Lincoln, Neb. - Senior guard Brooke Schwartz scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in the second half to help the Nebraska women's basketball team hang on for a 74-71 win over Texas A&M in front of a season-high 6,488 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.
With the win, Nebraska improved to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 Conference action, while the Aggies fell to 9-7 overall and 1-5 in league play.
The Huskers controlled the action early and carried a 32-23 lead into the locker room at halftime after building their biggest lead at 32-20 with 1:49 left in the half.
After a solid defensive performance in the first half, Nebraska coach Paul Sanderford said he was disappointed with the Huskers' lack of defense in the second half.
"We made A&M look really good in the second half because we didn't match their intensity," Sanderford. "You have to give Texas A&M credit because they played well, but we let them stay in the ball game way too long instead of putting them away in the first half. Then we left our defense in the locker room at halftime."
After scoring the final three points of the first half, Texas A&M opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 34-32 on Kera Alexander's layup with 17:44 remaining. Nebraska's Charlie Rogers ended the Aggies' run with a layup at 17:31.
The Aggies continued to keep it close and actually took their biggest lead of the game at 55-50 on an Alexander jumper with 8:33 remaining, but the Huskers refused to fold.
Fueled by Schwartz and fellow senior guard Nicole Kubik, Nebraska responded with an 11-0 run to regain control of the game. The Huskers built their lead back to 69-61 after a pair of Melody Peterson free throws, before hanging on for the win.
"We didn't panic when we got down 55-50 and that was a good sign," Sanderford said. "Brooke Schwartz and Nicole Kubik stepped up and bailed us out with some big plays on defense and offense."
Schwartz added four rebounds, four assists and four steals to go along with her 18 points. Kubik finished with 11 points and 10 assists for her second double-double of the year, while adding six rebounds and three steals.
Junior center Casey Leonhardt contributed 15 points, four boards and two blocked shots, while Rogers added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Amanda Went added 11 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers, to give the Huskers five players in double figures.
Texas A&M's Jaynetta Saunders led all players with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Prissy Sharpe added 15 points and eight rebounds. LaToya Rose contributed 14 points, including four 3-pointers to help the Aggies.
Nebraska forced 27 Texas A&M turnovers and outrebounded the Aggies, 39-32, but the Huskers committed 24 turnovers of their own, which allowed Texas A&M to keep the game close. Nebraska shot 46.7 percent (28-60) from the field, including 31.3 percent (5-16) from 3-point range. The Aggies connected on 45 percent (27-60) of their field goal attempts, including 31.6 percent (6-19) of the 3-point attempts.
Nebraska concludes its three-game homestand by playing host to Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 7:05 p.m. Central time at the Devaney Center. The Buffaloes are 6-10 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 Conference action after suffering a 76-73 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday.