The Tri-City Storm looked to be getting back on track before a pair of disappointing losses on the road last weekend. They’ll hope that the comforts of home can lead to the start of another successful stretch, as they open a weekend homestand tonight against the Fargo Force. The Storm had won five of seven games going into last weekend, but an 8-1 loss at league leaders Green Bay and a 4-3 defeat at Cedar Rapids brought them back to last place in the USHL’s Western Conference. Their opponents tonight sit fourth in the conference. The Storm lost back to back road games in Fargo 7-5 and 3-2 back on December 2nd and 3rd. The Storm are 7-7 on home ice this season, but have won their last two home games. The puck drops at the Viaero Events Center in Kearney at 7:05 tonight.

The 15th-ranked Nebraska women’s basketball team sits atop the Big Ten standings at 3-0. Tonight, they’ll face their third road game in conference play as they trek north to face Wisconsin. The Huskers pushed their winning streak to eight after a 77-72 road victory at Iowa on Sunday. As a result, the Huskers leaped four places in the latest AP poll to reach their highest ranking since they ended 2010 ranked fourth. A ninth-straight victory tonight would tie the second-longest winning streak in program history, and also equal the 2010 and 1988 teams for the best starts to league play in program history. The Badgers are 5-11 on the season and 1-3 in conference action. They snapped their six-game losing streak with a win at Illinois on Sunday. Tip-off from Madison tonight is scheduled for 7 PM.

In a pair of hard-fought games at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium, the North Platte Community College Knights and Lady Knights suffered narrow defeats to the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen and Plainswomen. In the women’s game that opened the night, the Plainswomen scored the final seven points of the game to defeat the Lady Knights by that margin, 61-54. The Lady Knights held a six-point lid midway through the second half, but were outscored 17-4 in the game’s final 10 minutes. The Knights men saw a 13-point first half lead slip and couldn’t hold an 8-point second half advanatage, as they fell to the Plainsmen 67-65. NJC scored the winning hoop with 13 seconds left. The Knights men are now 8-7 and host Lamar on Saturday. The Lady Knights are 7-7 and travel to Air Force Prep this weekend.

A hot shooting night propelled the Nebraska men’s basketball team to their first ever Big Ten conference victory. The Huskers shot 55% from the field in a 70-58 defeat of Penn State at the Devaney Center. Runs of 10-0 and 8-0 in the first half helped lift Nebraska to a 34-22 halftime lead that they would not relinquish. Bo Spencer led the scoring charge, tops among four Huskers in double figures with 19 points. He did most of his damage at the free throw line, sinking 10 of 12 charity tosses. Toney McCray chipped in 13 points, and Caleb Walker and Dylan Talley scored 12 points apiece. The Huskers limited the Nittany Lions to just 33% shooting from the field. The Huskers move to 9-7 and 1-4 in conference play. They next head to Madison to face Wisconsin on Saturday.

Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, its a double-header of North Platte Community College basketball. The Knights and Lady Knights will hope to avenge earlier losses as they welcome the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen and Plainswomen to town. On December 6, the teams met in Sterling, Colorado, where the Lady Knights were defeated 73-46 and the Knights men fell 88-76. Tonight’s game will be the first of 2012 for the Lady Knights, who are 7-6 on the season. The Knights men went 1-1 at last weekend’s NPCC Classic, and their record stands at 8-6. As for the visitors, the Plainswomen have reeled off an 11-3 record to start their season, and the Plainsmen are 6-9. Action begins with the women’s game at 5:30 and the men at 7:30. ESPN Radio 1410’s coverage starts at 5:15.

The Nebraska men’s basketball team is still looking for their first Big Ten conference victory. After four straight losses to open the league season, the Huskers hope to break their duck in their new conference as they host Penn State at the Devaney Center tonight. The 8-7 Huskers dropped their fourth straight game on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, losing a hard fought 59-54 decision to Illinois. The Huskers improved effort could be credited to the returns of Jorge Brian Diaz and Dylan Talley from injuries. Penn State, like the Huskers, is only one game over .500 on the season, but they can at least claim a conference victory, over Purdue back on January 5. They suffered a narrow loss to 12th-ranked Indiana on Sunday. Tip-off in Lincoln tonight is scheduled for 7:30.

The Nebraska volleyball team and head coach John Cook yesterday announced the departure of freshman outside hitter Taylor Simpson. Simpson is leaving the program, and the Lincoln Journal-Star reports that she will transfer to Kansas State, the same school that eliminated the Huskers from the NCAA Tournament this season. The 6-foot-3-inch Simpson, who came to Nebraska out of Colorado Springs as the ninth ranked player in the country, played in just 12 of the Huskers’ 30 matches last season, missing out on action due to a back injury. She finished the season with 13 kills. Simpson was behind a pair of All-Americans, Hannah Werth and Gina Mancuso, on the depth chart at outside hitter, with several strong outside hitters committed to future Husker recruiting classes, including Amber and Kadie Rolfzen from Papio South.