Lincoln ? Nebraska’s slow starts in both halves proved to be costly, as the No. 25 Huskers fell to third-ranked Texas, 82-59, in front of a crowd of 3,542 at the Devaney Center Wednesday evening.
The Huskers, who were making their first appearance in the national polls since Nov. 15, 1999, allowed runs of 16-4 and 15-3 in the opening minutes of each half, as the Longhorns (18-2, 6-1 Big 12) moved into sole possession of the conference lead with the win.
Tiffany Jackson led UT by scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to pace four Longhorns in double figures, as Texas, which has won the last six meetings, snapped the Huskers’ 10-game home winning streak.
Stacy Stephens and Heather Schreiber added 17 points apiece, while Kala Bowers rounded out the quartet with 16 points, as the Longhorns shot an opponent season-high 45.9 percent and made an opponent season-high 21 free throws on 84 percent shooting from the line. The Huskers made just 6-of-11 free throws, while shooting 23.1 percent from three-point range (3-13). Texas outrebounded Nebraska 40-33, including a plus-13 margin in the second half.
Keasha Cannon-Johnson led Nebraska with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead three Huskers in double figures. Alexa Johnson added 13 points and six rebounds, while Margaret Richards chipped in 12 points and five boards. NU also got a strong effort off the bench from freshman Chelsea Aubry, who finished with six points and a team-high nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
The Huskers got off to a slow start in the first half, missing eight of their first nine shots from the floor, as Texas quickly jumped to a 12-point lead just eight minutes into the contest.
Trailing 29-17, Johnson led the Huskers comeback, scoring five of her nine first-half points in a 9-1 run, as Nebraska closed to within 30-26 on an Aubry putback with 2:18 remaining in the half. The Huskers were within 32-28, but Tiffany Jackson’s three-point play with eight seconds remaining in the half gave the Longhorns a seven point lead at the break.
In the second half, the duo of Jackson and Schreiber did most of the damage in a 15-3 run to open the second half. Jackson and Schreiber combined for 12 of UT’s 15 points, as Schreiber eight scored consecutive points, including a pair of three-pointers, helping UT to a 19-point lead with 15:51 remaining.
The Huskers closed to within 15 points on two occasions, the last at 70-55 on a Cannon-Johnson jumper with 5:22 remaining, but could not get any closer, as Texas scored the next nine points to end any Husker comeback hopes.
The Huskers hit the road this weekend, as they travel to No. 16 Baylor on Saturday. Tip-off at the Ferrell Center is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network. In addition, a live video feed of the match-up is available for HuskersNside members.