Poor play in the second half had to catch up to Nebraska women’s basketball eventually.
The Huskers shot three times as many free throws, made more three-pointers, and went under their season average for turnovers but lost at home 72-64 to Illinois. Nebraska is now 14-10 on the year and 6-7 in the Big Ten Conference.
There was no slow start in this one for either team. Nebraska scored first before both teams traded 3s. Illinois ran off an 8-0 run that NU answered with an 11-0 run.
That run by the Huskers gave the home team a lead it would hold through the end of the third quarter.
But the second half, as it had been in the previous two games, was disastrous for Nebraska.
The Huskers managed to hold the lead at 10 with 1:43 to go in the third quarter. That’s the point that Illinois took off on a 20-0 run over the next seven minutes of game time.
Nebraska simply could not get a shot to go in on offense, looking lost on a number of possessions with nothing going right. Illinois, meanwhile, was getting clean looks and took advantage of them.
Of Nebraska’s 13 points in the fourth quarter, 11 came at the free throw line. That wasn’t enough to overcome what had been a double-digit deficit as the Illini held out for the victory.
Nebraska finished the game shooting 33 percent, including 5-of-21 on 3s. The Huskers also shot 34 free throws, making 25.
Illinois used a strong second half to end up at 44 percent from the field, including 4-of-17 from deep. The Illini only shot 11 free throws but made 10 of them.
After back-t0-back games of 26 and 24 turnovers, Nebraska didn’t fair too poorly in that area. NU only had 14 turnovers tonight, more than two under their season average.
Sam Haiby scored 10 points in the second half to ultimately lead Nebraska with 15 for the game. She added eight rebounds.
Alexis Markowski notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but she had 12 and nine in the first half. Issie Bourne also had a tale of two halves with 11 points in the first and none in the second.
Jaz Shelley pitched in 12 points and eight rebounds.
Nebraska now heads on the road for their next two games: Sunday at No. 13 Michigan and Tuesday at Minnesota. The next home game is a week from Saturday when the Huskers welcome No. 5 Iowa to Lincoln.