Lubbock, Texas - No. 3 Texas Tech used an 18-4 run over a seven-minute span from the end of the first half through the start of the second half to battle its way to a 68-55 win over the Nebraska women's basketball team in front of an announced crowd of 12,302 fans at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday.
With the loss, Nebraska slipped to 13-3 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Lady Raiders improved to 17-1 overall and 3-1 in league action.
The Huskers were in control for much of the first half, using a 16-2 surge over a four-and-half minute span to take a 20-13 lead, before Texas Tech responded. Nebraska led 26-24 with just over two minutes left in the first half, before the Lady Raiders closed the half on a 6-0 run, including a last-second layup by LaToya Davis off an assist from Erin Grant.
Texas Tech carried the momentum through the start of the second half, outscoring NU 12-4 to take a 42-30 lead. The Lady Raiders then started pounding the ball inside to reserve center Cisti Greenwalt, who scored 10 consecutive points to help Texas Tech push its lead to 15 points at 52-37 win 9:42 left. After NU trimmed the lead back to 11 points with 6:31 remaining, Texas Tech responded with back-to-back layups by Alesha Robertson to take its largest lead at 60-43 with 4:20 left.
The Huskers made one more push, scoring six straight points on a three-point play by Margaret Richards and a three-pointer by Chelsea Aubry to trim the lead back to 11 points with 3:22 to go, but Robertson hit Texas Tech's first two three-pointers of the night in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Senior guard Keahsa Cannon-Johnson led the Huskers with 17 points, while Richards contributed 13 points and Aubry pitched in 10 points and four boards in a strong effort off the bench.
Robertson led the Lady Raiders with 19 points, including 10 of their last 12 points in the final five minutes. Greenwalt finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, including 14 points and seven boards in the decisive second half.
Nebraska shot just 38.5 percent (20-52) from the field, despite hitting 42.9 percent (3-7) from three-point range. The Huskers hit 80 percent (12-15) of their free throws.
Texas Tech hit 44.3 percent (27-61) of its field goal attempts, including 53.3 percent in the second. Tech managed a solid shooting percentage despite hitting just 2-of-10 three-pointers. The Lady Raiders missed their first eight three-point attempts of the game and did not knock down a long range attempt until the final two minutes. Texas Tech was nearly perfect at the free throw line, connecting on 12-of-13 free throws. The Lady Raiders outrebounded NU, 38-28, while holding the Huskers to just eight offensive rebounds. Texas Tech pulled down 14 offensive boards and outscored NU, 20-7, on second chance points.
"I told our team before the game that the battle of the boards would be the deciding factor in the game," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "At halftime, they had nine offensive rebounds and 14 second chance points. We knew we had to do a better job in the second half, but Texas Tech hit all of its first shots in the second half so they didn't need any second chance points."