<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? Kiera Hardy scored a team-high 21 points, but No. 17 Kansas State quieted the third-largest crowd for a women’s basketball game at the BobDevaneySportsCenter with a 94-69 victory over the Huskers in front of 13,023 fans on Wednesday evening. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
The near capacity crowd watched Kansas State (19-6, 10-4 Big 12) use a 26-4 spurt to end the first half to take control of the game before withstanding a Husker charge midway through the second half.
The crowd was just the third crowd over 13,000 for a women’s game since the DevaneyCenter opened, but also the first time that Nebraska has ever drawn consecutive crowds of over 12,000 for women’s games. NU’s previous home game, an 88-59 rout of No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 12, drew 12,429 to the DevaneyCenter.
Trailing 65-39 with 12 minutes left, the three-guard lineup of Hardy, LaToya Howell and Jelena Spiric keyed NU to a 12-0 spurt, as Howell scored five straight points before Spiric’s jumper pulled the Huskers within 65-51 with 8:18 remaining. Spiric and Howell keyed the run by recording repeated steals in full-court pressure, as Spiric set a career high with five steals and Howell matched her career best with four steals on the night.
Nebraska (16-10, 8-6 Big 12) had a golden opportunity to whittle KSU’s lead into single digits, but the Huskers missed three transition layup opportunities and missed the front end of a one-and-one situation from the free throw line. KansasState capitalized off NU’s missed opportunities, as Laurie Koehn’s long three-pointer and baskets by Kendra Wecker and Megan Mahoney quickly pushed the lead back to 71-52, ending the Huskers’ comeback bid.
Hardy, who averages a league-best 21.3 points per game in Big 12 games, recorded her 12th 20-point performance of the season, but was held to just five points in the opening 20 minutes, as Kansas State raced off to a 43-23 halftime advantage.
“We played hard, but just didn’t execute that well” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “I think KansasState played extremely well tonight, and we didn’t do some things that well. We asked our kids to play hard and keep battling in the second half, and that’s what we did. I was proud of our effort.”
Koehn finished with a game-high 22 points, including four three-pointers, to pace five Wildcat starters in double figures. Wecker and Claire Coggins added 18 points each for KansasState, which shot 58 percent, including 8-of-16 from three-point range. Wecker also added a game-high 13 rebounds, as KSU won in Lincoln for only the second time since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
Hardy was one of three Huskers to finish in double figures, as Nebraska dropped only its second game at the DevaneyCenter this season. Spiric finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five steals while Elena Diaz nearly finished with a double-double, chipping in 10 points and matching her career high with nine rebounds.
The Huskers got out of the gates quickly, using the hot hand of Hardy to run off seven unanswered points in building a 14-9 lead after a Jina Johansen jumper at the 12:48 mark in the first half. Hardy scored all five of her first-half points in the spurt, but was saddled with foul trouble throughout most of the first half.
The Huskers led 19-17 when Hardy exited with her second foul with 8:57 remaining in the half, but the tide was about to turn in the Wildcats’ favor. KansasState ran off 14 unanswered points, capping the run with three-pointers by Coggins and Koehn. Danielle Page ended the spurt with a jumper, but after the teams traded baskets, Kansas State closed the half with another 10-0 run, as a pair of Koehn three-pointers capped the 26-4 run, sending the visitors into the locker room with a 43-23 advantage.
Koehn and Coggins combined for 22 first-half points, helping KSU hit 6-of-11 shots from three-point range. The Wildcats also took advantage of the Huskers’ ball-handling miscues, converting 14 NU turnovers into 19 points, while the Huskers only forced seven turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
The Huskers play host to their final regular-season home game on Saturday, Feb. 26, as they face Missouri at 7:35 p.m. Saturday’s contest will mark the final home game for senior guard Jina Johansen.