Huskers Falter at Finish, Lose to No. 8 Cyclones

Ames, Iowa - The Nebraska women's basketball team had No. 8 Iowa State on the ropes for 28 minutes, but the Cyclones showed their fury by outscoring the Huskers, 38-12, over the final 12 minutes to hand Nebraska an 89-66 defeat in front of 12,134 fans at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa on Saturday.

Nebraska fell to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 Conference action, while Iowa State improved to 12-2 and 4-0 in league play.

Although the Huskers struggled down the stretch, they put together some of their best basketball of the season in building a 54-51 lead on the Cyclones with 11:57 remaining in the game. Using strong play inside from senior forward Charlie Rogers and excellent perimeter shooting from its guards, Nebraska appeared to be in position to end Iowa State's 21-game homecourt winning streak.

But Cyclone sophomore center Angie Welle scored 20 of her career-high 24 points in the second half, and Iowa State knocked down 21-of-30 free throw attempts in the second stanza to secure the victory.

Nebraska coach Paul Sanderford said he was pleased with the Huskers' play for the first 30 minutes, but disappointed with the loss.

"We had them 54-51, and we let the ballgame get away from us," Sanderford said. "We weren't trying to play it close, we were trying to win the basketball game. I think we grew a little bit as a team again today, but I was really disappointed with our defense and rebounding in the second half."

Nebraska trailed 33-32 at halftime by connecting on 5-of-12 3-pointers and forcing the Cyclones into 12 first half turnovers.

The Cyclones built a 47-40 lead early in the second half, largely on the strength of 10 points in the first five minutes from Welle. With Iowa State leading 49-45, Welle picked up her third foul with 14:40 left and went to the Cyclone bench.

Nebraska took advantage of Welle's absence by responding with a 9-2 run that culminated with Nicole Kubik's fifth 3-pointer of the day to give Nebraska a 54-41 lead with 11:57 remaining.

With Welle out of the lineup, the Huskers held the Cyclones without a field goal for more than four minutes, as Welle hit a field goal at the 14:55 mark and connected on Iowa State's next field goal with 10:32 remaining to tie the score, 56-56. Welle's next field goal gave the Cyclones the lead for good with 10:11 left in the game.

After Welle reentered the game, the Cyclones went on a 13-0 run capped by a pair of Stacy Frese free throws to build a 67-56 lead with 7:49 left. After a Brooke Schwartz jumper ended Nebraska's scoring drought with 7:35 left, the Huskers went without another basket until Shahidrah Roberts' jumper with 3:46 left cut Iowa State's lead to 78-60.

Nebraska senior guard Nicole Kubik said the Huskers lost patience during Iowa State's run and got away from the game plan.

"We stopped attacking and stopped playing inside-out," Kubik said. "We didn't do a very good job. We needed to get a stop. We needed to pull together as a team and bail each other out. We lost our poise."

Kubik finished with a team-high 17 points that included a season-high five 3-pointers. Charlie Rogers added her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Brooke Schwartz finished with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Junior point guard Melody Peterson, who played 23 minutes despite battling the flu, also connected on a pair of second half 3-pointers, as Nebraska connected on a season-high nine 3-pointers. At one point, the Huskers were 9-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc, before missing their last 11 attempts. Nebraska's 28 3-point attempts smashed the school record of 23 attempted in a loss at Connecticut in 1997.

As a team, Nebraska hit 24-of-60 field goal attempts (40 percent), but made just 9-of-16 free throws (56.3 percent). The Huskers did outrebound the Cyclones, 39-38, but committed 25 turnovers, including 16 in the second half.

Welle's 24 points and eight rebounds led four Cyclones in double figures. Senior guard Stacy Frese managed 19 points, include a 10-for-10 effort from the free-throw line. Megan Taylor added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Desiree Francis added 14 points and four boards.

Iowa State hit 27-of-59 field goal attempts (45.8 percent), including a 9-for-26 performance from 3-point range (34.6 percent). The Cyclones finished 26-of-36 from the free throw line (72.2 percent), while committing 16 turnovers, including just four miscues in the second half.

Nebraska opens a three-game homestand by playing host to Missouri at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at 7:05 p.m. The game with the Tigers will be broadcast live statewide by Nebraska Educational Television and also in Missouri by Metro Sports. The Huskers will continue home action in the Big 12 by battling Texas A&M in Lincoln on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:05 p.m., and Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 7:05 p.m.