Boulder, Colo. - The Nebraska women's basketball team ended 20 years of frustration against Colorado at the Coors Events Center, as the Huskers erupted for an 18-3 run over the last four minutes of the first half and the opening two minutes of the second half on their way to an 80-62 win over the Buffaloes Wednesday night.
With the victory, Nebraska extended its winning streak to seven games and improved to 9-3 overall while ending a 20-game losing streak against the Buffaloes in Boulder. The Huskers had not won in the Coors Events Center since Feb. 13, 1985. Colorado slipped to 5-8 on the season.
Junior guard Kiera Hardy led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points, while freshman forward Kelsey Griffin added 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Chelsea Aubry added 10 points, with all 10 coming during Nebraska's decisive run. Colorado native Danielle Page added 10 big points off the bench to spark the Huskers as well.
Three other Huskers pitched in eight or more points, as senior point guard LaToya Howell scored nine points and added two steals, while sophomore Sarah White came off the bench to score eight points and grab two rebounds. Junior forward Jessica Gerhart contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals in a solid effort.
Hardy overcame early first-half foul trouble, picking up two blocking fouls in the game's first six minutes, to score 11 points in the opening stanza. Hardy was able to stay in the game through the final buzzer, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to move into a tie for second with Kate Galligan on NU's all-time list with 145 career three-pointers.
Howell and White both stepped up with Hardy on the bench, as Howell scored seven points and White came off the bench to pump in five points from long range, including her fifth straight three-pointer of the season in the first half.
While the backcourt players got the Huskers rolling early, it was dominant inside play by the forwards that propelled the Huskers to the lead. NU's inside players scored the final 10 points of the first half and first 17 points of the second half.
Aubry scored all 10 of her points during Nebraska's decisive surge, while Page provided seven points off the bench during the run.
Nebraska's lead grew as large as 25 points in the second half, before settling for the 18-point win, while the Huskers won their 36th consecutive game when scoring 80 or more points.
As a team, the Huskers shot 55.2 percent (32-58) from the field for the game, including 58.6 percent in the first half. NU added 3-of-8 shooting from long range, while hitting 76.5 percent (13-17) of its free throws. Nebraska also outrebounded CU, 34-33, and forced 17 Buffaloes turnovers while committing just 10 of its own, including just three miscues in the second half.
Colorado shot just 37.5 percent (21-56) from the field, including just 19 percent (4-21) from three-point range. CU did hit 76.2 percent (16-21) of its free throws.
Nebraska was also able to overcome a big night by CU forward Jasmina Ilic, who poured in 36 points, including 20 points in the first half. Ilic hit 12 of CU's 21 field goals on the night, including all four of the Buffs' three-pointers, although she missed 11 shots from long range. Her 36 points were the most by an opposing individual against the Huskers since Jonelle Polk of Illinois scored 37 on Dec. 30, 1986.
Jackie McFarland, who entered the game averaging 19.9 points per game and was one of only 11 players in the nation averaging a double-double, was held to 10 points and eight rebounds in a strong defensive effort.
Nebraska continues Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 7, when the Huskers play host to unbeaten Kansas at the Devaney Center. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Midwest in Nebraska and Kansas with tip-off scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The Huskers hope to "Pack the Devaney" against the Jayhawks, who are off to their best start in school history at 12-0, including a home win over Texas on Tuesday night. The Huskers will be celebrating "Dollar Days" in Lincoln with $1 admission, $1 hot dogs and $1 Pepsi products.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Colorado 1/4/06 7 p.m. at Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 9-3, 1-0 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 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 5-10 0-0 2-2 4 5 9 3 12 1 1 1 0 26 33 GERHART, Jessica.... f 3-6 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 2 8 0 0 1 2 25 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 5-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 10 1 0 0 0 27 05 HOWELL, LaToya...... g 3-7 0-1 3-3 0 1 1 4 9 1 3 0 2 21 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 7-16 2-6 1-2 1 2 3 3 17 4 1 0 0 27 02 FORD, Ashley........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 2 2 0 0 17 03 HIEB, Sara.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 2 2 2 0 0 14 14 WHITE, Sarah........ 2-2 1-1 3-4 0 2 2 1 8 0 0 0 0 12 15 DIAZ, Elena......... 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 2 4 1 0 0 2 15 30 DRMANAC, Ivana...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 4-6 0-0 2-4 0 2 2 1 10 0 1 1 1 14 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 32-58 3-8 13-17 9 25 34 21 80 12 10 3 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-29 58.6% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 55.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 37.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100 % 2nd Half: 10-14 71.4% Game: 76.5% 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Colorado 5-8, 0-1 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 12 Nedovic, Anna....... f 1-4 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 1 4 3 1 1 0 27 21 Ilic, Jasmina....... f 12-25 4-15 8-11 2 2 4 1 36 0 6 0 5 39 45 McFarland, Jackie... c 4-8 0-0 2-4 5 3 8 5 10 1 3 1 0 25 10 Lubin, Lauren....... g 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 3 3 3 0 2 2 0 0 33 23 Escalera, Yari...... g 1-7 0-3 4-4 2 4 6 3 6 5 3 0 1 24 11 Skildum, Hannah..... 2-5 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 4 0 0 2 0 22 13 Wallace, Courtney... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 Law, Whitney........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 40 Dow, Caley.......... 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 1 2 1 1 0 0 22 52 Garnett, Tami....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TEAM................ 1 1 1 Totals.............. 21-56 4-21 16-21 14 19 33 17 62 13 17 4 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-32 34.4% 2nd Half: 10-24 41.7% Game: 37.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-13 15.4% 2nd Half: 2-8 25.0% Game: 19.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 11-13 84.6% Game: 76.2% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Lorenzo Alvarez, Jr., Carla Fujimoto, David Scroggins Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Colorado-None. Attendance: 956 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 39 41 - 80 Colorado...................... 29 33 - 62 FOULED OUT: CU; Jackie McFarland, 5:20 of 2nd Half