Husker women grab NCAA tourney win
Nick Filipowski
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Sports
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Nebraska improved to 2-7 all-time in the tournament and the win marked the first time that NU Coach Connie Yori has won a tournament game since leading Creighton to a first-round victory over Bowling Green in 1994.
Junior forward Kelsey Griffin once again showed her dominance on the hardwood en route to the Cornhuskers' victory, scoring a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Griffin also snagged four rebounds and had three steals on the day.
"(Kelsey Griffin) had a great game for us and she is one of the most underrated players in the country," Yori said after the game, according to NU Media Relations. "Her name may not be one you know across the country, but you can see how great of a player she is."
Yori said in the 18 years she's been a coach, Griffin has a toughness unmatched in any of the players she's coached.
The Huskers started off strong, as senior forward Danielle Page and junior guard Tay Hester started off the game with back-to-back 3-pointers to helped NU open up a 13-2 lead to start the game.
Nebraska used its smothering defense to keep the Musketeers confused, holding Xavier to 25.7 percent shooting and 20 points in the first half. Nebraska continually blanketed Xaviers' post players with varying defensive schemes to keep the Musketeers' inside game at bay.
"We knew that Xavier was a huge threat inside so we knew that if we were going to put ourselves in a position to win that we needed to focus on that," Griffin said. "We threw different defenses at them and different players were doubling, and I know as a post player that is the most frustrating thing to play against."
Page had another stellar defensive game as she matched her Nebraska NCAA-Tournament record with five blocked shots. Page also collected 10 rebounds and finished with five points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Nebraska used its defense to spark a 13-3 run, extending the lead to 30-16 with 3:45 remaining in the half. Nebraska would go into the break with a comfortable 30-20 advantage.
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