Lincoln - Elena Diaz enjoyed a strong career-opening performance and Kiera Hardy picked up right where she left off last season, as the Nebraska women's basketball team cruised to an 82-52 win over Nebraska-Kearney in the Huskers' exhibition opener in front of 1,756 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
Diaz, a 6-1 junior forward from Medellin, Colombia, scored 12 points and pulled down three rebounds in the first half alone, to help the Huskers run to a 43-22 first-half lead. Diaz, a transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, used her speed and athleticism to earn trips to the free throw line throughout the first half, hitting 8-of-9 free throws to help the Huskers knock down 13-of-15 free throws in the opening stanza alone. Diaz finished the game with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
While Diaz was providing plenty of highlights for the Husker newcomers, Hardy dominated the action by scoring a game-high 26 points, including 14 points in the first half. Nebraska's leading returning scorer after averaging 9.1 points per game as a freshman last season, the sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., hit 10-of-20 field goal attempts on the day, including 4-of-7 three-pointers. She closed the 2003-04 campaign by averaging 19 points per contest in two games in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Her 26 points Sunday would have been a career high had it been a regular-season contest.
Nebraska Coach Connie Yori, who is entering her third season in charge of the Husker program, said she was impressed with NU's first-half performance.
"I thought our first half effort was very good," Yori said. "Our offense and defense were both pretty good. We did a great job of taking away what they were running in the first half."
The Husker defense held the Lopers to just 19 first-half field goal attempts, many with time winding down on the shot clock. The Lopers, who finished with a 25-6 overall record and their ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament last season, hit just eight field goals in the entire first half. The also managed just nine total rebounds in the opening stanza.
Conversely, Nebraska connected on 14-of-32 first half field goal attempts and pulled down 23 rebounds, including 13 offensive boards. NU also snagged nine first-half steals.
"It was a good start for where we are experience-wise and the amount of time we've had to practice," Yori said. "We did some things defensively that I wasn't sure we were going to be able to do."
In the second half, Nebraska's lead grew to as many as 34 points on two occasions, but UNK enjoyed more success offensively. The Lopers hit 11-of-35 shots from the field to finish the game with 19-of-54 field goal shooting (35.2 percent). Nebraska shot 46.3 percent (31-67) from the field for the game, while hitting 15-of-17 free throws (88.2 percent). Nebraska also enjoyed a 49-28 advantage on the boards for the game.
Junior LaToya Howell played a solid first half for the Huskers. The transfer from Air Force scored seven points, dished out four assists and grabbed two rebounds before suffering an ankle injury in the closing minutes of the first half.
Jelena Spiric provided solid minutes throughout the game for the Huskers. The junior college All-American from Colby (Kan.) Community College scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists, while adding a game-high four steals despite being slowed while recovering from offseason knee surgery.
True freshman Danielle Page added big minutes for the Huskers inside by pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds, while adding six points.
Kalee Modlin led the Lopers with 17 points, and Liz Fischer pitched in 14 points for the UNK. The Lopers were short-handed against the Huskers, suiting up just eight players for the contest while three players were sidelined with injuries.
Nebraska returns to exhibition play next Sunday, Nov. 7, at 2:05 p.m. when the Huskers play host to Nebraska-Omaha at the Devaney Center.