Irvine, Calif. - Kelsey Griffin produced her third consecutive double-double with a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kiera Hardy scored a season-high 23 points with five three-pointers to lead the Nebraska women's basketball team to an 80-66 win over UC Irvine at the Bren Center on Friday night.
With the victory, the Huskers improved to 4-1 on the season with their fourth consecutive win, while the Anteaters slipped to 1-4 on the year.
Griffin scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the second half alone to post her sixth double-double of her career. The 6-2 sophomore forward from Eagle River, Alaska, hit 9-of-13 shots from the field to lead the Huskers.
Hardy added season highs of her own with 23 points and five three-pointers to lead the Huskers in scoring. It was Hardy's 30th 20-point scoring effort of her career.
Danielle Page added a strong performance off the bench with nine points, five rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots, while Jelena Spiric added six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Huskers led by as many as 18 points in the second half before settling for a 14-point win against the scrappy Anteaters.
For the game, Nebraska shot 52.7 percent (29-55) from the field, including 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range. The Huskers also connected on 65.4 percent (17-26) of their free throws, while outrebounding UC Irvine 37-32. NU forced 17 UCI turnovers, while committing 16 miscues.
Reserve center Naomi Halman led the Anteaters with 16 points and seven rebounds, Kelly Cochran pitched in 12 points and Annie Mai contributed 11 points.
The Anteaters hit 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field, including 46.2 percent (6-13) from three-point range. UCI had hit just 6-of-24 threes on the year. The Anteaters also hit 63.2 percent (12-19) free throws.
The Huskers carried a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to a big first half from Hardy, who scored 13 points and knocked down a trio of three-pointers. Griffin added eight first-half points for the Huskers, who shot 53.8 percent in the first half, including 50 percent from three-point range.
The Anteaters received strong first-half performances from Halman, who scored 10 points, while Mai added eight points and a pair of three-pointers.
Nebraska completes its California road trip on Sunday, when the Huskers take on USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles on Sunday at 4 p.m. central time.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs UC Irvine 11/24/06 7:00PM PST at Irvine, CA (Bren Events Center)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska (4-1) 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 3-6 0-0 0-0 1 7 8 3 6 3 2 0 2 28 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 9-13 0-0 4-8 4 6 10 4 22 0 2 2 2 16 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 2-3 0-0 2-4 1 0 1 3 6 1 1 0 0 24 02 FORD, Ashley........ g 1-5 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 3 3 0 2 0 0 23 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 7-12 5-9 4-4 0 3 3 1 23 0 5 0 0 25 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 15 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 1-3 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 1 4 1 0 0 1 18 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 3-7 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 2 7 2 0 0 0 21 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 3-4 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 2 9 0 3 5 1 19 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 29-55 5-12 17-26 11 26 37 20 80 8 16 7 6 198
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-26 53.8% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 52.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 41.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 13-22 59.1% Game: 65.4% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: UC Irvine (1-4) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 24 Duda, Stephanie..... f 3-4 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 4 6 1 1 0 1 25 32 Cochran, Kelly...... f 4-7 0-0 4-6 2 3 5 5 12 0 2 0 0 26 05 Maessen, Rebecca.... g 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 4 21 Ned, Angie.......... g 3-12 1-4 0-0 0 4 4 2 7 1 1 0 1 29 42 Zdenek, Christina... g 2-6 1-2 3-5 1 4 5 0 8 1 1 0 1 27 01 Ishizaki, Kirian.... 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 4 2 0 0 22 03 Mai, Annie.......... 3-9 3-4 2-2 1 1 2 3 11 3 2 0 0 22 11 Forry, Miranda...... 1-3 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 1 4 1 2 0 0 15 15 Halman, Naomi....... 7-10 0-1 2-4 3 4 7 4 16 1 3 1 0 29 25 Johnson, Keyonna.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TEAM................ 2 3 5 Totals.............. 24-58 6-13 12-19 12 20 32 20 66 12 17 3 3 198
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd Half: 13-31 41.9% Game: 41.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 46.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 8-13 61.5% Game: 63.2% 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Norma Leibfreid, Anthony Feroah, Henry Eshom Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. UC Irvine-None. Attendance: 410 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 35 45 - 80 UC Irvine..................... 29 37 - 66