie Lucas	Penn State	Guard	Senior
Tyaunna Marshall	Georgia Tech	Guard	Senior
Kayla McBride	Notre Dame	Guard	Senior
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	Connecticut	Forward	Junior
Chiney Ogwumike	Stanford	Forward	Senior
Theresa Plaisance	LSU	Forward	Senior
Ebony Rowe	Middle Tennessee	Forward	Senior
Shoni Schimmel	Louisville	Guard	Senior
Meighan Simmons	Tennessee	Guard	Senior
Odyssey Sims	Baylor	Guard	Senior
DeNesha Stallworth	Kentucky	Forward	Senior
Breanna Stewart	Connecticut	Forward	Sophomore
Alyssa Thomas	Maryland	Forward	Senior
Elizabeth Williams	Duke	Center/Forward	Junior

NPCC Lady Knights Drop Five Set Thriller

Posted on October 8, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (16-8) volleyball team fell Monday night to the Divison I #20 Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (16-5) in a five set thriller that lasted two hours and thirty minutes. The Lady Knights would drop the first two sets before winning the third and fourth set before finally falling in the fifth set (25-27, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 9-15).

The Lady Knights would open up the first set of the night fast as they would jump out to a 10-6 lead over the Plainswomen. The Plainswomen would battle back to take a 16-18 lead. The Lady Knights would then score outscore the Plainswomen to tie the game at 22-22 and force a NJC timeout. After the Plainsmen scored a point, the Lady Knights would score two of their own to earn the first set point forcing another Plainswomen timeout. The teams would exchange points as the game again became tied at 25-25. The Lady Plainswomen were able to earn a side out and then had an ace serve to close out the first set 25-27.

At the start of the second set the Plainswomen would continue to hold the momentum as they jumped out to a three point lead. The Plainswomen would maintain the lead throughout the early stages of the set with their largest lead at 9-13. The Lady Knights would string together a few points of their own to tie the game at 14-14 and then take their first lead of the game at 16-15.

The teams would trade side outs before NJC would tie the game at 18-18 and then take a lead at 18-20 to force a timeout by North Platte. The Lady Knights would tie the set at 22-22 to set up another exciting finish. NJC would get a side out and score another point to earn a set point opportunity and force a timeout by the Lady Knights. Samantha Kennedy would slam home a spike before the Plainswomen would end the set 23-25.

The Plainswomen would start the third set by opening up a 4-9 lead on the Lady Knights and forcing North Platte into a timeout. The Lady Knights would slowly chip away at the lead and would eventually tie the game at 12-12. The Lady Knights and Plainswomen would trade points and leads throughout the middle stages of the set before North Platte was able to race out to a 22-18 advantage.

The Plainswomen would score two straight points and then the Lady Knights would score two straight to earn a set point at 24-22. The Plainswomen would then score three straight to force a North Platte timeout at 24-23. Samantha Kennedy would end the third set for the Lady Knights as she blocked NJC’s spike attempt to win 25-23.

The Lady Knights and Plainswomen would start the fourth set exchanging points before the Lady Knights were able to open up a lead with the largest being 20-15. The Plainswomen would then score three straight points prompting a timeout from North Platte. The Lady Knights and Plainswomen would trade the next four points before the Lady Knights would score the final three points of the set to win 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set.

The Plainswomen would draw first blood in the fifth set as they scored the first three points. The Lady Knights would respond with three straight points before NJC answered with four straight to take a 3-7 lead. The Lady Knights would cut the lead to 7-8 and force the Plainswomen to take a timeout. The Plainswomen would then score the next five points to take a 7-13 lead. The two teams would exchange the final four points of the set to give the Plainswomen the victory 9-15.

Samantha Kennedy led the Lady Knights with 19 kills and Sandrina Hallahan had 14. Shannon Liewer had 25 digs and Joli Hopping had 31 assists to pace the Lady Knights.

“It was a great night (with the Pink Out),” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Our kids played really hard and it was a good volleyball game tonight. In the end we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be in the fifth set.”

On Wednesday the Lady Knights will honor their five sophomore; Sabrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Shannon Liewer of Imperial, Sandrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Jacee Kershaw of Culbertson and Laura Beckman of Julesburg, Colo. as they take on Southeast Community College. The game will start at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Storm in four sets earlier this year.

Johansson Named USHL Goaltender of the Week

Posted on October 8, 2013

KEARNEY, Neb. – After a three-game run in which he has only allowed two goals, Tri-City Storm goaltender Jacob Johansson a was named the USHL’s goaltender of the week by the league office Monday afternoon.

The Stockholm, Sweden native faced a total of 79 shots in two games over the weekend and saved 78 of them, allowing just one puck to get past him in regulation on Friday night against Sioux City.

