LINCOLN — Nebraska coach Connie Yori said she thinks her team still needs one more win at the Big 12 tournament to assure itself of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

And a No. 1 seed, she said, is a higher priority than winning the Big 12.

“I don't think we have to go down there and run the table to get a No. 1 seed,” Yori said.

As the top overall seed in the conference tournament, the undefeated Huskers get a first-round bye and the easiest path to the trophy.

Nebraska will play either No. 8 seed Texas Tech or No. 9 seed Kansas State in the quarterfinals Friday.

But Yori said her focus is making sure that No. 3 Nebraska (29-0) is in the best possible position when the women's basketball selection committee puts together the 64-team NCAA bracket Monday. It could mean tweaking a few of her in-game coaching strategies.

While Yori isn't writing off the possibility of winning the conference tournament, she said it will be difficult to play three games in a three-day stretch, especially when considering Nebraska's up-tempo style of play.

She said she plans to be a little more economical with her starters' minutes, a little more reliant on the team's bench players. Yori already substitutes frequently, but when games tighten up, her best five are usually on the floor.

Junior Dominique Kelley was the only starter who played fewer than 30 minutes during Nebraska's 82-72 win at Kansas State on Saturday. Cory Montgomery has finished just four Big 12 games without reaching 30-plus minutes of action. Kelsey Griffin has played more than 30 minutes in four of her last five.

That has to change this weekend, Yori said.

“We're an energy team,” she said. “We're a team that plays really hard. We play full-court defense. We run the ball. Our kids are spent when they play a game.”

The players are still approaching the Big 12 tournament with enthusiasm, even though they're aware of more rewarding opportunities down the road.

Vonnie Turner said it's important to have a good showing in Kansas City because recently, the Huskers haven't performed well in this event.

Nebraska carries a 7-13 record in the conference tournament. Turner and the non-redshirted seniors are 0-3. The last NU win came against Colorado in 2006.

“This is our six seniors' last chance at the Big 12 tournament,” Turner said. “Just being able to win that first game would be a big accomplishment for us seniors because we haven't accomplished it before.”

It's already been a year full of firsts for the Huskers, though.

They're the only team in Big 12 history to finish the regular season undefeated. And they did it in the conference with the nation's best RPI. Six other Big 12 teams are ranked in the Top 25.

Because of the success, most analysts project Nebraska to be a No. 1 seed when the NCAA field is announced, playing its first- and second-round games in Minneapolis and its regional match-ups in Kansas City.

A Big 12 tournament title likely wouldn't hurt the Huskers' tournament résumé, but their body of work might already be impressive enough.

“It would be terrific (to win the title),” Yori said, “but I think the regular season title is a great test of toughness and consistency. … We feel great about winning that, and again, we're going to go down to the Big 12 tournament and do our best, and we'll see where that takes us.”

Yori named finalist for national award

LINCOLN — Nebraska's Connie Yori has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the inaugural Kay Yow Award, given to the national women's college basketball coach of the year.

Yori, who was named Big 12 coach of the year Monday, is joined by Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and Hartford's Jennifer Rizzotti. All four coaches led their teams to unbeaten conference records.

The other six finalists include Pat Summitt of Tennessee, Muffett McGraw of Notre Dame, Sherri Coale of Oklahoma, Jim Jabor of Dayton, Sue Semrau of Florida State and Nikki Caldwell of UCLA.

The Kay Yow Award was established to honor the NCAA Division I women's head coach who embodies a winning spirit and displays great character both on and off the court.

A 26-member panel will vote on the winner, and the award will be presented during the NCAA women's Final Four in San Antonio on April 4 and 6.

Yow was a coaching legend who led North Carolina State to 737 wins during her 34 seasons at the school. She also coached gold-medal winners at the 1981 World University Games, the 1986 Goodwill Games, 1986 World Championships and the 1988 Olympics.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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