The North Platte Lady Knights ended their regular season in style with a three-set victory over the Concordia University JV last night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. The Lady Knights dispatched the visitors 25-14, 25-17, 25-21 to improve their record to 18-16. Whitney Smith and Sandrina Hallahan had eight kills apiece to lead the North Platte attack. The Lady Knights host the Region IX Division II tournament, which begins next Thursday night.

Huskers head coach Bo Pelini says his football team is raring to go. The Huskers take the field for the first time in two weeks tomorrow afternoon, facing Northwestern at Ryan Field in Evanston. Pelini spoke to the media after practice and said that he believes his team will emerge from the bye week with a better grasp of the team’s on-field concepts. “I think (it helps) with everybody,” Pelini said. “The more reps you get at it, the more understanding you get, the more comfortable you get and the more confident you get. That translates to playing better football. I keep telling our guys, the more time you put into it on the field, off the field, spending time thinking about it, going over your notes and the details, it’s going to allow you to have greater success.” Pelini also confirmed that senior running back Rex Burkhead will play on Saturday. “Rex is ready to go,” Pelini said. “He’s about as 100 percent as he’s going to get. He’s feeling good and ready to roll.” The Huskers and Wildcats kick things off at 2:30 tomorrow. The game will be broadcast regionally on ABC.

To listen to Bo Pelini’s post-practice remarks, click play.

Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper claimed second-team All-America honors in Athlon Magazine’s preseason listing of the nation’s top women’s basketball players this week.

Hooper, a 6-2 junior forward from Alliance, Neb., was one of 10 players nationally recognized by the publication on its first- and second-team All-America squads. Hooper earned honorable-mention All-America accolades from the Associated Press last season, while shooting a young Nebraska team to a top-20 final national ranking by the AP.

Hooper, who became the first sophomore in Nebraska history to reach the 1,000 point scoring mark in her career, was a first-team All-Big Ten pick while helping the Huskers to a 24-9 overall record in 2011-12.

Last season, Hooper was a midseason candidate for the Wade and Naismith trophies, and she has already been chosen as one of 25 players on the 2013 Wade Watch List this season. She is joined by teammate Lindsey Moore on that select list of national player-of-the-year candidates.

Hooper averaged 18.9 points and a Big Ten-best 9.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. She also led the Big Ten with 14 double-doubles on the year. Hooper was one of three Big Ten Conference players named to the Athlon All-America teams, joining Penn State’s Maggie Lucas and Ohio State’s Tayler Hill.

Nebraska, which advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, was ranked No. 21 in the Athlon preseason poll. The Huskers open their 2012-13 exhibition season by taking on Pittsburg State on Monday, Oct. 29 at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.

2013 Athlon Preseason All-America Teams
First Team
Elena Delle Donne (Delaware), Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Brittney Griner (Baylor), A’dia Mathies (Kentucky), Odyssey Sims (Baylor)

Second Team
Jordan Hooper (Nebraska), Tayler Hill (Ohio State), Maggie Lucas (Penn State), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford), Elizabeth Williams (Duke)

Keeping their fingers crossed in the Motor City

UNDATED (AP) — The Tigers and Yankees are hoping for better weather today after rain washed out Game 4 of the American League Championship Series last night in Detroit.

The home team sends Max Scherzer to the mound in hopes of completing a four-game sweep. The Yanks hand the ball to ace left-hander CC Sabathia.

If Game 5 is necessary, they’ll play tomorrow in the Motor City, on what was to have been a travel day.

The Cardinals bring a 2-1 lead over the Giants into tonight’s Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in St. Louis.

The Redbirds beat San Francisco 3-1 last night in a game featuring a three and a-half hour rain delay.

The Giants are going with Tim Lincecum against the Cards’ Adam Wainwright.

Clash of co-leaders leads off Week 7

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Seahawks ride momentum from their come-from-behind victory over the Patriots into tonight’s NFL game in San Francisco. The 49ers are trying to put a disappointing loss to the New York Giants in their rear view mirror. Both teams are 4-2 and tied with Arizona for the NFC West lead, one game ahead of St. Louis.

The Niners and Seahawks both feature stellar defenses. San Francisco is No. 1 overall and Seattle is fourth.

Pac-12 battle in the Valley of the Sun

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Undefeated Oregon faces its first stiff test of the season after playing five home games and one in Seattle against Washington State. The second-ranked Ducks bring a 6-0 record to Tempe, to face a 5-1 Arizona State squad.

Oregon has won seven straight in this series and four in a row in Sun Devils Stadium.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
N-Y Yankees at Detroit 3:07 p.m.
San Francisco at St. Louis 7:07 p.m.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Seattle at San Francisco 7:20 p.m.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Detroit at Miami 6:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Atlanta 6:30 p.m.
Boston at Brooklyn 7:00 p.m.
Memphis vs Milwaukee 7:00 p.m., La Crosse Center

Cards take 2-1 series lead…Yanks-Tigers rained out in Detroit

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have taken a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series by outlasting the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in a game that was interrupted by a three and a-half hour rain delay at Busch Stadium.