On Saturday night in Des Moines, Johansson saved all 35 shots that came his way, recording his first career USHL shutout in a 1-0 win.

Starting all three games for the Storm thus far this season, Johansson has a goals against average of 0.63 and a save percentage of 98.3% with 116 saves.

His hot play is the main reason the Storm have started off strong, sitting in third place in the Western Conference with a 2-0-1 overall record and five points.

Johansson will look to continue his fast start this weekend in front of his home fans at the Viaero Event Cetner. Tri-City kicks off a four-game homestand Friday night when they face the Sioux City Musketeers in Rivalry Night at 7:30 p.m.

The Storm will then welcome the Waterloo Black Hawks to town while honoring Central Nebraska’s Volunteer Firefighters for Fire and Ice Night on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Huskers Finally go on Road after 5 in a Row at Home

Posted on October 7, 2013October 8, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It’s the second week of October, and Nebraska is finally preparing for its first road game.

The Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-0) visit Purdue (1-4, 0-1) on Saturday after playing their first five in Lincoln. Coach Bo Pelini said Monday the schedule has been a blessing for a young defense that has had lots of kinks to work out.

Fellow Big Ten member Indiana is the only other FBS team that played five in a row at home to start the season. Baylor of the Big 12 will go on the road for the first time this week after opening with four home games.

Receiver Kenny Bell says he’s taking the same attitude to Purdue that he would if the Huskers were going on the road to Michigan’s Big House.

Three Huskers Honored with Big Ten Weekly Awards

Posted on October 7, 2013

The Nebraska volleyball team had three players honored by the Big Ten Conference on Monday as Kelsey Robinson was named the league’s Co-Player of the Week, Meghan Haggerty earned Defensive Player of the Week honors and Amber Rolfzen was selected as the Freshman of the Week.

The last time Nebraska had three players selected for weekly conference awards was on Oct. 27, 2008 when Jordan Larson (offensive player), Amanda Gates (defensive player) and Sydney Anderson (rookie) were all honored by the Big 12 Conference.

Robinson led the Huskers to wins over No. 8 Minnesota (3-0) and No. 23 Wisconsin (3-2) over the weekend. She averaged 6.3 kills per set and posted a .417 hitting percentage. She recorded a double-double against the Badgers, tallying a career-high 29 kills and a team-high 22 digs. Robinson posted 29 digs on the weekend, averaging 3.6 digs per set. She shares this week’s accolade with Lauren Wicinski of Michigan State. The honor marks her first Big Ten weekly award. The last Husker to earn Big Ten Player of the Week accolades was Lauren Cook on Aug. 27, 2012.

Haggerty also helped the Huskers post a 2-0 record on the weekend with 12 total blocks and an average of 1.5 blocks per set. She recorded a season-high 13 kills against Wisconsin and posted a .389 hitting percentage on the weekend. The honor marks her fifth career Big Ten weekly award and her first Defensive Player of the Week honor. The last Husker to earn Defensive Player of the Week accolades was Hayley Thramer on Nov. 12, 2012.

Amber Rolfzen tallied 12 total blocks on the weekend and averaged 1.5 blocks per set in helping Nebraska take down Minnesota and Wisconsin. She recorded a team-high eight blocks against the Badgers and added 20 digs and 11 kills on the weekend. Rolfzen collects her second Freshman of the Week honor as she last earned the award on Sept. 16, 2013.

2013 Big Ten Volleyball Players of the Week

Sept. 2 P: Tori Dixon, Sr., MINN

D: Bethany Yeager, Sr., IOWA

S: Taylor Sherwin, Jr., OSU

F: Maddie Mayers, ILL

Sept. 9 P: Kaitlyn Leary, Sr., OSU

D: Tori Dixon, Sr., MINN

S: Lexi Dannemiller, Jr., MICH

F: Abby Cole, MICH

Sept. 16 P: Lauren Wicinski, Sr., MSU

D: Faye Adelaja, Fr., PUR

S: Taylor Sherwin, Jr., OSU

F: Amber Rolfzen, NEB

Faye Adelaja, PUR

Sept. 23 P: Stephanie Holthus, Sr., NU

D: Tori Dixon, Sr., MINN

S: Caleigh Ryan, Fr., NU

F: Caleigh Ryan, NU

Sept. 30 P: Lauren Wicinski, Sr., MSU

D: Ashley Wittman, Sr., MINN

S: Mary Pollmiller, Jr., NEB

F: Haleigh Nelson, WIS

Oct. 7 P: Lauren Wicinski, Sr., MSU

Kelsey Robinson, Sr., NEB

D: Meghan Haggerty, So., NEB

S: Micha Hancock, Jr., PSU

F: Amber Rolfzen, NEB

Nebraska Dad Optimistic about Son’s Cancer News

Posted on October 7, 2013

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The father of Jack Hoffman says the family will continue raising money for cancer research while reveling in the good news about the 8-year-old Nebraska boy.

