Sports shorts: Postponements, Hardy selected in WNBA Draft, Husker spring football

Postponements

The Kearney Invitational golf tournament, where the McCook High School boys team was slated to compete today, has been postponed indefinitely.

The Broken Bow track meet, featuring the Bison boys and girls, has been moved from today to Monday at 1 p.m.

No information was available at press time concerning the status of McCook's home tennis meet today against Ogallala and the Medicine Valley track meet at the McCook High track.

Nebraska's Hardy chosen by

Connecticut Sun in WNBA Draft

LINCOLN -- Nebraska guard Kiera Hardy became just the second Husker chosen in WNBA Draft history when she was selected with the 39th overall pick by the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday in Cleveland.

Hardy, a Kodak/WBCA Region 5 All-American and a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, closed her illustrious Nebraska career as the school's No. 4 all-time leading scorer with 1,930 points.

She also smashed the school record with 267 three-pointers, previously held by current WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge with 155 from 1995 to 1998. DeForge is one of the WNBA's all-time leaders in three-pointers made.

"I'm very happy and excited and I'm ready to prove to everybody that big things come in small packages," Hardy said. "I feel very blessed, and I want to thank coach Thibault and their organization for giving me a chance to prove myself.

"I thought Pre-Draft Camp went very well for me last week, and I felt good going into the draft. Obviously I was getting pretty nervous as the picks got later in the third round, but it was a relief and I'm going to go there to prove to everybody that I belong."

Hardy was one of five players from the Big 12 Conference chosen in Wednesday's three-round draft, including Tiffany Jackson (Texas), Bernice Mosby (Baylor), Lyndsey Medders (Iowa State) and Leah Rush (Oklahoma).

Husker football resumes

contact in Wednesday practice

LINCOLN -- The Nebraska football team resumed contact drills with a scrimmage during a 2 1\2 hour practice in full pads on Wednesday inside the Hawks Championship Center.

The 40-play scrimmage focused on multiple aspects of the game, ranging from blitz pick-ups to short yardage drills, as the Huskers prepare for the Red-White Spring Game on April 14.

"We got a lot of things accomplished and we're making progress and trying to become a more consistent football team," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. "We're just trying to bring it all together."

The NU quarterbacks continued to compete for the coveted starting spot on Wednesday, with four different players running the offense during the afternoon workout.

Now nine practices into the spring season, Callahan revisited the question of Nebraska's likely starter, stating that he still considers the position of quarterback anybody's game.

"All the guys are competing hard," Callahan said. "We're putting them in a lot of different situations and all of the different guys are coming out and doing a nice job. Right now, I wouldn't at all say that any one has an edge."

Callahan also discussed the Nebraska offensive line, which got a solid workout on Wednesday as the Huskers focused on picking up various blitzes.

The NU O-line returns a number of important contributors from 2006 this spring, namely the inside three of senior center Brett Byford, junior guards Andy Christensen and Matt Slauson.

"The number one thing is experience," Callahan said. "That starts with Brett Byford. It was great that he could come in a replace Kurt Mann a year ago and gain that experience that he needed to perform in a starting role. That helped immensely.

"And then of course Andy Christensen has game experience, and Matt Slauson played both tackle and guard. So those inside three would be the big factor of this line coming together."