Lawrence, Kan. - The Nebraska women's basketball team knocked down six consecutive free throws in one-and-one situations down the stretch to hold on for a 65-61 win over Kansas in front of 2,200 fans at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
Alexa Johnson scored 11 of her team-high 17 points in the second half to power the Huskers, who improved to 17-9 overall and 7-8 in Big 12 Conference play. Kansas fell to 9-17 overall and 2-13 in the league on Senior Day in Lawrence. On a day that 31-year KU head coach Marian Washington was honored during pregame ceremonies after announcing her retirement on Friday evening, Crystal Kemp led all scorers with 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.
Although the Huskers had a hard time slowing down Kemp, a balanced NU attack was able to hold off the Jayhawks' late-game rally. Nebraska, which led by five points at halftime, built its lead to nine points on several occasions in the second half, and maintained a seven-point advantage at 57-50 with 2:41 left in the game, before Kansas clawed its way back.
Kemp hit a jumper with 1:41 to play to cut the lead to five, before Erica Hallman scored on a layup with 50 seconds remaining to trim the NU lead to one possession at 57-54. KU slashed the lead to one point on a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left, before Nebraska came up with big free throws and key defensive rebounds down the stretch.
Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left to push the lead back to three points at 59-56, before Kemp knocked it back to one point with a layup with 20 seconds left. Margaret Richards then connected on both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation to push the lead back to three points.
Katie Morse then came up with a huge defensive rebound off Kemp's missed shot and was immediately fouled by Hallman with 10 seconds left. Morse, a senior from Minden, Iowa, came through in the clutch by knocking down both free throws to give NU a five-point edge.
The game was still in doubt when Hallman hit Kansas' first three-pointer of the game with two seconds left. Jina Johansen then threw a long inbounds pass to a sprinting Richards outside the three-point line in Nebraska's frontcourt. Richards, who finished with 13 points, drove down the lane and beat the buzzer to seal a four-point victory.
Johansen, who dished out five assists, added nine points - all in the first half - to help the Huskers, while Keasha Cannon-Johnson scored six points, dished out three assists and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Kiera Hardy added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in a winning effort, while Morse added five points, Jessica Gerhart pitched in four points and Chelsea Aubry contributed four points.
Nebraska shot 43.3 percent (26-60) from the field, including just 12.5 percent (2-16) from three-point range. The Huskers connected on 73.3 percent (11-15) of their free throws on the day. NU committed just 12 turnovers, but were outrebounded 42-32 by the Jayhawks, including 17 offensive rebounds by KU.
Kansas shot 40.9 percent (27-66) from the field, including a dismal 9.1 percent (1-11) from three-point range. The Jayhawks were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Kansas committed 16 turnovers, which Nebraska turned into 20 points in the victory.
Nebraska erased a seven-point Kansas lead midway through the first half by using a 9-0 run to go to the locker room up by five points, 29-24, at intermission.
Johansen led the Huskers with nine first-half points, while Hardy contributed five points and a pair of steals to spark the Huskers. Hardy started NU's 9-0 run to end the first half by knocking down a three-pointer to cut KU's lead to one point at 24-23, before hitting a jumper off an offensive rebound to give the Huskers a 25-24 lead with 1:25 left in the half.
Freshman forward Jessica Gerhart kept the Huskers rolling at the end of the half by knocking down a pair of jumpers in the final 35 seconds to send Nebraska to the locker room with momentum.
Nebraska got out to a quick 6-2 lead behind four quick points from Johnson, but the Jayhawks responded with a 16-6 surge led by Kemp, who scored 10 first-half points.
The Huskers close the regular season by playing host to No. 14 Colorado at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Nebraska will honor its four seniors - Alexa Johnson, Margaret Richards, Keasha Cannon-Johnson and Katie Morse - for their contributions to the University of Nebraska in pregame ceremonies on Wednesday.