Manhattan, Kan. - The Nebraska women's basketball team trailed by as many as 23 points in the first half, but fought back to cut the Kansas State lead to single digits with just over four minutes to play before succumbing to the No. 23 Wildcats, 74-59, in front of 9,168 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, Nebraska fell to 11-5 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 Conference action, while Kansas State improved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in league play. Despite the setback, NU Coach Connie Yori said she was proud of her team's effort.
"Coming on the road after playing an emotional, three overtime game against Baylor, we knew it was going to be tough against a quality, ranked team like Kansas State," Yori said. "Obviously, we are not happy that we lost, but the way we played in the second half was encouraging. We showed that we were going to play hard despite being down my more than 20 points. We made them play in the second half. Cutting the lead to single digits with under five minutes to play was definitely a positive."
In a game that featured the top two scorers in the Big 12, Kiera Hardy dominated the second half and finished with 29 points, including 23 after halftime. Hardy opened the second half by hitting four consecutive three-pointers and finished with five three-pointers to help pull Nebraska within single digits late in the second half. The 5-6 sophomore guard from Kansas City, Mo., who has hit 11 three-pointers in her last two games, moved into a tie for ninth on the Husker career three-point chart.
Hardy out-dueled Preseason Big 12 Player-of-the-Year Kendra Wecker, who finished with 25 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. But Wecker powered the Wildcats to the early lead by scoring nine straight points in a three-minute span to turn a 10-2 KSU lead into a 19-4 edge with 11:50 to play in the first half. Wecker finished the first half with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists while hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field in the first half.
As a team, the Wildcats shot 46.9 percent from the field while six other KSU players found their way into the scoring column in the first half. Clair Coggins added six points, five rebounds and two assists in a balanced Wildcat attack. Coggins finished the game with 13 points and six boards.
While Kansas State was firing on all cylinders, Nebraska sputtered on offense, hitting just 9-of-27 shots from the field, including 0-for-8 shooting from three-point range in the first half. After hitting a Big 12 record 46-of-54 free throws, the Huskers did not earn a trip to the free throw line in the first half.
But the Huskers, sparked by Hardy, finally got their offense rolling in the second half, connecting on 41 percent of their shots, including 5-of-14 three-pointers to chip away at the KSU lead. NU trimmed the lead to 15 points at 51-36 with 10:52 left on a Hardy layup. The Huskers knocked the lead down to nine points on Danielle Page's baseline jumper with 4:23 left, but could get no closer than 60-51 the rest of the way.
For the game, Nebraska shot 37.9 percent (25-66) from the field, including just 22.7 percent (5-22) from three-point range. The Huskers also hit just 4-of-6 free throw attempts. KSU finished with 45.8 percent shooting from the field, including a 5-of-16 effort from three-point range. The Wildcats connected on 15-of-20 free throw attempts and outrebounded NU, 42-34.
The Wildcats were aided in the first half by 11 turnovers by the normally sure-handed Huskers, which KSU turned into 16 points. In the second half, Nebraska committed just four turnovers, while forcing 10 KSU miscues.
Jelena Spiric was the only other Husker to score in double figures by adding 10 points and five rebounds for the Huskers, who had their streak of five straight games with 80 or more points snapped by the Wildcats. The game also marked the first time in the last six games that NU did not have four or more players score in double figures.
Despite playing 95 consecutive minutes in the last two Husker wins, including all 55 minutes in NU's 103-99 win over No. 2 Baylor in Lincoln on Wednesday, Jina Johansen provided another solid effort for the Huskers. The 5-7 senior guard from Dannebrog, Neb., scored six points and tied her career high with nine assists in 36 minutes of work.
Nebraska continues its stretch of four consecutive games against ranked foes by tangling with No. 13 Texas Tech on Wednesday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.