Cowgirls shoot down NU
The start of Sunday’s women’s basketball game between Nebraska and Oklahoma State was delayed 20 minutes by a lighting-system malfunction at the Devaney Sports Center.
It turned out to be an eerie omen for the Huskers, whose bid for an upset of the 17th-ranked Cowgirls ended because of a problem with their own electricity to start the second half.
Leading by just seven points at halftime, OSU spent the next eight-plus minutes beating the Huskers every way possible while pushing its advantage to 31 points before settling for a 92-81 victory in front of 6,756 fans.
It left the Huskers — who lost for only the second time in 15 home games while dropping to 17-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big 12 — a shade darker than the pink trim on the uniforms they wore in support of breast cancer awareness.
“We were in rotation (and) we didn’t have our next teammate dropping down, and then they kicked it out to shooters,” said an exasperated Vonnie Turner, who had the difficult challenge of trying to contain energetic point guard Andrea Riley. “I mean, they just worked the ball very well in the second half, and the first half, and we just couldn’t stop it.”
Riley padded her Big 12-leading scoring average by getting a game-high 24 points, but it wasn’t just her show. Junior forward Shaunte’ Smith had 20 points, while every other OSU starter and another reserve finished in double figures.
Taylor Hardeman, who buried 4 of 6 three-pointers, opened the second half by draining one from the right elbow to give the Cowgirls a double-digit lead they wouldn’t relinquish until it was too late for the Huskers.
After its first five possessions of the second half, when it went 0-for-2 from the field and committed three turnovers, Nebraska found itself down 50-36.
In the first 8:43 of the second half, the Huskers scored on just 3 of 17 second-half possessions and trailed 73-43. Oklahoma State would soon have its largest margin of 31 points before NU responded with a 17-0 run and eventually pulled as close as nine points with 1:08 remaining.
But in regard to the outcome, that flurry proved to be nothing more than an impressive display of determination.
“They really had it going in the first part of that second half,” NU coach Connie Yori said. “We just got beat off the dribble and they either got threes off it or offensive rebounds.
“We were passive. I thought the first three-quarters of the game they got every single loose ball. When we made our run, we became aggressive.”
Nebraska had the crowd hoping for a third straight comeback from a double-digit margin when Dominique Kelley scored to make it 78-68. But Hardeman deflated the mood by answering right back with a three from the top of the key at the 4:09 mark.
“They had the ability to drive in, kick out and hit the big plays when they needed to,” said Husker forward Cory Montgomery, who, like teammates Kelsey Griffin and Danielle Page, scored 18 points. “They used what we gave them (defensively) to take their (big) lead.”
The Cowgirls’ eruption coming out after halftime came after there had been five lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
OSU went from being down one points with 6:20 left in the first half to up by nine three minutes later, a span in which it scored on six straight possessions.
That stretch, along with the first nine minutes of the second half, merited mention by coach Kurt Budke as being the “best basketball we’ve played this year.”
Budke, whose team improved to 19-3 and 7-2, brought up a 19-point win against Oklahoma, when the Cowgirls made just five turnovers.
“But to do it on the road ... that was a great segment.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
It turned out to be an eerie omen for the Huskers, whose bid for an upset of the 17th-ranked Cowgirls ended because of a problem with their own electricity to start the second half.
Leading by just seven points at halftime, OSU spent the next eight-plus minutes beating the Huskers every way possible while pushing its advantage to 31 points before settling for a 92-81 victory in front of 6,756 fans.
It left the Huskers — who lost for only the second time in 15 home games while dropping to 17-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big 12 — a shade darker than the pink trim on the uniforms they wore in support of breast cancer awareness.
“We were in rotation (and) we didn’t have our next teammate dropping down, and then they kicked it out to shooters,” said an exasperated Vonnie Turner, who had the difficult challenge of trying to contain energetic point guard Andrea Riley. “I mean, they just worked the ball very well in the second half, and the first half, and we just couldn’t stop it.”
Riley padded her Big 12-leading scoring average by getting a game-high 24 points, but it wasn’t just her show. Junior forward Shaunte’ Smith had 20 points, while every other OSU starter and another reserve finished in double figures.
Taylor Hardeman, who buried 4 of 6 three-pointers, opened the second half by draining one from the right elbow to give the Cowgirls a double-digit lead they wouldn’t relinquish until it was too late for the Huskers.
After its first five possessions of the second half, when it went 0-for-2 from the field and committed three turnovers, Nebraska found itself down 50-36.
In the first 8:43 of the second half, the Huskers scored on just 3 of 17 second-half possessions and trailed 73-43. Oklahoma State would soon have its largest margin of 31 points before NU responded with a 17-0 run and eventually pulled as close as nine points with 1:08 remaining.
But in regard to the outcome, that flurry proved to be nothing more than an impressive display of determination.
“They really had it going in the first part of that second half,” NU coach Connie Yori said. “We just got beat off the dribble and they either got threes off it or offensive rebounds.
“We were passive. I thought the first three-quarters of the game they got every single loose ball. When we made our run, we became aggressive.”
Nebraska had the crowd hoping for a third straight comeback from a double-digit margin when Dominique Kelley scored to make it 78-68. But Hardeman deflated the mood by answering right back with a three from the top of the key at the 4:09 mark.
“They had the ability to drive in, kick out and hit the big plays when they needed to,” said Husker forward Cory Montgomery, who, like teammates Kelsey Griffin and Danielle Page, scored 18 points. “They used what we gave them (defensively) to take their (big) lead.”
The Cowgirls’ eruption coming out after halftime came after there had been five lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
OSU went from being down one points with 6:20 left in the first half to up by nine three minutes later, a span in which it scored on six straight possessions.
That stretch, along with the first nine minutes of the second half, merited mention by coach Kurt Budke as being the “best basketball we’ve played this year.”
Budke, whose team improved to 19-3 and 7-2, brought up a 19-point win against Oklahoma, when the Cowgirls made just five turnovers.
“But to do it on the road ... that was a great segment.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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