Laramie, Wyo. - Nebraska freshman forward Shahidrah Roberts came off the bench to score 12 of her career-high 14 points in the second half to spark the Husker women's basketball team to an 89-74 win over Wyoming in front of 576 fans at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie on Sunday.
Roberts, who entered the game with a total of just 20 points in the Huskers' first seven games combined, connected on a pair of 3-pointers and added three more jumpers in the second half to help the Huskers improve to 5-3 on the year and overcome a 34-31 halftime deficit.
The 5-9 freshman from Overland Park, Kan., produced the best performance of her young career despite battling the flu and the Laramie altitude of 7,220 feet. Her 14 points and four rebounds came in just 13 minutes of action.
Nebraska coach Paul Sanderford said Roberts provided a major boost for the Huskers.
"The story today was definitely Shahidrah Roberts," Sanderford said. "She gave us a tremendous lift at both ends of the floor. Not only did she hit some big shots for us, she also made some defensive stops, and I thought she did a great job when she was in there guarding Wyoming's best player, Carrie Bacon."
Bacon managed 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cowgirls, who fell to 4-6 on the season, but she hit just 6-of-16 shots from the floor. Wyoming guard Shelby Hoffman led all scorers with 22 points, including a 6-for-11 shooting performance from beyond the 3-point arc.
Senior point guard Nicole Kubik scored 19 points, including a 9-of-10 performance from the free throw line, to go along with a season-high eight rebounds. Junior center Casey Leonhardt matched Kubik's team high with 19 points and added team bests with nine rebounds and four blocked shots, as the Huskers enjoyed a 51-43 advantage on the boards.
Brooke Schwartz contributed 11 points, while Amanda Went also provided a strong game off the bench with 10 points and a career-high eight assists.
The Huskers hit 45.8 percent of their field goals for the game, including a blistering 55.9 percent (19-34) in the second half. Nebraska also hit on 75 percent of its free throws, including an 18-for-25 effort (72 percent) in the second half.
Nebraska's strong defense held the Cowgirls to just 33.8 percent (25-74) field goal shooting for the game, but Wyoming managed to stay in the contest by connecting on 9-of-21 3-pointers (42.9 percent).
The Huskers led by as many as 11 points early in the first half after Kubik hit Leonhardt for a layup to go up 19-8 with 12:00 left in the half. But the Huskers went ice cold from the field, as the Cowgirls outscored Nebraska 26-12 for the remainder of the half. Hoffman almost single-handedly kept the Cowgirls in the game in the first half, scoring 14 points and knocking down four 3-pointers.
Roberts gave the Huskers their first lead of the second half at 38-36 on her 3-pointer with 17:14 remaining. Leonhardt's free throw with 16:43 remaining gave Nebraska a 39-38 lead that it never relinquished, as the Huskers went on an 8-0 over the next 1:12 and never looked back.
The Huskers return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 4:30 p.m. Central time when they travel to the St. Peter's Holiday Classic in Jersey City, N.J., to take on UAB. Yale and St. Peter's will meet in the tournament's other first-round game on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 6:30 p.m. The consolation and championship games of the four-team tournament will be held on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.