Lincoln - Nebraska gave No. 7 Texas Tech all it could handle before the Lady Raiders pulled away late in the game for a 50-35 victory in front of 2,722 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Wednesday evening.
In the lowest scoring women's basketball game in the history of the Devaney Center, the Huskers and Lady Raiders both struggled offensively, as NU's output was the second-lowest total in school history and the lowest since women's basketball became a full-fledged varsity sport in 1975-76. Texas Tech's 50 points were a season-low and the lowest output since scoring 49 against Kansas on Feb. 14, 2001.
The Huskers held Tech to fewer than 30 points in both halves, including a Tech season-low 22 points in the first half. Tech had only been held under 30 points in a half three times this season. NU's 13 points in the second half tied the Devaney Center record for the fewest points scored by any team in a second half.
With the loss, Nebraska fell to 8-17 overall and 1-13 in Big 12 Conference play, while Texas Tech improved to 23-3 and 12-2 in the league.
Despite the loss, Nebraska coach Connie Yori said she was pleased with her team's perserverence.
"We competed. There is no question about that," Yori said. "We battled hard for 40 minutes. We just struggle to score, and you have to give Texas Tech credit because they did not give us anything easy on offense. If you would have told me that we were going to hold them to 50 points, I would have liked our chances to win."
It was anything but easy for the Lady Raiders, as the Huskers used a strong start early and a dazzling defensive effort throughout the game to hang with the nation's No. 7 team. NU bolted out of the gates to take its biggest lead of the game at 14-4 with 12:23 left in the first half. NU continued to lead 16-8 with 10:42 left in the half, before Texas Tech responded with a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the contest at 17-16 with 6:54 left in the half.
Jia Perkins was the only gun firing for the Lady Raiders early, scoring Tech's first eight points. The junior guard was the only Lady Raider to score in the first 10:55 of the game, before Miklannet Tennal's three-pointer with 9:05 left in the half cut NU's lead to 16-11.
The Huskers got a strong first half effort from Alexa Johnson, who scored 12 points, including 10 straight for the Huskers, before finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds on the night.
Perkins countered Johnson by leading the Lady Raiders with 13 points in the first half, as the two teams went to the locker room tied at 22. Perkins finished the game as the only Tech player in double figures with a game-high 19 points to go along with seven steals and five rebounds.
But Texas Tech took control early in the second half, outscoring NU, 10-2, in the first 6:40 of the second half, to take a 32-24 lead. Margaret Richards hit a free throw and a jumper to cut the Tech lead to five points with 12:45 left in the game, but the Lady Raiders responded with a 14-0 run over the next eight minutes to close the door on NU's upset hopes.
Richards, who finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds to match Johnson's offensive effort, was the only Husker to hit a field goal from the 6:31 mark in the first half to the 4:26 mark in the second half, a span of more than 22 minutes.
Texas Tech, which entered the game averaging 78.0 points per game and 47.5 percent field goal shooting, hit just 33.3 percent (21-63) of its shots from the field, including a 2-of-10 effort from three-point range. The Lady Raiders also connected on just 50 percent (6-12) of their free throws. The Huskers virtually prevented Tech from scoring at all out of its half-court offense, as the Lady Raiders scored 30 points off NU turnovers and 19 points off offensive rebounds.
Nebraska struggled even more with its shooting touch, connecting on just 24.5 percent (12-49) of its field goals, including 12.5 percent (1-8) from three-point range. The Huskers did hit 76.9 percent (10-19) of their free throws. Tech outrebounded Nebraska, 45-40, and forced 24 NU turnovers, while committing just 16 turnovers of its own.
The Huskers will return to action this Saturday, March 1, when NU travels to Ames, Iowa, for a 2 p.m. contest with Iowa State. The Huskers' final home game is next Wednesday against Colorado at 7:05 p.m.