CNT Sports // Football & Volleyball // NRG CN
LOPER FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES 2024 NON-CONFERENCE FOES:
The Nebraska Kearney football team’s 2024 schedule features five home games, two road non-conference game contests and a bye week.
The Lopers begin the season Aug. 29 (Thurs.) at longtime rival Chadron State and will head to Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 5.
The non-league dates and bye came about as part of new Division II “Week 0” legislation and with Lincoln and Northeastern State no longer part of the MIAA football slate. Week zero allows D2 schools to start the season early and play 11 games over 12 weeks.
Future schedules (2025 and 2026 seasons) are to be determined as the MIAA works on league membership and the number of league games football will play. The Lopers begin spring ball in late March with fall camp starting in late July or early August.
SHELLEY, POTTS EARN CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS:
Nebraska women’s basketball players Jaz Shelley and Natalie Potts captured Big Ten honors.
Shelley earned the first Big Ten Player-of-the-Week award of her career after producing 23 points, three rebounds and five assists in Nebraska’s 82-79 come-from-behind upset of No. 2 Iowa in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon.
Natalie Potts gave the Big Red a big spark early in the fourth quarter on her way to her sixth Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award of the season.She scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the fourth quarter to pull Nebraska within striking distance against the Hawkeyes.
Nebraska (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten) returns to Big Ten road action on Wednesday when the Huskers travel to Columbus to take on No. 2 Ohio State (21-3, 12-1).
SUPER BOWL REPEAT SEALED; MAHOMES, CHIEFS LEAD BACK-TO-BACK TITLE COMEBACK OVER SAN FRAN:
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have made the Kansas City Chiefs a dynasty.
With the win, it’s the first back-to-back champion since Tom Brady’s New England Patriots did it 19 years ago.
Mahomes threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman in overtime, and the Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on Sunday, becoming the NFL’s ninth repeat Super Bowl champs.
The Chiefs are now champions in three of the past five seasons.
The 28-year-old Mahomes becomes the fourth starting QB to win three Super Bowls — joining Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman — and second-youngest.
Early odds now place the 49ers as the 2025 Super Bowl favorite.
HUSKER WOMEN SPOIL CLARK’S NEAR-RECORD DAY; TAKE DOWN No. 2 IOWA:
Jaz Shelley scored 10 of her season-high 23 points in the final five minutes to help Nebraska rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to an 82-79 win over No. 2 Iowa on Sunday afternoon.
Playing in front of a school-record, sellout crowd of 15,042 at Pinnacle Bank Arena and a FOX national television audience, the Huskers trailed 69-55 at the end of three quarters before Shelley, Logan Nissley, Natalie Potts and Kendall Moriarty combined for all of Nebraska’s 27 fourth-quarter points to rally Nebraska to its fourth victory over a top-five opponent in school history.
The Huskers also held the country’s leading scorer – Caitlin Clark – scoreless in the fourth quarter. Clark remains shy of the all-time scoring record in women’s basketball history.
The win matched a 103-99 3OT win over No. 2 and eventual national champion Baylor at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Jan. 12, 2005, for the highest-ranked foe Nebraska has ever defeated in women’s basketball.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action to face its second straight top-five foe when the Huskers face No. 5 Ohio State on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio is set for 6 p.m.
STORM TAKE DOWN LANCERS AT HOME ON SATURDAY:
The Tri-City Storm defeated the Omaha Lancers by a final score of 6-3 Saturday night at the Viaero Center to improve to 20-13-4-4 on the 2023-2024 regular season.
Tri-City’s victory was the team’s fourth consecutive over Omaha this season.
Goaltender Cameron Korpi recorded his 19th win of the season in net for Tri-City.
The Storm will now embark on a five-game road trip before returning home to host the Lincoln Stars on Saturday, March 2nd 2024, for the organization’s annual Kool-Aid Night Game.
CAREER NIGHT FOR UNDERCLASSMEN LEAD LOPER WOMEN:
Graduate forward Shiloh McCool posted her seventh straight double doubles and Nebraska Kearney also got three career-high performances to survive Newman, 81-76, Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
The Lopers (17-6, 11-6) sweep the season series from the Jets (2-21, 1-16) and remain in a logjam in the MIAA standings. Missouri Southern and Missouri Western (14-3) are tied for first with UNK one of five teams between 10-12 league victories.
UNK heads to MIAA preseason favorite Central Missouri (16-6, 10-6) on Thursday night.
UNK MEN FALL TO JETS IN HSC SHOOTOUT:
The Newman University Jets sunk 14 three pointers and had five score in double figures to win a shootout with Nebraska Kearney, 90-85, Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.
From Wichita, NU (7-15, 4-15) sweeps the season series from the Lopers for a second straight year.
The teams combined for 175 points thanks to a 65 of 129 effort (.503 pct.) from the field that included 24 of 59 shooting (.407 pct.) from behind the arc.
UNK heads to Central Missouri and Lincoln next weekend.
Buffalo County Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN BUFFALO COUNTY SPORTS:
MONDAY:
High School Sports:
- GIBBON:
- Girls Basketball: @ C2-10 Sub-District @ Ord – 6:30 PM
KGFW Sports Schedule:
- High School Coaches Show (5 PM – 6 PM)
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)