Lincoln - Nebraska used a career night from Alexa Johnson to usher in the Connie Yori era with a 63-40 victory over Grambling State in front of 1,999 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Friday evening.
Johnson, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Hacienda Heights, Calif., dazzled the Lady Tigers by hitting seven of her first eight shots from the field and finishing with 24 points for the Huskers, who led from wire-to-wire to improve to 1-0 on the season.
Johnson said she knew she had a hot hand from the start.
"Sometimes there are nights where you feel like you're shooting it into a barrell, and you just know it is going in every time," Johnson said. "Tonight was one of those nights for me. I just have to give credit to my teammates for finding me and getting me open shots."
Johnson, who also grabbed 13 rebounds for her first career double-double, single-handedly outscored Grambling State in the first half, scoring 22 points before halftime, as NU took a 40-19 lead into the locker room and cruised to the 23-point win.
Johnson hit 8-of-14 shots from the floor and connected on all eight free throws, easily topping her previous career best of 15 points against Texas A&M last January. Her 13 rebounds were also a career high along with her 30 minutes of action.
But Johnson was far from the only weapon firing for the Huskers in the opener. Senior Margaret Richards added her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while adding three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Junior Katie Morse overcame early foul trouble to post a double-double of her own with a career-high 12 points and a career-best 10 boards.
NU set a blistering pace in the opening minutes, opening the contest with a 9-1 spurt before building an early double-figure lead behind the play of Johnson and sixth-year senior Amanda Cleveland, who combined for NU