Lincoln ? Nebraska used a decisive 10-0 second-half run and a career night by freshman Danielle Page to snap a three-game losing streak with a 59-48 win over Kansas in front of a season-high crowd of 4,012 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday evening,<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
The Huskers (12-7, 4-3 Big 12) led 39-37 with 11 minutes remaining before stifling defense and solid rebounding held Kansas scoreless for nearly four minutes in pulling away from the Jayhawks (9-9, 2-5 Big 12).
LaToya Howell started the run, as Jessica Gerhart, who played just five minutes because of the flu, got the offensive rebound and found Howell wide open for a three-pointer that put the Huskers up 42-37. On <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s next possession, Howell split a pair of free throws, but Page pulled down the offensive rebound and converted the layup, giving the hosts an eight-point lead. After Page’s backdoor layup pushed the margin to double figures, Kiera Hardy stole the ball from Aquanita Burris and drove in for a lay-up, giving the Huskers a 49-37 lead with 7:50 remaining.
Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said that the Huskers’ defensive tenacity during the second half was the key to the win.
“This was a great win for us,” Yori said. “I felt at halftime we did not play very good defense. In the second half, we did a great job of playing good defense on every possession. We did a great job of defending their stuff in the second half and of defensive rebounding.”
That run would stand up, as Kansas could not cut into the Husker lead, as Nebraska went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line over the last four minutes. Nebraska finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line, while KU got to the free throw line just five times and made only three shots.
The 6-foot-2 freshman from Monument, Colo., recorded the first double double of her career with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while adding three blocks in 27 quality minutes off the bench.
Page, who has established career highs in points in each of Nebraska’s last three contests, hit 6-of-13 shots from the floor and was a perfect four-for-four shooting from the charity stripe in helping Nebraska post its third straight win over the Jayhawks.
“Danielle is growing every day,” Yori said. “She is getting better everyday in practice and in every game. She is very talented and now is the time that she is hitting her stride and understanding the kind of player she can be at this level. That is a great day for a freshman in our league.”
The Huskers, playing their first game in a week, started slowly as they were out-rebounded 20-13 and had just three second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes, NU then turned the tables in the second stanza, pulling down seven offensive rebounds and converting them into nine points, as NU enjoyed a 16-11 advantage on the glass to end the Jawhawks’ two-game winning streak
While Hardy finished with a game-high 17 points to join Page in double figures, NU enjoyed a balanced attack, as Chelsea Aubry and Elena Diaz added nine and eight points apiece for the winners, who improved to 10-1 at the DevaneyCenter this season.
Kaylee Brown paced three Jayhawks in double figures with 15 points, but was held to just four points in the final 20 minutes. Erica Hallman and Crystal Kemp also reached double figures, pouring in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Early on, it was the shooting of Brown that gave the Jayhawks an early lead, as she scored eight of her 11 first-half points in a 10-2 spurt to put KU up 12-7 seven minutes into the contest.
The Jayhawks eventually pushed the lead to 17-11 on a Kemp jumper with 11:03 remaining in the half before the Huskers began to turn the momentum in their favor. Nebraska struck quickly, scoring five straight points in a 48-second span on a Page jumper and a Jelena Spiric three-point play to pull within 17-16.
From that point, neither team led by more than four points the rest of the half. KU led 24-20 on a Kemp basket with 6:28 remaining before halftime, but the Huskers closed the half on an 8-3 run, taking its first lead since the opening minutes at 28-26 on a Diaz jumper with 2:19 left before halftime.
The Huskers travel to OklahomaState on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 7:05 p.m. The game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including 98.1 KFGE in Lincoln.
Kansas vs Nebraska (1/29/05 at Bob Devaney Sports Center - Lincoln, NE)
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Kansas vs Nebraska 1/29/05 7:06 a.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center - Lincoln, NE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Kansas (8-9) (1-5) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 40 Kemp, Crystal....... f 5-11 0-0 0-0 4 2 6 1 10 0 2 0 0 39 04 Brown, Kaylee....... g 6-9 3-4 0-0 0 2 2 4 15 1 2 0 1 25 11 Burras, Aquanita.... g 2-9 0-1 0-0 3 3 6 3 4 3 7 0 2 38 13 McIntosh, Taylor.... g 2-2 0-0 1-3 1 5 6 2 5 2 3 0 1 34 23 Hallman, Erica...... g 4-15 2-9 2-2 2 4 6 4 12 8 6 0 1 36 01 Smith, Sharita...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 13 03 Waltz, Blair........ 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 7 10 Boyd, Jamie......... 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 8 TEAM................ 2 1 3 1 Totals.............. 20-49 5-15 3-5 13 18 31 16 48 16 23 1 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3% 2nd Half: 9-21 42.9% Game: 40.8% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 1-5 20.0% Game: 33.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 2-3 66.7% Game: 60.0% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska (12-7) (4-3) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 15 DIAZ, Elena......... f 3-3 0-0 2-2 2 1 3 3 8 0 4 0 0 18 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 3-5 0-1 3-4 2 1 3 1 9 1 1 0 1 28 04 SPIRIC, Jelena...... g 3-8 0-1 1-1 0 3 3 2 7 1 0 0 2 25 20 JOHANSEN, Jina...... g 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 7 4 0 2 40 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 6-13 1-3 4-4 0 0 0 2 17 1 3 0 2 36 05 HOWELL, LaToya...... 1-1 1-1 3-4 1 1 2 2 6 0 5 0 4 17 11 SAMARDZISKA, Bojana. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 30 DRMANAC, Ivana...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 33 GERHART, Jessica.... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 6-13 0-0 0-0 3 8 11 2 12 0 0 3 2 27 TEAM................ 3 3 Totals.............. 22-50 2-7 13-15 12 17 29 13 59 11 17 3 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3% 2nd Half: 11-24 45.8% Game: 44.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-1 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 28.6% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-7 85.7% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 86.7% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Peter Contreras, Lorenzo Alverez Jr., Debbie Adams Technical fouls: Kansas-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 4012 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Kansas........................ 27 21 - 48 Nebraska...................... 28 31 - 59
Points in the paint-KU 18,NU 32. Points off turnovers-KU 12,NU 20. 2nd chance points-KU 8,NU 12. Fast break points-KU 2,NU 10. Bench points-KU 2,NU 18. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-4 times. Last FG-KU 2nd-00:07, NU 2nd-01:50.