Burke gets career high in Bakersfield win

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Cory Montgomery hit a long jumper with 4:01 to play to give the Nebraska women's basketball team its first lead since early in the second half to start a decisive 12-2 swing that fueled the Huskers to a 66-62 victory against Cal State Bakersfield Thursday night in Bakersfield, Calif.

NU, which improved to 8-2, became just the fourth team out of 29 to beat the Roadrunners in the Icardo Center.

Nebraska led 34-31 at halftime thanks to freshman guard Kaitlyn Burke hitting five three-pointers.

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But Bakersfield (5-5) scored the first five points of the second half and opened up leads as large as  five points before the Huskers used stingy defense to rally.

After Montgomery's jump shot made it 55-54, Bakersfield scored on just one of its next five possessions. Kelley Tarver accounted for those two points with a pair of free throws that pulled the Roadrunners to 57-56 at the three-minute mark.

But Burke answered with her fifth three-pointer of the game, and thereafter the Huskers never led by less than two possessions.

"Through the first 35 minutes they got every loose ball," NU coach Connie Yori said on her postgame radio show. "The last five minutes, we came up with the loose balls. Credit our players for making the plays down the stretch."

Burke led Nebraska with a career-high 15 points, while Montgomery and Kesley Griffin each finished with 12. Senior forward Danielle Page also had seven blocks and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Nebraska plays at Long Beach State on Saturday.

Briefly

Sophomore guard Kala Kuhlmann did not suit up Thursday and apparently will miss the next couple weeks with a sprained knee. Kuhlmann is averaging 14.9 minutes and 3.6 points per game and was third on the team with 21 assists.