<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln? Nebraska led 64-60 with 3:52 left before visiting Minnesota closed the game on a 14-1 surge to hand the No. 25 Huskers a 74-65 loss at the BobDevaneySportsCenter on Tuesday night.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
The loss ended Nebraska’s six-game winning streak and dropped the Huskers to 6-2 on the season. Minnesota improved to 8-2 on the year with the win.
Nebraska was led by 17 points from sophomore forward Kelsey Griffin, while senior forward Chelsea Aubry added her best effort of the season with 14 points and eight rebounds. Kiera Hardy added 12 points and eight assists, while freshman guard Nicole Neals contributed a career-high nine points.
Kelly Roysland led the Golden Gophers with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, while Ashley Ellis-Milan added 15 points and seven boards. Brittany McCoy contributed 14 points and six rebounds while Korinne Campbell produced eight points and a game-high 14 boards.
Nebraska led 64-60 with 3:52 left in the game after Hardy knocked down a jumper from 12 feet to give the Huskers their biggest lead of the game. But Nebraska did not hit a field goal the rest of the way, as the Gophers used a McCoy free throw and a three-point play by Campbell to tie the score with 2:58 left.
McCoy gave Minnesota the lead for good with a pair of free throws with 1:44 left. Roysland added a layup and Campbell hit a jumper to push the Gophers to a six-point lead with 44 seconds remaining. Nebraska missed its last five shots from the field.
Minnesota scored eight of its final 14 points at the line and outrebounded the Huskers 11-4 in the final 3:33.
“You have to hit shots if you want to win,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “We missed shots and we didn’t make any plays down the stretch. In a close game, you have to make plays. Minnesota was also the more physical team tonight and they definitely won the battle on the boards.”
The Huskers had plenty of chances to take control of the game midway through the second half. Trailing 56-50 with 14:16 left, Nebraska shut out Minnesota for 6:16, but was unable to take a lead until an Aubry jumper made it 57-56 with eight minutes left.
During that stretch, Nebraska went 0-for-5 from the field and 5-of-12 from the free throw, as the Gophers were able to overcome six turnovers and 0-for-7 shooting while also being whistled for six team fouls.
NU led for just two seconds before McCoy gave Minnesota a 58-57 lead with 7:57 left, but Neals answered with a jumper to give the Huskers a 59-58 lead with 6:08 remaining.
Leslie Knight put the Gophers back in front with a pair of free throws before Griffin responded with a three-point play to put the Huskers up 62-60 with 4:22 left.
Minnesota took control early, jumping to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes. Nebraska opened the game ice cold, hitting just one of its first 13 shots from the field, but warmed up behind the hot hand of Aubry.
The 6-2 forward from Kitchener, Ontario, hit 5-of-9 shots in the first half, including 2-of-3 three-pointers to lead the Huskers in the first half with 12 points.
After missing their first 10 three-point field goal attempts to open the game, the Huskers knocked down four of their last five long-range attempts to pull even with the Golden Gophers for the first time at 22 with 7:40 left in the half.
Nebraska then forged to its largest lead of the opening period when Neals knocked down a three-pointer then added a layup to give the Huskers a 27-24 lead with 6:25 left.
Minnesota tied it quickly at 27 on a three-pointer by Emily Fox and the game featured ties at 29, 32, 38 and 40, before the Gophers surged to a 44-41 halftime lead.
For the game, Nebraska shot a season-low 35.7 percent (25-70) from the field, including a season-low 17.9 percent (5-28) from three-point range. The Huskers also shot a season-low 47.6 percent (10-21) at the free throw line.
Nebraska was outrebounded 51-38 on the night, but the Huskers were a plus-nine in turnover margin, forcing 20 Gopher turnovers while committing a season-best 11 turnovers.
Minnesota hit 42.9 percent of its shots for the game, including a sizzling 66.7 percent (6-9) from three-point range. The Gophers were also a solid 71.4 percent at the line.
Nebraska continues its home stand against Big Ten Conference opponents on Saturday when the Huskers play host to Michigan (6-3). Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score MINN vs Nebraska 12/05/06 7:06 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center - Lincoln, NE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: MINN (8-2) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 12 McCoy, Brittany..... f 4-14 0-0 6-10 4 2 6 4 14 3 2 0 1 39 21 Ellis-Milan, Ashley. f 5-9 1-1 4-4 4 3 7 4 15 1 3 0 0 28 45 Knight, Leslie...... c 1-5 0-0 3-4 0 2 2 0 5 0 1 0 1 17 03 Roysland, Kelly..... g 6-13 3-6 5-5 1 6 7 2 20 2 3 0 1 32 04 Fox, Emily.......... g 2-6 1-1 0-0 0 5 5 4 5 2 2 0 0 20 05 Campbell, Korinne... 3-6 0-0 2-5 5 9 14 3 8 1 3 1 1 25 20 Harper, Zoe......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 9 31 Barnes, Jordan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 16 35 Ohm, Katie.......... 3-3 1-1 0-0 3 3 6 3 7 0 2 0 0 14 TEAM................ 2 2 1 Totals.............. 24-56 6-9 20-28 17 34 51 20 74 9 20 2 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-31 51.6% 2nd Half: 8-25 32.0% Game: 42.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 1-3 33.3% Game: 66.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 13-19 68.4% Game: 71.4% 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska (6-2) 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 2-13 1-6 3-4 3 3 6 1 8 1 1 1 3 37 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 7-13 0-2 3-5 1 4 5 2 17 0 3 0 1 25 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 6-11 2-4 0-0 6 2 8 3 14 0 0 0 1 29 02 FORD, Ashley........ g 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 10 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 4-14 1-7 3-8 0 1 1 4 12 8 2 0 0 33 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 4-8 1-5 0-2 0 2 2 3 9 1 2 0 1 29 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 5 5 3 0 0 2 1 1 10 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 4 1 0 0 0 13 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 0-2 0-0 1-2 3 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 12 TEAM................ 4 2 6 Totals.............. 25-70 5-28 10-21 18 20 38 20 65 13 11 2 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-38 44.7% 2nd Half: 8-32 25.0% Game: 35.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-15 26.7% 2nd Half: 1-13 7.7% Game: 17.9% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 7-16 43.8% Game: 47.6% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Greg Small, Dee Kantner, Brenda Pantoja Technical fouls: MINN-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 2683 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total MINN.......................... 44 30 - 74 Nebraska...................... 41 24 - 65