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#Huskers take Australia


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After a summer of practices and preparations, the Nebraska women's basketball team embarks on a nearly two-week tour of Australia, Aug. 1-12. The Huskers will play four games on the tour, while making extended stays in Melbourne, Cairns and Sydney.

 

"Our team is definitely excited and the anticipation for the trip has kind of been building since early May," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "We have benefitted from a lot of quality practices throughout the summer, and we feel like all of our players have made some pretty big strides on the court."

 

Yori said the tour would offer some young Huskers a chance to play significant roles, while giving new staff members Britney Brown, Ashley Ford and Katie Adams a chance to bond with all of the Huskers outside of the gym.

 

"Rachel Theriot, Kyndal Clark and Jess Shepard will be making the trip, but won't be playing in any of the games, so that will give sophomores like Natalie Romeo, Jas Cincore and Emily Wood, and freshman Maddie Simon chances to play pretty prominent roles in the backcourt," Yori said. "It should also give Darrien Washington and freshman Rachel Blackburn a chance to get a lot of time inside alongside Allie Havers and Anya Kalenta."

 

Nebraska expects to have nine players available for action on the tour, including junior guard Esther Ramacieri, who was slowed for part of the summer with a minor knee injury. Senior forward Alicia Ostrander will not travel with the team to Australia because of her commitments with the Nebraska volleyball program.

 

The Huskers will depart from Omaha on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 1) and are expected to arrive in Sydney, Australia on Monday, Aug. 3 at 6:30 a.m. (Aug. 2, 3:30 p.m., central). After crossing the international dateline and vaulting 15 hours ahead, the Huskers will fly from Sydney to Melbourne to spend their first night in Australia.

 

The real tour begins on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when the Huskers take in the sights of the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, before traveling to Seaford, Victoria, to take on Frankston at the Frankston Basketball Stadium. Tip-off between the Huskers and Frankston is set for 8 p.m. (5 a.m. central).

Nebraska will experience brilliant views of Melbourne from the vantage point of the Eureka Tower on Wednesday morning, before taking on the Dandenong Rangers at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 6:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. central).

 

The Huskers wrap up a stretch of three games in three days when they battle Cairns in Manunda, Queensland at Cairns Basketball Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. central).

After three busy days with Melbourne as their home base, the Huskers will spend three days in Cairns as a launching point to tour the Great Barrier Reef (Friday, Aug. 7) and visit the Cairns Tropical Zoo (Saturday, Aug. 8).

 

On Sunday, Aug. 9, the Huskers will depart Cairns midday to travel to Sydney, before playing their fourth and final game of the tour against the Sydney Flames in Alexandria, New South Wales at the Alexandria Basketball Stadium on Monday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. (5 a.m. central). Nebraska also will tour the Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour on Monday.

 

The Big Red wrap up their stay Down Under on Tuesday, Aug. 11, with a tour of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, before making the long journey back to Nebraska on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

 

"We are definitely going to have a few long days in there, but it is truly going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our players and coaches," Yori said. "More than just seeing how our players work together on the court, we will get a chance to see how they experience new things together. These will be memories that will last a lifetime for all of us."

 

Nebraska Women's Basketball Australian Tour Aug. 1-12, 2015

 

Saturday, Aug. 1 - Depart Omaha - 4 p.m. (CT)
Monday, Aug. 3 - Arrive Melbourne - 10:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. CT)
Tuesday, Aug. 4 - Game 1 vs. Frankston - 8 p.m. (5 a.m. CT)
Wednesday, Aug. 5 - Game 2 vs. Dandenong Rangers - 6:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. CT)
Thursday, Aug. 6 - Team Travel from Melbourne to Cairns
Thursday, Aug. 6 - Game 3 vs. Cairns - 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. CT)
Friday, Aug. 7 - Great Barrier Reef Tour
Saturday, Aug. 8 - Cairns Tropical Zoo
Sunday, Aug. 9 - Team Travel from Cairns to Sydney
Monday, Aug. 10 - Sydney Opera House Tour / Darling Harbour Tour
Monday, Aug. 10 - Game 4 vs. Sydney Flames - 8 p.m. (5 a.m. CT)
Tuesday, Aug. 11 - Sydney Harbour Bridge Tour
Wednesday, Aug. 12 - Return to Nebraska

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After traveling half the day Saturday and all day Sunday, the Nebraska women's basketball team finally touched down in Australia on Monday morning. 

