Manhattan, Kan. - Freshman forward Kelsey Griffin produced one of her best efforts of the season with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but the Nebraska women's basketball team came up short in a 71-64 setback at Kansas State on Saturday night.
Playing in front of a Bramlage Coliseum season-high crowd of 8,581 and a national television audience on Fox Sports Net, Griffin hit 9-of-18 shots from the field, including her first career three-pointer, and 9-of-12 free throws to lead the Huskers. It was Griffin's third career double-double and one of the best overall performances by a freshman in school history, joining her 31-point, 14-rebound effort against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earlier this season.
Nebraska slipped to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12, while Kansas State improved to 16-5 and 6-4.
Nebraska was in the game down to the wire, pulling within five points with 28 seconds left on Griffin's first career three to make it 67-62. But Kansas State hit free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Junior guard Kiera Hardy joined Griffin in double figures with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Chelsea Aubry added eight points and four rebounds. Hardy struggled through a rough shooting night, hitting just 4-of-20 field goal attempts, including an 0-for-11 effort from three-point range. Four of those long-range attempts came in the game's final 1:52.
"We were in the game right down to the end and that is what you want on the road in the Big 12," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "It was a great game to be a part of. I wish we would have hit some more shots because I felt like we got great looks, and I was also really pleased with our effort. We took 16 more shots than K-State, which usually means you're going to be pretty successful."
As a team, Nebraska shot just 35.4 percent (23-65) from the field, and just 18.8 percent (3-16) from three-point range. the Huskers also hit just 68.2 percent (15-22) of their free throws on the night. The Huskers hung in the game by pulling down 21 offensive rebounds to outwork KSU on the glass, 38-30 on the night. NU also forced 13 Wildcat turnovers, while committing just 11 miscues.
Kansas State won with hot shooting by knocking down 49 percent (24-49) of its attempts, including a sizzling 47.1 percent (8-17) from three-point land. The Wildcats also connected on 78.9 percent (15-19) of their free throws.
Brittany Dietz led four Wildcats in double figures with 19 points, while Claire Coggins added 17 points and five rebounds. Jessica McFarland gave KSU a major lift off the bench with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and a 4-of-5 effort at the free throw line, while JoAnn Hamlin added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Shalee Lehning added six points, seven rebounds and a game-high 11 assists for KSU.
The Huskers got off to a strong start led by a brilliant first-half performance by Griffin, who scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds in the opening stanza.
Griffin helped the Huskers build a 12-5 after an 11-0 run in a two-minute span in the first four minutes of the game. Trailing 5-1, Aubry started the run with a three-pointer before Griffin erupted for eight straight points to put the Huskers in control.
The Wildcats were able to cut the NU lead to one point at 20-19 after a basket by Hamlin with 7:40 to play in the half, before Hardy hit a pair of free throws to push the Huskers' lead back to seven points at 33-26 with 1:30 left in the half.
Kansas State closed the half with a 7-0 run in the final 1:30 to gain momentum and send the two teams to the locker room tied at 33 at the break.
The Wildcats extended the run to 15-0 in the second half, scoring eight quick points capped by a three-pointer from Dietz with 17:23 to play in the game to give KSU a 41-33 lead it never relinquished.
After a Nebraska timeout, the Huskers responded with a 7-0 run of their own capped by a three-pointer from Aubry to trim KSU's lead to 41-40 with 14:50 to play in the game.
Coggins, who scored eight points during KSU's 15-0 surge, stopped the Husker run with her third three-pointer of the game with 14:42 to play.
The Wildcats led by as many as 11 points on three occasions in the second half, before the Huskers started to chip into the lead down the stretch.
Nebraska continues a road swing through Big 12 play on Wednesday when the Huskers travel to Waco, Texas, to take on defending national champion Baylor. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Huskers return to the Devaney Center next Saturday to play host to Texas A&M. The game with the Aggies will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net and will feature Nebraska's special "Dollar Days" promotion with $1 admission, $1 hot dogs and $1 Pepsi products. Next Saturday will also be Alumni Day and Red Cross Appreciation Day in Lincoln.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Kansas State 02/04/06 7:00 PM at Bramlage Coliseum - Manhattan, Kan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 12-8, 4-5 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 9-18 1-1 9-12 6 6 12 3 28 1 3 3 0 33 33 GERHART, Jessica.... f 3-10 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 6 0 0 0 0 17 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 3-5 2-4 0-1 4 0 4 0 8 3 1 0 0 28 05 HOWELL, LaToya...... g 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 2 2 0 1 23 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 4-20 0-11 6-8 1 3 4 1 14 7 4 0 1 35 02 FORD, Ashley........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 17 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 15 14 WHITE, Sarah........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 DIAZ, Elena......... 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 2 6 4 4 0 0 0 0 18 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 12 TEAM................ 3 1 4 Totals.............. 23-65 3-16 15-22 21 17 38 20 64 14 11 3 3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-30 40.0% 2nd Half: 11-35 31.4% Game: 35.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-13 15.4% Game: 18.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-13 61.5% 2nd Half: 7-9 77.8% Game: 68.2% 5,1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Kansas State 16-5, 6-4 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 14 Coggins, Claire..... f 6-16 3-6 2-3 0 5 5 5 17 3 2 1 1 34 51 Gipson, Marlies..... f 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 4 0 0 2 0 0 9 40 Hamlin, JoAnn....... c 5-7 0-0 0-1 3 3 6 5 10 0 2 0 2 25 05 Lehning, Shalee..... g 2-5 0-2 2-3 2 5 7 4 6 11 3 0 0 38 13 Dietz, Kimberly..... g 5-10 4-6 5-5 1 1 2 2 19 1 1 0 0 40 24 Smith, Naytanda..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 25 Zanotti, Danielle... 2-4 1-3 2-2 0 1 1 2 7 1 1 0 0 31 50 McFarland, Jessica.. 4-6 0-0 4-5 1 1 2 0 12 2 2 0 1 21 TEAM................ 1 3 4 Totals.............. 24-49 8-17 15-19 10 20 30 22 71 18 13 1 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4% 2nd Half: 12-22 54.5% Game: 49.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 47.1% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 11-13 84.6% Game: 78.9% 1,3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Daryl Humphrey, Peter Contreras and Cindy Knepp Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Kansas State-None. Attendance: 8581 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 33 31 - 64 Kansas State.................. 33 38 - 71