<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? Alexa Johnson continued her scoring spree against Oklahoma State, scoring a season-high 21 points, as the Nebraska women's basketball team continued its remarkable season with a 64-41 victory over the Cowgirls Wednesday evening. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
Johnson, a 6-1 senior from Hacienda Heights, Calif., hit a career-high 10 field goals, while attempting 17 shots from the field, including 6-of-7 shots in the second half, as Nebraska improved to 16-6 overall and 6-5 in Big 12 play.
Johnson, who scored 23 points in last season’s win over OSU in Stillwater, scored 13 of her points in the second half, as the Huskers broke open a three-point lead and cruised to a 23-point win.
“We think now we are a postseason team,” Johnson said. "Now it just depends the kind of postseason team we want to be. The next five games will determine that.”
Johnson, who eclipsed the 20-point mark for the eighth time in her career, topped her previous season best of 20 in a loss to Mississippi on Nov. 28.
While Johnson and senior guard Keasha Cannon-Johnson, who scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists, were the only Huskers to finish in double figures, Nebraska enjoyed a balanced offense in the triumph.
Jina Johansen scored nine points and dished out a game-high seven assists, while Chelsea Aubry chipped in nine points, six rebounds and a pair blocked shots. Nine of the 10 Huskers who played broke into the scoring column, as NU shot 54.8 percent in the second half and closed the game on a 16-2 run.
The Huskers, who led by as many as nine points in the first half, saw Oklahoma State (8-14, 3-8 Big 12) whittle NU’s advantage to 27-24 early in the second half before the Huskers regained momentum. NU held Oklahoma State without a field goal for a stretch of 5:34, turning a five-point lead into a 46-32 cushion. The Huskers, who held OSU to just 24.2 percent shooting from the field in the second half and 27.6 percent overall, led by double figures the rest of the way.
“I thought we played a very sound second half,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “We got out and ran, and our kids really did a good job of doing what we asked them to do.”
Early on, the Huskers, who trailed by as many as five points in the opening minutes, seized command of the contest with a 10-2 run, turning a one-point lead into a 25-16 advantage after a Johnson basket with 3:33 left in the half. Johansen started the Husker spurt, scoring five consecutive points while Nebraska held OSU to just one field goal over a stretch of 10:38.
Trisha Skibbe, the Big 12’s leading scorer at 19.8 ppg, was the only Cowgirl to finish in double figures by totaling 14 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort.
Defensively, Nebraska produced one of its best efforts of the season, holding Oklahoma State to an opponent season-low 41 points, including just 20 points in the first half. The Cowgirls shot an opponent-low 27.6 percent from the field for the game, which helped the Huskers overcome a season-low 16.7 percent shooting night from three-point range.
Nebraska begins a two-game road swing on Saturday, Feb. 14, as the Huskers travel to ninth-ranked Kansas State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., as the Huskers look for the season sweep over the Wildcats. Nebraska will enjoy the midweek off next week, before heading to Ames, Iowa, to tangle with Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 21.