 

Following a brief stop in Sydney, the Huskers flew on to Melbourne for a few hours of sightseeing before heading to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for some rest.

 

The Big Red open the competitive portion of their tour on Tuesday when they take on the Frankston Blues at 8 p.m. (5 a.m. central). Frankston competes in the South Division of the South East Australia Basketball League (SEABL). Frankston's top players include former Gonzaga standout Kelly Bowen, former Houston star Emily Fryters and former Saint Mary's (Calif.) guard Kate Gaze.

 

Nebraska senior All-America point guard Rachel Theriot will not be competing for the Huskers in their four games in Australia, but said she was excited to be with the team on the tour.

 

"No better way to start my senior year than going to Australia with the team," Theriot said. "It is a great opportunity and I'm extremely thankful for it. The opportunity to go to Australia has provided us with some great practice time this summer, and those workouts and practices have allowed us to get ahead in a sense."

 

Theriot said her rehabilitation from surgery in late-February is right on track.

 

"Recovery is going as planned and I feel pretty good about where I am at right now," Theriot said. "I can't wait to be out there again with the team and playing full go. Our summer workouts have helped us with team chemistry and everyone is working hard right now and committed. I'm definitely excited about this year.

 

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=29&SPID=25&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210246997&DB_OEM_ID=100

 

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Yes, not sure who will start, but we will be a lot deeper, and stronger in the front court.

 

The addition of Sheppard, Blackburn and Washington will really change things for us.....adds lots more scoring potential, let alone rebounding .....last year we couldn't let Cady take a break much....wore her out lots of games.

 

The key to even greater success could be at the guard/wing positions. Rachel T and Romeo...and Clark? ...(all scorers) ....could be a very good combo...plus Jazz, Maddie, and more.

 

Premature (and optimistic)...yea..... but we might just well be stronger and more complete than last year.

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I am hoping for a goal of losing by less than 20 against UCONN. I would considered that a win for us!! I like the way we are going to look this year. I think with so many shooters teams are going to be crazy to play zone against us and I think if they go to man against us Shepard and the other post/forward we are playing at the time will be pretty unstoppable.

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Yes, not sure who will start, but we will be a lot deeper, and stronger in the front court.

 

The addition of Sheppard, Blackburn and Washington will really change things for us.....adds lots more scoring potential, let alone rebounding .....last year we couldn't let Cady take a break much....wore her out lots of games.

 

The key to even greater success could be at the guard/wing positions. Rachel T and Romeo...and Clark? ...(all scorers) ....could be a very good combo...plus Jazz, Maddie, and more.

 

Premature (and optimistic)...yea..... but we might just well be stronger and more complete than last year.

 

Have to disagree.    There is always buzz about new players.  But we are looking at the loss of FOUR seniors, 2 of whom started over 100 games in their careers.  They will be missed.   Experience is very important at this level, and we don't have much of it.  We will do OK, but to say we'll be better than last year is a huge reach.   I do like the new talent we are bringing in, and an experienced and quality point guard is always worth some wins.  But unless Shepard is dominant out of the gate, combining with a healthy Theriot,  this will be somewhat of a rebuilding year.  

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I'm sure we will have some clunky games/moments due to our youth.  What I hope to see is improvement as the season progresses.  These kids will be pretty darn good with some experience, it's just a matter of how fast they will get there.  I think in the end we will look back and say the recruiting class with Cady, Sample, Jeffry and Laudermill was very special, but this group of kids was even better.

 

This team will definitely have a different look to them compared to last year's team.  Much needed depth and experience for all since they are young.  I do feel the minutes piled up on several of our players last year, and they also could not afford any foul trouble. 

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This Aussy trip is obviously doing some good and important things.....

 

Getting a head start and real game experience for the freshmen. (Plus the summer workouts before the trip.)  They'll be in a better place come the exibition season, just because of this summer. (better start than a freshman on another B1G team)

 

Sheppard's the exception to most everything. If she's (like any player) healthy....she will be a factor very soon. Freshman "stuff" dosen't apply in her case.

Another of my optimistic predictions.....she'll start... at least... by the beginning of the regular season.

 

Another LJS article on first game:

 

http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/womens-basketball/women-s-hoops-romeo-scores-but-huskers-drop-australian-opener/article_3f9d32d5-68ab-55c8-b875-c6e9770984fe.html

 

"Freshmen posts Rachel Blackburn (nine points, nine rebounds) and Darrien Washington (seven points, 10 rebounds, two blocks) added presence inside."

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