Steven M. Sipple: Surging Huskers play it cool
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Thanks to diligent detective work, we uncovered the surging Nebraska women’s basketball team’s secret to success.
Ice baths.
We canvassed cold-case files to solve the mystery. It seems Husker players take ice baths after every practice and game. The temperature is set at 50 degrees or less. Players experience teeth-grinding discomfort from the waist down.
Truth is, it’s a fairly common practice in sports these days.
“The kids swear by it, they really do,” Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. “It helps them to recover more quickly.”
Nebraska players probably required full-body baths after Saturday’s basketbrawl against No. 12 Texas A&M. The Huskers emerged from the fray with a 71-60 triumph to improve to 21-0 overall and 8-0 in the Big 12, putting a stranglehold — so to speak — on first place.
A crowd of 10,889 at the Devaney Sports Center celebrated as Nebraska subdued the closest thing to the Detroit Pistons late-1980s “Bad Boys” that I’ve encountered in the women’s game. A&M swiped and shoved and pressured defensively the length of the court, a la Nebraska. The thing is, NU shoved back harder. The Huskers are mentally tough, physically gifted and clearly enjoying the time of their lives. They show absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Nebraska pushes forward with a level of confidence and momentum that could take it places most of us never imagined. A Husker hoops team in the Sweet Sixteen? Elite Eight? Final Four? At this point, I see no reason to pour cold water on such projections. In fact:
1. Don’t look now, but Nebraska has tackled by far the roughest part of its Big 12 schedule, literally.
“Look at the body type of Texas A&M’s players,” said NU senior forward Kelsey Griffin, who scored what may have been the toughest 21 points of her life. “They’re some pretty strong, big and physical girls. You don’t see that throughout the North Division. The South, however, is known for its bigger and better post players.”
Nebraska has only one South opponent left on its regular-season schedule, a Feb. 24 trip to No. 13 Oklahoma, which has only 10 players on its roster. By Feb. 24, the Sooners may be running on fumes.
Meanwhile, Nebraska’s two games against Kansas all of a sudden are considerably less daunting in the wake of senior Danielle McCray’s season-ending knee injury suffered Thursday. McCray, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, was averaging 19.8 points.
2. The Huskers seem fresh for the homestretch, mentally and physically. Credit Yori for being mindful of minutes. Griffin is averaging 19.3 points in 26.3 minutes per game after missing all of last season with a foot injury.
Through eight conference games last season, Cory Montgomery was averaging 33.8 minutes, but is down to 30.6 this season. Yvonne Turner has dropped from 32.8 to 29.8, and Dominique Kelley from 25.1 to 24.1. It helps matters that Yori was able to rest starters during recent blowout wins against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
3. This just in: Griffin is hard to handle, even when she’s absorbing defenders’ shoulders, elbows and knees to all parts of her solid 6-foot-2 frame.
She’s a joy to watch.
“She gets hit and gets played physically every game,” Yori said. “It’s a wonder she doesn’t have bruises all over her body.”
Get that ice bath ready anyway.
“She’s physically very strong,” Yori added. “I’ve seen her play at a level of toughness that I’ve never seen anywhere else I’ve coached.”
Griffin was off-limits for media interviews this past week. Good idea. She’s getting bombarded with interview requests. She said she needs to stay focused on school and hoops. Plus, like anyone, she desires time to herself.
Here’s the news: The spotlight on Nebraska could become even more intense down the stretch. This is a great story, with novelty an integral part of the appeal.
“It’s not necessarily overwhelming because we knew we were something special this year,” Griffin said. “Did we know we were going to do all this? No. But I think we’ve earned it. We just take it one day at a time. We stay grounded and just know it’s one more practice, one more game.”
And another ice bath.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at ssipple@journalstar.com or 473-7440.
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