Lincoln - Freshman forward Kelsey Griffin produced the second double-double of her career with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds but it was not enough to prevent the Nebraska women's basketball team from falling to No. 24 Missouri 64-58 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday night.
The reigning Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week, Griffin scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the second half, and finished the game by hitting 8-of-15 shots from the field. She pulled down a career-high nine offensive rebounds among her 12 boards on the night to help the Huskers grab 16 offensive rebounds for the game.
But reigning Big 12 Player-of-the-Week LaToya Bond of Missouri enjoyed a better night by pouring in 21 points and grabbing six boards from her guard position to help Missouri improve to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 to extend its winning streak to 12 games. The Huskers slipped to 10-4 overall, snapping their eight-game winning streak, while leaving Missouri and Oklahoma as the only two remaining teams undefeated in Big 12 play. Nebraska enters Saturday's game at Iowa State with a 2-1 league mark.
The Huskers struggled to shoot 36.1 percent (22-61) from the field on the night, including just 30.3 percent in the first half. Despite NU's shooting woes, the Huskers still led 29-27 at halftime.
But Missouri came out firing in the second half, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field to open the second half and build an eight-point lead at 43-35 with just over 14 minutes left in the game.
The Tigers finished the night at 46.2 percent from the field, including 53.6 percent in the second half. Both teams hit five three-pointers on the night.
Missouri also outrebounded the Huskers, 39-35, but NU combatted those numbers by committing a season-low eight turnovers, including just three in the second half to stay within striking distance of the Tigers. NU forced 16 turnovers by MU on the night.
After Missouri built its eight-point second-half lead, Griffin led an NU comeback, scoring four straight points to cap a 6-0 Husker run to trim the lead to 45-43 with 10:30 left in the game. But the Tigers found enough answers to keep the Huskers at bay, never allowing NU closer than four points the rest of the way, the last time coming after five straight points from junior forward Chelsea Aubry to cut MU's biggest lead of 59-50 to 59-55 with 1:19 left.
Aubry finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Kiera Hardy added 14 points, five boards and three assists for the Huskers, despite being held to just two points in the second half.
Nebraska returns to road action in the Big 12 Conference on Saturday, Jan. 14, when the Huskers travel to Ames, Iowa, to clash with the Iowa State Cyclones. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with radio coverage provided by the Pinnacle Sports Network, including 1400 AM-KLIN in Lincoln and world wide on Huskers.com.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Missouri vs Nebraska 01/11/06 7:06 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center - Lincoln, NE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Missouri 13-2, 3-0 Big 12 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 34 Brooks, Tiffany..... f 1-3 0-1 1-2 2 1 3 2 3 0 6 0 0 29 43 Savant, Carlynn..... f 6-9 2-2 2-2 0 7 7 1 16 1 1 0 1 37 54 Riddle, EeTisha..... c 2-7 1-1 0-0 1 2 3 2 5 4 1 1 2 33 10 Bond, LaToya........ g 6-16 1-6 8-9 3 3 6 1 21 1 2 1 1 39 14 N'Garsanet, C'stelle g 8-11 0-0 0-3 3 7 10 4 16 1 4 1 0 31 12 Hollins, Alyssa..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 Drew, Kassie........ 1-4 1-4 0-0 2 3 5 2 3 1 1 0 0 16 23 Hardiek, Blair...... 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 12 52 Mack, Cherice....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 TEAM................ 1 3 4 Totals.............. 24-52 5-16 11-16 13 26 39 15 64 10 16 3 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-24 37.5% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 46.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 31.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 68.8% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 10-4, 2-1 Big 12 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 33 GERHART, Jessica.... f 0-6 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 1 21 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 4-10 1-2 2-2 1 4 5 1 11 0 4 0 0 24 05 HOWELL, LaToya...... g 2-5 1-1 2-4 0 0 0 3 7 3 0 0 0 29 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 5-17 3-10 1-2 1 4 5 3 14 3 2 0 1 37 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... g 8-15 0-0 0-2 9 3 12 3 16 1 0 1 0 31 02 FORD, Ashley........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 2 10 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 11 14 WHITE, Sarah........ 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 9 15 DIAZ, Elena......... 1-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 2 19 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 9 TEAM................ 2 2 Totals.............. 22-61 5-13 9-16 16 19 35 15 58 10 8 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-33 30.3% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 36.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-7 42.9% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 38.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 56.3% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Gator Parrish, Lisa Jones, Jan Herke Technical fouls: Missouri-None. Nebraska-HOWELL, LaToya; TEAM. Attendance: 2615 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Missouri...................... 27 37 - 64 Nebraska...................... 29 29 - 58