(Minneapolis, MN) – Nebraska produced a furious third-quarter rally that carried through the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, cutting a 21-point Minnesota lead to just six, but the Golden Gophers made the plays down the stretch in an 84-67 win over the Huskers at Williams Arena.
With the loss, Nebraska slipped to 16-9 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota improved to 19-6 and 10-4 in the conference by notching its seventh consecutive victory.
Britt Prince led four Huskers in double figures with 15 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jessica Petrie fueled Nebraska’s second-half rally with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals, while hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers.
Amiah Hargrove pitched in 13 points and six rebounds, while Logan Nissley contributed 12 points and four assists.
The Huskers hit 41.4 percent (24-58) of their field goals for the game, including 9-of-26 threes (.346). Nebraska also hit 10-of-12 free throws, but did not attempt a free throw in the second half.
Minnesota answered with 52.5 percent (31-59) shooting, but just 4-of-14 threes (.286), while going 18-of-21 at the line, including 10-of-12 in the second half. The Gophers won the battle of the boards, 36-29, and both teams committed 16 turnovers.
After trailing 40-19 at the half, Nebraska was sparked by Petrie in the third quarter. The 6-2 junior from Australia scored eight straight points in just over 2:30 to cut a 53-32 Husker deficit to 53-40. Prince then added a three-pointer of her own to make it a 10-point game less than five minutes into the second half.
Hargrove added five points late in the third quarter, including a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to cut the Minnesota lead to 60-52 heading to the fourth period. Hargrove also got off a runner from the top of the key just before time expired that hit the front iron but fell short.
Minnesota opened the fourth with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes, but Nebraska was not done fighting. After a Husker timeout, Nissley and Petrie drained three-pointers around a Hargrove two to make up an 8-0 run to pull within 67-60.
Minnesota stopped the run on a layup from Sophie Hart, but Nissley buried another three to make it a two-possession game at 69-63 with 4:45 left. The teams traded baskets to keep the margin at six, before Hart completed a three-point play with 3:33 to open a 9-0 Gopher run in a two-minute stretch to push the margin back to 15 points at 80-65 with 1:27 remaining.
Amaya Battle led five Minnesota starters in double figures with a game-high 21 points, while Mara Braun added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Hart led the Gophers inside with 14 points, while Grace Grocholski contributed, 12 and Tori McKinney pitched in 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Gopher starting guards Braun, Battle and Grocholski controlled the first half, as the trio combined for 34 points to help Minnesota take a 49-30 halftime lead.
Braun hit three three-pointers to finish the half with 13 points, while Battle added 13 points and a trio of traditional three-point plays. Grocholski added eight points. Battle and Grocholski both picked up their second fouls midway through the second quarter, but by that point Minnesota had built a 40-19 lead.
Nebraska hit just 34.6 percent (9-26) of its shots from the floor in the half, including just 2-of-10 threes, while hitting 10-of-12 free throws. The Huskers got outrebounded 18-16 and lost the first-half turnover battle 11-6.
The Golden Gophers hit a sizzling 55.9 percent (19-34) of their first-half shots, including 3-of-10 threes – all by Braun, and 8-of-9 free throws.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten home action for a special Presidents Day game when the Huskers take on No. 15 Iowa at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Feb. 16. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Hawkeyes is set for 11 a.m. (CT) with FOX national TV broadcast. Tickets are available now at Huskers.com and the game also will be carried live by the Huskers Radio Network on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.
