Lincoln ? Keasha Cannon-Johnson sparked an 18-2 run for Nebraska in the opening minutes of the second half, as the Huskers improved to 13-2 on the season with an impressive 65-48 victory over Texas A&M in front of 3,409 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday night.
Cannon-Johnson, who was held scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, sparked the decisive spurt with a pair of baskets after the Aggies closed to within 27-25. Cannon-Johnson, whose only points of the game were the two baskets, also pulled down seven rebounds before fouling out.
The Aggies (7-8, 0-4 Big 12) got to within 31-27, but NU seized command by reeling off 14 unanswered points. Senior forward Katie Morse chipped in five of her 10 points in the run, while freshman Chelsea Aubry came off the bench to add four more, helping the Huskers extended their lead to 45-27 on a three-pointer by Jina Johansen with 11:37 remaining.
The Huskers, who are in second place in the Big 12 with a 3-1 league mark, came out smoking from the floor after halftime, hitting 14 of their first 18 shots in building a 23-point lead at 57-34 and cruising to the 17-point win.
Senior guard Margaret Richards paced a balanced attack that saw three Huskers in double figures, scoring a team-high 13 points. Morse, who contributed a school-record seven blocked shots against the Aggies, and Aubry added 10 points for Nebraska, while Johansen added seven points and a game-high seven assists in 32 minutes.
Nebraska has won 11 of its last 12 games and started the Big 12 seasons with a 3-1 record for the first time since the league’s inaugural season in 1996-97. The 17-point margin of victory was the largest in the 14-game history of the series with Texas A&M.
The Huskers held Texas A&M to just 48 points, which was the second-lowest total by an opponent this season, trailing only the 46 points scored by Wofford in the season opener. Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said the Huskers’ success began at the defensive end.
"I thought our defensive was really good tonight," Yori said. "We got great pressure on the ball and we did a good job of cutting off their driving lanes. Katie Morse played a great game defensively inside for us."
NU finished the night shooting 50 percent (27-54) for only the second time this season, a total which is more remarkable considering that NU was just 9-for-27 from the floor in the opening half when they took a 24-23 halftime lead. The Huskers shot a sizzling 66.7 percent in the second half.
The final score was not indicative of the way the game was played in the first half, as neither team established control in the opening half. Richards, who scored five of her 11 first-half point during a 9-2 Husker run midway through the first half, as Nebraska built its largest lead of the half at 18-11.
The Aggies came right back, using an 8-0 run of its own, taking a 19-18 lead on a three-pointer by Mindy Garrison with 6:34 remaining in the half. The Huskers regained the lead for good on their next possession, as a layup by Morse and a Richards’ jumper pushed the Husker advantage to 22-19.
Williams, who scored eight of her 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, kept the Aggies within range, hitting a pair of jumpers to put the visitors within 24-23 with 1:57 remaining.
Williams and Janae Derrick led the Aggies with 12 points apiece, as the visitors shot just 33 percent and were out-rebounded 41-33.
The Huskers begin a treacherous five-game stretch with five consecutive games against top-25 teams beginning with Wednesday’s game at No. 2 Texas Tech in Lubbock. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.