Lincoln - The Nebraska women's basketball team raced to a 14-1 lead in the first five minutes and cruised to an 86-57 victory over Nebraska-Omaha in front of 1,573 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Jessica Gerhart produced the best half of basketball in her career by erupting for 15 first-half points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field to help the Huskers sprint to a 50-19 halftime lead. Sophomore guard Kiera Hardy added nine first-half points, despite being forced to the bench for 10 minutes because of foul trouble.
The Huskers, who defeated UNO 94-47 last season in exhibition action, left little doubt about the outcome from the opening tip. NU shot 63.3 percent (19-30) from the field in the first half, including 42.9 percent (3-7) from three-point range. They also hit 9-of-11 free throw attempts. The Mavericks struggled to shoot 26.9 percent (7-26) from the field, while hitting 2-of-8 three-point attempts and 3-of-5 free throw chances. NU outrebounded UNO, 23-10, in the first half and forced 14 turnovers on its way to the 31-point halftime advantage.
Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said the Huskers' performance in the first half was much better than their output in the second half.
"It was definitely a tale of two halves today," Yori said. "We did a lot of good things in the first half and I thought we played really well. In the second half, we made way too many mistakes and they were able to actually outscore us in the second half."
The Mavericks rebounded to outscore the Huskers in the second half, 38-36, thanks in large part to the hot shooting hand of guard Karen Thies. The transfer from Fort Lewis College scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half by knocking down 6-of-8 field goal attempts, including a trio of three-pointers. The Mavericks hit 15-of-30 shots from the field and 5-of-14 three-pointers in the second stanza.
The Huskers continued to produce offensively in the second half, hitting 15-of-27 shots from the field (55.6 percent), including 2-of-3 three-pointers, but the Mavericks matched the Huskers wtih 15 rebounds.
"We have got to play better defensively," Yori said. "We cannot allow as many breakdowns to continue to happen on the defensive end. I also think we lost some intensity in the second half, and we are not at the point where we can allow that to happen. We need to learn to play hard every possession to get better."
Gerhart finished the afternoon with a game-high 18 points, which would have been a career high in a regular-season contest. She hit 8-of-11 shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Last season, Gerhart attempted only one three-pointer the entire season and did not make a shot from long range.
Sophomore Chelsea Aubry added a career high with 15 points, while Hardy finished with 15 points of her own. Hardy added four assists and four steals in the win. Senior guard Jina Johansen contributed a solid performance with 10 points and seven assists.
The Huskers hit 59.6 percent (34-57) from the field for the game, including 50 percent (5-10) from three-point range. NU also shot 72.2 percent (13-18) from the free throw line and outrebounded UNO, 38-25. The Huskers committed 18 turnovers, while forcing 22 Maverick miscues.
Nebraska's victory over Nebraska-Omaha was its second exhibition win of the season, following an 82-52 win over Division II top-10 Nebraska-Kearney last Sunday.
The Huskers open the 2004-05 regular season by taking on Western Illinois in the opening round of the SportsViewTV Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday, Nov. 12, at 7:05 p.m.