KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nebraska made sure to get a brief sampling of the Municipal Auditorium court Wednesday evening, mainly because it will be awhile before the Huskers are back on that floor again.

The NU women's team arrived in Kansas City Wednesday and conducted a 40-minute shooting session on the same court where it will compete for a Big 12 tournament title.

But the Huskers have a first-round bye on Thursday. They face either No. 8 seed Texas Tech or No. 9 seed Kansas State on Friday.

At least for now, though, the players have a feel for the venue.

The Huskers never really took a break Wednesday, hoisting hundreds of attempts in a fashion similar to a pregame shoot-around. They accomplished their objectives, senior Cory Montgomery said.

“Just get up a bunch of shots,” she said. “Get used to the rim. Get used to the lighting from different areas of the floor because sometimes the lighting changes, just how you see the rim.”

Montgomery on mend

The right side of Montgomery's body was wrapped with ice after Wednesday's practice, the standard medical treatment for a midweek tumble that left the senior forward with nagging bruises.

Montgomery said she feels fine now.

Saturday was a different story, though. She slipped and fell on ice last week, but played 31 minutes during Nebraska's 82-72 season-ending win at Kansas State.

Montgomery scored 13 points and recorded nine rebounds, but the afternoon was painful, she said.

“I'm not going to lie, it was a rough one,” Montgomery said. “I'm good now. (Saturday), it just kind of hit me and I couldn't really move.”

Recruiting buzz

Nebraska coach Connie Yori was noticeably absent from Nebraska's short practice, though that was by design.

Yori had a recruiting trip to take.

Nebraska's sudden rise to elite status has caught the attention of many talented high schoolers exploring their college options.

The Husker coaching staff is trying to take advantage of its newly established name recognition.

ESPN was on Lincoln's campus Tuesday, conducting interviews that the network will likely use throughout March. Yori was named the Big 12 coach of the year Monday and was selected Tuesday as one of 10 finalists for national coach of the year.

“We're noticing a number of our recruits, who have shown a little bit more interest in us, are a little higher caliber level of player than we've been able to get interested in us,” Yori said Tuesday. “We think that's going to help us. We hope it does.”

Bits and pieces

• Nebraska lost its last game in Municipal Auditorium two years ago when Kansas beat the Huskers 73-67.

• The Texas Tech-Kansas State game begins at 11 a.m. Thursday. The winner faces top-seeded Nebraska at 11 a.m. Friday.

• In the 13-year history of the Big 12 tournament, the No. 1 seed has won the championship seven times. The 2008 Kansas State team is the only top seed to lose its quarterfinal game.

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