Tempe, Ariz. - Nebraska opened the game with a 9-0 run and built a 30-point halftime lead, as the Husker women's basketball team rolled to a 93-53 win over Florida Atlantic in the Veterans Day Classic at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Huskers evened their record to 1-1 on the year, while Florida Atlantic slipped to 0-2.
After bolting out of the locker room to take a 9-0 lead just over one minute into the game, the Huskers saw the Owls cut the NU edge to 13-9 with 14:43 left. But TK LaFleur entered the game and sparked an 11-0 run to shoot Nebraska to a 15-point lead at 24-9 and the Owls never recovered.
Nebraska's 55 first-half points tied for the seventh-highest scoring mark in the opening period in school history, and NU's highest total since scoring 58 against Oakland on Nov. 17, 2000.
All 11 players who saw action scored for the Huskers, led by 16 points from sophomore TK LaFleur and freshman Cory Montgomery. Sophomore Kelsey Griffin added 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high seven rebounds.
Nikki Bober gave the Huskers four players in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in her first career regular-season appearance. Danielle Page and Nicole Neals each added eight points, while Ashley Ford added a career-high seven points and tied a career-high with four assists.
Kiera Hardy added four points and a game-high seven assists in just 15 minutes, while also adding two steals and three rebounds to help the Huskers. Kala Kuhlmann did not play for the Huskers against the Owls, as she sat out with the stomach flu.
"Kiera really played a great floor game for us tonight," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "She distributed the ball really well and did not turn it over. She played well on defense and she rebounded. You look at her stats and you see she had four points, but she was really outstanding today.
LaFleur, who tied career highs with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, scored 12 points and pulled down four rebounds in 12 first-half minutes to lead a balanced Husker offense. Nebraska shot 57.9 percent (22-38) from the field, including 44.4 percent (4-9) from three-point range. While Nebraska running loose on offense, the Huskers were disrupting the Owl attack. FAU shot just 31.8 percent (7-22) in the first half, including 4-of-10 shooting from three-point range.
Griffin added nine first-half points, while Page pitched in eight first-half points.
Nebraska forced 18 first-half turnovers by FAU, while committing just seven miscues. The Huskers also outrebounded the Owls, 19-16 in the opening period.
For the game, Nebraska shot 59 percent (36-61), including 36.4 percent (4-11) from three-point range. NU also hit 77.3 percent (17-22) of its free throws. The Huskers outrebounded FAU 42-31, while forcing 28 turnovers. NU did commit 26 turnovers, including 19 in the second half.
Nebraska held the Owls to just 29.1 percent (16-55) shooting from the field, including just 19 percent (4-21) accuracy from three-point range. FAU also hit 60.7 percent (17-28) of its free throws.
The Huskers close out their three-game tournament appearance by taking on No. 18 New Mexico on Monday at 4 p.m. central time. The Lobos suffered a 67-49 loss to No. 13 Arizona State in Sunday's first game of the tournament.
"For us the tournament starts tomorrow," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "The New Mexico game is a huge game for us. We need to come out and play really well, because New Mexico is a really disciplined team that is experienced and does not make many mistakes."
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Florida Atlantic vs Nebraska 11-12-06 2:30 PM MT at Ned Wulk Court - Tempe, Ariz.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Florida Atlantic 0-2 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 11 BROWN, Mistoria..... f 2-7 0-1 7-10 0 2 2 4 11 2 3 0 2 24 32 N'DIAYE, Sally...... c 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 05 RANDOLPH, Cristal... g 1-8 1-6 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 18 20 BOWE, Brittany...... g 3-12 1-4 6-8 3 3 6 2 13 2 4 0 2 31 24 BRAYBOY, Shuteamia.. g 3-7 0-2 2-5 3 3 6 0 8 5 5 2 3 32 03 SELLERS, Bianca..... 1-5 0-1 1-1 1 2 3 4 3 0 5 0 1 18 10 BEAUZIL, Susan...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 5 0 0 4 0 0 13 13 COX, Breana......... 3-5 0-0 1-4 2 2 4 2 7 0 2 1 1 16 14 TAYLOR, Andrea...... 3-7 2-5 0-0 1 1 2 3 8 1 4 0 1 24 22 LIZAMA, Adel........ 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 14 TEAM................ 2 2 4 Totals.............. 16-55 4-21 17-28 12 19 31 23 53 11 28 3 11 199
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-22 31.8% 2nd Half: 9-33 27.3% Game: 29.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 0-11 0.0% Game: 19.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 10-19 52.6% Game: 60.7% 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 1-1 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 04 SPIRIC, Jelena...... f 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 3 6 1 0 0 0 10 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 6-6 0-0 1-2 3 4 7 3 13 1 2 0 1 13 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... c 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 18 02 FORD, Ashley........ g 2-6 1-3 2-2 0 1 1 1 7 4 2 0 2 23 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 1-3 1-2 1-2 0 3 3 3 4 7 1 0 2 15 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 3-5 0-2 2-2 0 3 3 1 8 1 3 0 2 25 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 6-11 1-1 3-5 4 2 6 5 16 4 4 0 1 23 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 5 5 1 3 6 7 1 2 23 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 7-11 0-0 2-2 0 5 5 1 16 2 5 1 2 22 42 BOBER, Nikki........ 4-5 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 10 0 1 0 0 14 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 3-5 0-0 2-3 0 4 4 5 8 0 1 0 2 14 TEAM................ 2 1 3 Totals.............. 36-61 4-11 17-22 10 32 42 25 93 27 26 2 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 22-38 57.9% 2nd Half: 14-23 60.9% Game: 59.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 0-2 0.0% Game: 36.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-10 70.0% 2nd Half: 10-12 83.3% Game: 77.3% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Lisa Jones, Connie Pardue, Mazetta Garrett Technical fouls: Florida Atlantic-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Florida Atlantic.............. 25 28 - 53 Nebraska...................... 55 38 - 93