Lincoln ? Freshman Kiera Hardy scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, but Oregon State used a 12-2 run late in the second half to topple the Huskers, 75-67, in the second round of the NIT in front of a crowd of 2,897 at the Devaney Center Monday evening.
The Huskers, who advanced to the second round of a postseason tournament for the first time since 1998, finished the season with an 18-12 mark, a 10-game improvement from a year ago.
The Beavers, who improved to 17-14 with the win, will now advance to face Creighton in the third round of the WNIT Wednesday at 7p.m. at the Omaha Civic Center.
Despite the loss, Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said the Huskers’ four seniors (Keasha Cannon-Johnson, Alexa Johnson, Katie Morse and Margaret Richards) would be remembered for turning around the Huskers’ basketball fortunes.
"Our senior class has done a great job of doing more than just showing up," Yori said. "They made a commitment to making themselves and this program better. We are going to miss our four seniors, without question. But, we have some good young players and some incoming players who can make an impact for us next year."
Hardy single-handedly sparked NU on a 13-2 run, as the Huskers rallied from 50-42 deficit to take a 55-52 lead on Hardy’s second consecutive three-pointer with 6:56 left, as the Kansas City, Mo., product scored nine straight points in the Husker spurt.
With Nebraska trailing 50-46 with 12:28 remaining, Hardy was the only player from either team to hit a field goal over the next six minutes. Her jumper with 11:06 left cut the OSU lead to 50-48 and her three-pointer at the 7:26 mark tied the game at 52, as NU tied the game for the first time since the 14:30 mark of the first half. Hardy’s third three-pointer of the half gave the Huskers a short-lived 55-52 lead, and her reverse layup with 4:58 remaining got NU within 58-57, but NU did not hit another field goal for nearly four minutes, as OSU took control of the game with a 12-2 run of its own.
Oregon State’s Mandy Close scored six of her team-high 17 points during the decisive run, helping OSU turn a 55-52 deficit into 64-57 lead with 2:46 remaining. The Beavers then held off the Huskers at the charity stripe, hitting their final 10 free throws in the last 50 seconds and going 15-of-17 from the free throw line in the second half as NU could not get closer than three points the rest of the way.
Close, who averaged less than six points per game, was 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and added six rebounds and four assists.
Hardy hit 7-of-12 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. She moved into second place on NU’s single-season freshman three-point list with 30 three-pointers.
She was joined in double figures by Johnson, who scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in her final game as a Husker, while fellow seniors Katie Morse (six points, seven rebounds), Keasha Cannon-Johnson (eight points and seven rebounds) and Margaret Richards (eight points and five rebounds) all helped Nebraska orchestrate one of the nation’s biggest turnarounds in 2003-04.
Close led five Beavers in double figures, as OSU’s starters combined for 71 of 75 points. Shannon Howell matched Close for team-high honors with 17 points and four rebounds, while Hollye Chapman, who had 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, Brina Chaney (13 points and Leilani Estavan (10 points and seven assists) all finished in double figures.
The Beavers used solid long-range shooting, shooting 51 percent from the floor, including 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, to take 39-29 halftime lead. Howell, who spent her first two seasons at Nebraska, led OSU with 11 first-half points, hitting all four of her shots. The Beavers’ three-guard combination of Howell, Estavan and Close combined for 28 of OSU’s 39 first-half points.
Despite losing four starters, the Huskers will return two-year starting point guard Jina Johansen, Hardy and four other freshmen who saw significant action this season. NU gains the services of transfer LaToya Howell, who averaged 17 points and seven assists a game two years ago at Air Force, and a six-member recruiting class signed during the fall.