Stillwater, Okla. - Kiera Hardy scored on a running jumper from four feet on the left side of the lane as time expired to give the Nebraska women's basketball team a 73-71 win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Tuesday night.
Hardy, the Big 12 Conference's leading scorer in league play, struck for a game-high 28 points and tied her career high with six three-pointers to power the Huskers to their fifth conference victory, as NU improved to 13-7 overall and 5-3 in league action. The last time Nebraska reached the halfway mark in Big 12 play with a 5-3 record came in 1999-2000, when the Huskers advanced to their last NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma State slipped to 6-12 overall and 1-7 in Big 12 play by losing their second straight game in the final tick of the clock at home. On Saturday, the Cowgirls suffered a 67-65 loss to No. 7 Baylor on a pair of Steffanie Blackmon free throws with 0.9 seconds left.
In addition to Hardy's 28 points, her fifth 20-plus point performance in eight Big 12 games, true freshman Danielle Page matched her career high for the second straight game with 12 points. Page added five rebounds while setting a career-high with four assists.
Chelsea Aubry and Jina Johansen each added eight points for the Huskers. Johansen, a senior captain from Dannebrog, Neb., scored four of the Huskers' final eight points, including a jumper to give NU a 67-66 lead with just over four minutes to play, and a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left to extend NU's lead to 71-68 with 59 seconds left.
After Johansen gave the Huskers a three-point edge with under a minute to play, Taleesha Conder cut NU's lead to just one with 45 seconds left. Nebraska was unable to score on its next possession, and Nina Stone was fouled with 9.6 seconds left to send her to the line for two shots and a chance to give the Cowgirls a lead.
Stone missed the first of two shots, and Nebraska Coach Connie Yori called timeout to draw up the Huskers' final play. After Stone made the second free throw to tie the score. LaToya Howell inbounded the ball and it found its way to Hardy's hands. Hardy received a screen in the front court from Page to create space for the winning shot as time expired.
Stone scored all of her team-high 18 points in the second half to power the Cowgirls back from a 52-39 deficit with 14:30 left in the game. Stone struck for OSU's next nine points to cut the NU lead to six with 11:01 left in the game.
After NU extended the lead back to 12 points with a pair of free throws with 9:02 left, OSU went on a 10-0, capped by a Stone three-pointer to trim the Huskers' advantage to 60-58 with 6:43 left. Page stopped the run with a three-point play, by the Cowgirls kept charging, taking just their second lead of the game at 66-65 on another Stone three-pointer with 4:30 to play.
Conder added 16 points off the bench for the Cowgirls, while Christian Hood added 12 points and Eliz Gomes gave OSU four players in double figures with 10 points on the night.
Hardy scored 18 points in the first half, while knocking down four three-pointers in the opening stanza. She scored 10 straight points in a 1:40 span late in the first half to give NU its largest lead at 36-23 with 1:41 to play. After OSU scored the final six points of the first half, Hardy got the Huskers going again in the second half by knocking down two more three-pointers in the first two minutes.
But Hardy spent much of the second half in the bench in foul trouble before scoring four of NU's final six points in the final 1:41 of the game.
Nebraska shot 43.6 percent from the game, including a solid 54.5 percent from three-point range, as Hardy hit all six of NU's three-pointers on the night. The Huskers also excelled at the free throw line by hitting 86.4 percent of their shots (19-22).
Oklahoma State hit 44.1 percent of its field goal attempts, but managed just 3-of-12 shooting from three-point range. The Cowgirls did hit 16-of-22 free throws. OSU outrebounded NU 38-30, and both teams committed 13 turnovers on the night.
Nebraska returns to Big 12 action on Sunday when the Huskers play host to the Oklahoma Sooners at 3 p.m. The game at the Devaney Center will be televised nationally on FSN.