Charlottesville, Va. - The Nebraska women's basketball team allowed a season-high 93 points as fifth-seeded Boston College rolled to a 93-76 win over the 12th-seeded Huskers in the first round of the Mideast Region of the NCAA Tournament at University Hall in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday night.
Three Eagles scored 20 or more points to lead four players in double figures to help Boston College advance to the second round to take on the winner of Friday's second game between No. 4 seed Virginia and No. 13 Pepperdine.
Senior forward Alissa Murphy scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Eagles, while sophomore point guard Brianne Stepherson added 23 points and sophomore forward Becky Gottstein pitched in 20 points for Boston College. Junior center Jamie Cournoyer contributed 10 points to help the Eagles improve to 26-8 on the season.
Nebraska finished the year with an 18-13 record, despite 18 points from senior guard Nicole Kubik, who led four Huskers in double figures. Senior guard Brooke Schwartz added 16 points, while senior forward Charlie Rogers produced 13 points. Casey Leonhardt contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The Huskers fought an uphill battle from the start, as Boston College raced to an 18-6 lead with 14:07 left in the first half. Nebraska trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but Leonhardt scored 10 consecutive points for the Huskers cut the lead to just nine points at 45-36 with 1:12 left in the first half. Boston College managed to push the lead back to 52-38 at halftime.
Nebraska struggled to take care of the ball throughout the first half against Boston College's strong backcourt, as the Eagles forced 15 NU turnovers, while committing just six of their own. The Huskers stayed in the game by hitting 55.2 percent (16-29) of their shots from the field.
The Huskers stormed out of the locker room after the half and opened with four straight points, including a 3-pointer by junior guard Melody Peterson to cut the Boston College lead back to 10 points at 52-42, but the Eagles answered again by pushing the lead to 69-50 sparked by seven straight points from Stepherson.
Nebraska refused to quit and cut the lead back to 11 points at 80-69 on Schwartz's layup with 3:33 left. But the Huskers could get no closer, as Boston College's Kim Mackie scored five straight points, including a 3-point play with 2:49 left to seal the win. Kubik fouled out on the play, and the Eagles managed to claim their biggest lead at 20 points at 89-69 with 1:43 left.
The Huskers shot 50.9 percent from the field for the game, their fourth-best shooting night of the season. But Nebraska committed 25 turnovers, while forcing just 14 miscues by Boston College. The Huskers were also outrebounded, 33-32, including 13 offensive boards by the Eagles. Boston College shot 46 percent from the field for the game, including 50 percent (8-16) from 3-point range. The Eagles also knocked down 79.4 percent (27-34) of their free throw attempts.
Kubik finished her career with 1,867 point to rank No. 4 all-time in Husker history. She also closed her career as Nebraska's all-time steal leader with 418 steals to rank No. 9 on the NCAA Division I all-time list. Kubik's school record steal total ranks ahead of Meggan Yedsena's 297 steals from 1990 to 1994, a difference of 121 steals. Kubik also ranks second at NU with 563 career assists.
Schwartz finished her career with 1,243 points to rank No. 11 all-time at Nebraska, while her 223 career steals ranks No. 5 in NU history.
Rogers connected on a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to push her career total to 1,001 points to become just the 20th player in Nebraska history to join the 1,000-point club. Rogers added six boards to push her career total to 659, which ranks eighth all-time at Nebraska. Her 126 career blocks also rank second in NU history.
The senior trio of Kubik, Schwartz and Rogers also became the first class in Nebraska history to produce three 1,000-point scorers.
Nebraska Postgame Notes
NCAA Tournament Mideast Region First Round
Game 1: No. 12 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Boston College
University Hall, Charlottesville, Va.
Final Score: No. 5 Boston College 93, No. 12 Nebraska 76
*The 93 points allowed by Nebraska was a season-high total by an opponent, surpassing the 92 points scored by Wisconsin in the second game of the season on Nov. 21, 1999.
*The Huskers shot 50.9 percent from the field, which ranks as Nebraska's fourth-best shooting night of the season.
*Nebraska's six steals as a team rank as its second-lowest total of the season, trailing only the three steals posted by the Huskers in a loss at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 3.
*Nebraska's 25 turnovers tied for its third-highest total of the season, and the most since committing 25 turnovers against Iowa State on Jan. 15. Nebraska committed a season-high 32 turnovers against Wisconsin on Nov. 21 and 27 turnovers against Washington on Dec. 6.
*Boston College's 14 turnovers tied for the fewest forced by Nebraska this season, tying Colorado's 14 turnovers on Feb. 9 and Kansas State's 14 turnovers on Jan. 30.
*Nicole Kubik finished her career with 1,867 point to rank No. 4 all-time in Husker history.
*Kubik also closed her career as Nebraska's all-time steals leader with 418 steals to rank No. 9 on the NCAA Division I all-time list. Kubik's school record steal total ranks ahead of Meggan Yedsena's 297 steals from 1990 to 1994, a difference of 121 steals. Kubik also ranks second at NU with 563 career assists.
*Brooke Schwartz finished her career with 1,243 points to rank No. 11 all-time at Nebraska, while her 223 career steals rank No. 5 in NU history.
*Charlie Rogers connected on a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to push her career total to 1,001 points to become just the 20th player in Nebraska history to join the 1,000-point club. Rogers added six boards to push her career total to 659, which ranks eighth all-time at Nebraska. Her 126 career blocks also rank second in NU history.
*The senior trio of Nicole Kubik, Brooke Schwartz and Charlie Rogers became the first class in Nebraska history to produce three 1,000-point scorers.