San Juan, Puerto Rico -- The Nebraska women's basketball team led by 10 points midway through the second half but could not bring home a victory, losing to Arizona, 79-68, in the final game of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Nebraska Coach Paul Sanderford said Nebraska's inability to execute late in the game doomed the Huskers' down the stretch.
"We led for 35 minutes tonight and hit the wall with five minutes to go because of our inexperience," Sanderford said. "We had 26 turnovers, and Arizona killed us on the boards at crunch time. Arizona made great plays down the stretch. Their veteran players stepped up and took over the basketball game."
The Huskers, who fell to 6-5 with the loss, surged to a 51-41 lead with 13:32 remaining in the game after leading 37-32 at halftime. Nebraska appeared to be pulling away before Arizona stormed back with a 13-2 run capped by an Elizabeth Pinckney free throw with 8:43 left to take a 54-53 lead.
The Huskers answered with a pair of Alexa Johnson free throws at the 8:28 mark to reclaim the lead at 55-54 and end a scoring drought of nearly four minutes.
A Shahidrah Roberts three-pointer pushed Nebraska's lead back to four points at 58-54 with 7:55 left before the Wildcats produced a 7-0 run to take the lead for good at 61-58 with 5:48 left in the game.
Reshea Bristol's layup with one second left in the game pushed Arizona's lead to double figures for the first time all night, after the Huskers controlled the game for the first 28 minutes.
Nebraska was able to build an early lead behind the strong inside play of 6-5 senior center Casey Leonhardt, who scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half. Leonhardt was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line, while pulling down five rebounds in the first half. Despite Leonhardt's strong first half play, the Downers Grove, Ill., native was saddled with foul trouble and played just 22 minutes on the night before fouling out.
Amanda Went added 11 points as the only other Husker in double figures, while Monique Whitfield and Roberts each added nine points for Nebraska.
Bristol, a 5-10 senior guard/forward from Omaha Bryan, led the Wildcats with 19 points and six rebounds, while Pinckney added 19 points, five rebounds and five steals. Candice Allen added 13 points and LaKeisha Taylor contributed 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Arizona, which improved to 9-2 overall on the season. The Wildcats' only losses have come against top-10 teams with a setback at then-No. 5 Notre Dame in the second game of the year and a three-point loss to No. 9 Auburn.
Arizona outrebounded Nebraska 42-34, including 22 offensive rebounds, after the Huskers controlled the boards in the first half with a 21-19 edge. Nebraska also committed 26 turnovers, including 14 in the second half.
The Huskers shot 48.2 percent from the field for the game, but connected on just six field goals in the final 13:30, and three of those field goals were three-pointers by Roberts. The Wildcats shot just 36.1 percent from the field and made just 22 field goals for the game, but knocked down 30 of 44 free throw attempts, outscoring Nebraska 30-10 at the free throw line.
Nebraska was whistled for 29 fouls, as Leonhardt, Stephanie Jones and Margaret Richards all fouled out for the Huskers.