The big hit was a Matt Carpenter two-run homer for the Cards in the third inning. Carpenter entered the game as a replacement for Carlos Beltran, who was taken out after grounding out in the first inning. The Cards say Beltran has a strained knee and his status is uncertain for Game 4.

Cards starter Kyle Lohse  got the win despite a ragged start. He allowed seven hits and five walks and one run in five and two-thirds innings. The Cards bullpen was lights out. Four Cards relievers hurled three and a-third shutout innings, with Jason Motte getting the two-inning save.

Game 4 is tonight at Busch Stadium. Tim Lincecum, who was 10-15 in the regular season, opposes the Cards’ Adam Wainwright, who was 14-13 during the year.

The Detroit Tigers can clinch a spot in the World Series with a win over the Yankees in the Motor City this afternoon when Game 4 of the ALCS is scheduled after last night’s rainout. It’s CC Sabathia for the New Yorkers against Max Scherzer of the Tigers, who hold a 3-0 series lead.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi’s lineup for Game 3 had Alex Rodriguez and center fielder Curtis Granderson out of the starting lineup. Eric Chavez was scheduled in place of A-Rod at third base. Brett Gardner was scheduled to start in place of Granderson. Girardi’s lineup also had Nick Swisher back in right field after being benched in Game 3.

Lewis could return

UNDATED (AP) — Ray Lewis has been placed on injured reserve with the “designated to return” tag, which provides him the chance to play again this season. The Pro Bowl veteran tore his right triceps in Sunday’s game against Dallas. His return this season is unlikely, but by being designated to return, the 37-year-old is eligible to come back in six weeks.

The loss of Lewis was balanced somewhat by the return of linebacker Terrell Suggs, who practiced yesterday for the first time this season. Suggs has been out with a torn right Achillies tendon.

Love out up to two months…Kings retain two young stars

UNDATED (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love will miss the next six to eight weeks after breaking his right hand in a workout. The team says the two-time All-Star broke the third and fourth metacarpals on his shooting hand during a morning workout. It’s a crushing blow to the Timberwolves, who already will be without point guard Ricky Rubio for at least the first six weeks while he recovers from a torn ACL in his left knee.

In other NBA news:

— The Sacramento Kings exercised the 2013-14 contract options of center DeMarcus Cousins and guard Jimmer Fredette. Cousins is entering his third NBA season and averaged 18.1 points and a team-high 11.0 rebounds per game last season. Fredette averaged 7.6 points per game as a rookie out of BYU last season.

Irish QB returns…Spurrier may bench tackle after punch

UNDATED (AP) — Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson has been cleared by doctors to practice after he sustained a concussion in last week’s Stanford game. Now that he’s cleared to practice, Golson is expected to start Saturday when the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish play BYU in South Bend.

Golson left Notre Dame’s 20-13 overtime victory against Stanford on Saturday late in the fourth quarter when he took a helmet-to-helmet hit.

In other college football news:

— South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says he’ll discipline defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles for throwing a punch at an LSU player last week. Spurrier said in his weekly teleconference that the discipline would probably involve missing game time. A video on YouTube shows Quarles punching LSU center P.J. Lonergan in the facemask after a first-quarter play in the Tigers’ 23-21 victory.

Earnhardt may soon be back behind the wheel

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s sister says NASCAR’s most popular driver could be back racing next week at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt will miss his second consecutive race Sunday at Kansas because of two concussions suffered in a six-week span.

Kelley Earnhardt Miller wrote in a post on JRNation.com that Earnhardt is on schedule to test a car early next week. If all goes well, she says he can race again Oct. 28 at Martinsville.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
St. Louis 3 San Francisco 1

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Philadelphia 113 Cleveland 99
Toronto 104 Washington 101
Houston 109 Memphis 102
Phoenix 100 Dallas 94
Portland 97 Denver 80
Golden State 98 Sacramento 88
L-A Clippers 96 Utah 94

The North Platte Lady Knights were beaten in three sets by Central Community College in Columbus last night, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17. Brooke Henry had seven kills for the Lady Knights to lead the attack in the losing effort. North Platte falls to 17-16 with the loss. They conclude their regular season tonight when they host the Concordia University JV at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. ESPN Radio 1410 will have all the action, with pregame coverage at 5:45 and the first serve at 6 PM.

The fourth-ranked Husker volleyball team had an easy time with Iowa last night in Iowa City. The Huskers steamrolled the Hawkeyes in three sets, 25-22, 25-14, 25-9. Nebraska hit .316 as a team and hit a season-high seven aces. Gina Mancuso tallied 12 kills to lead the Huskers attack, while Morgan Broekhuis added 10 kills. The Huskers visit the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon.