Freshman Kelley sparks Husker women past Zips
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By The Lincoln Journal Star
Freshman Dominique Kelley sparked a 29-4 run to close the first half and start the second half, and the Nebraska women’s basketball team cruised to a 75-47 victory against Akron in the final game of the Oahu Classic on Sunday afternoon in Oahu, Hawaii.
Kelley, a Lincoln Northeast graduate, scored nine of her team-high 13 points during the Huskers’ decisive surge.
Coach Connie Yori said that it was a big victory for NU (4-2).
“Obviously, we needed this one. We started the tournament 0-2 (with losses to Marist and Utah),” she said on her postgame radio show.
“We had a little bit more pop today. We substituted a lot today and the players responded.”
Nebraska started the game strong, working its way to a 12-4 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half, before Akron began to chip away. The Zips pulled within 20-18 on Riana Miller’s layup with just more than six minutes left.
The Husker defense then took over, holding the Zips without a field goal for the rest of the first half and closed the half with a 14-2 run.
Kelley did the most damage during the run, hitting four straight free throws. Nicole Neals capped the run with NU’s only three-pointer of the game, coming with just seven seconds left as the shot clock expired, to send NU to the locker room with a 34-20 lead.
NU made sure the outcome would not be in doubt for long, opening the second half with a 15-2 run. Kelley scored five quick points in the first four minutes to power NU’s run, while playing a major role in the stifling defense that held Akron without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.
Kelley had a career-high seven rebounds to help the Huskers. Sophomore Cory Montgomery was the only other Husker to finish in double figures with 12 points, while Kelsey Griffin, Kala Kuhlmann and Catheryn Redmon each added nine points. Danielle Page also contributed eight points and six rebounds.
“We got a chance to give a lot of players a lot of time,” Yori said.
The coach lauded Montgomery.
“Cori had a great tournament. She’s been very, very consistent throughout the early season games.”
Akron’s Miller led all scorers with 18 points, while Sarah Tokodi had13 points and four assists in a losing effort for the Zips.
Nebraska hit 49.2 percent (30 of 61) of its shot from the field and 70 percent (14 of 20) of its free-throw attempts, while holding Akron to just 29.1 percent (16-for-55) shooting. The Zips were 0-for-9 on three-pointers, but did hit 15 of 19 free throws.
Nebraska returns home to take on Creighton to begin a three-game homestand Friday. Tip-off against the Jays is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center.
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