Andy Hoffman said Monday that his family has been thankful and cautiously excited since learning last week that Jack’s brain cancer is in remission.

Jack captured the hearts of Nebraska football fans when, with the help of the players, he ran for a touchdown during an intrasquad game that ended spring football practice earlier this year. The scoring scamper has been replayed on national TV and viewed nearly 8.4 million times on YouTube.

Hoffman said doctors are encouraging but mindful of the reality that more than half the children in Jack’s situation have relapses.

NPCC Lady Knights and Student Life to host grill-off competition/fundraiser Oct. 9

Posted on October 7, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights softball team is once again teaming up with NPCC Student Life for a “Smoke” Southeast Community College grill-off competition/fundraiser at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, prior to the NPCC vs. Southeast volleyball game.

The event will take place at the South Campus. Students, faculty and staff will be participating in the grill-off competition. Prizes and bragging rights are at stake for the competitors!

The BBQ meal, complete with chips and condiments, will be $1 for MPCC students and children under 12, and $5 for adults. The Lady Knights will also be selling NPCC Knights t-shirts, hats and visors. All proceeds will go to the NPCC Lady Knights softball team.

The Lady Knights and NPCC Student Life invite the public to come out to taste-test the results before watching the volleyball game and cheering the Lady Knights on to another win. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

For more information, contact Janelle Higgins at (515) 419-5801or by email at [email protected].

Big Ten Football Players of the Week

Posted on October 7, 2013

Offensive Co-Players of the Week

Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska

Jr., IB, Homewood, Ala./Homewood

• Rushed for a career-high 225 yards on just 20 carries, an 11.3 average, and two touchdowns in Nebraska’s win over Illinois

• Had three runs of 30 yards or more to finish with the most rushing yards by a Husker since Roy Helu’s program-record 307 yards in 2010

• Scored on Nebraska’s opening possession of each half, a two-yard run in the first quarter and a 43-yarder in the third, and finished the day with 240 all-purpose yards

• Wins his first career Offensive Player of the Week accolade and fourth weekly honor overall, claiming Special Teams Player of the Week in 2011 and 2012 and Freshman of the Week in 2011

• Last Nebraska Offensive Player of the Week: Taylor Martinez (Nov. 5, 2012)

Carlos Hyde, Ohio State

Sr., RB, Naples, Fla./Naples

• Finished with a career-high 168 rushing yards, scoring three second-half touchdowns, to help Ohio State to a come-from-behind win at nationally ranked Northwestern

• Scored on a four-yarder in the third quarter, a two-yarder early in the fourth and a seven-yard run to give the Buckeyes the game-winning score with 5:25 left in the game.

• Also recorded four catches for 38 yards for 206 yards of total offense, and was responsible for 15 first downs

• Records his second career Offensive Player of the Week honor

• Last Ohio State Offensive Player of the Week: Braxton Miller (Sept. 30, 2013)

Defensive Player of the Week

Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State

Sr., CB, Dry Beach, Ga./Twiggs County

• Finished with eight tackles and two interceptions, both career highs, in Michigan State’s road win at Iowa

• Recorded his first interception midway through the first quarter and his second at the 5:25 mark of the fourth quarter, helping the Spartans preserve the win

• Was part of the Michigan State defense that held the Hawkeyes to 264 total yards, 183 yards below their season average

• Claims his first Defensive Player of the Week honor

• Last Michigan State Defensive Player of the Week: Shilique Calhoun (Sept. 9, 2013)

Special Teams Player of the Week

Bradley Roby, Ohio State

Jr., CB, Suwanee, Ga./Peachtree Ridge

• Blocked a Northwestern punt in the end zone in the first quarter, then made the recovery for Ohio State’s only touchdown of the first half

• It is his second career blocked punt, third special teams touchdown and fourth score overall

• Also finished with two special teams tackles

• Wins his first Special Teams Player of the Week honor

• Last Ohio State Special Teams Player of the Week: Cameron Johnston (Sept. 30, 2013)

Freshman of the Week

Joey Bosa, Ohio State

DE, Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas

• Finished with five tackles, including his first two career sacks, in Ohio State’s come-from-behind win at nationally ranked Northwestern

• Recovered a Wildcat fumble in the end zone as time expired, giving the Buckeyes the final score of the game

• His four solo tackles and two tackles for loss matched personal bests

• Wins his first Freshman of the Week honor

• Last Ohio State Freshman of the Week: Bri’onte Dunn (Nov. 5, 2012)