Austin, Texas - Kiera Hardy scored 22 of her team-high 27 points in the second half, leading the Nebraska women's basketball team back from an 11-point second-half deficit to claim their first-ever win at Texas with a 79-75 victory over the Longhorns at the Erwin Center on Wednesday night.
Hardy, who was strapped with two fouls and sat out 12 minutes in the first half, scored 11 points in the final four minutes to carry the Huskers to their school-record eighth consecutive road victory while ending an eight-game losing streak to Texas.
With the victory, Nebraska improved to 13-2 overall and stretched its win streak to seven games. The Huskers also improved to 1-0 in the Big 12, while Texas slipped to 10-4 and 0-1, respectively
"This is a great win for our program for every reason," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "Not only is it the first time we have ever won in Austin, it also gets us off to a winning start in the league. Our league schedule is extraordinarily to tough to open the season. After this game, we play nine straight games against teams that advanced to the postseason last year."
In addition to Hardy's heroics, senior guard Ashley Ford hit a pair of free throws with 4.8 seconds left to seal the win. The Lincoln native finished the night with four points, three rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Sophomore forward Kelsey Griffin contributed 21 points and seven rebounds in a strong effort, while Texas native TK LaFleur contributed 11 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting, including a huge three-pointer during NU's decisive 11-0 run, turning a 62-52 deficit into a 63-62 lead with 5:34 remaining.
Senior Chelsea Aubry added five points and seven rebounds on the night, including the three-pointer that capped Nebraska's second-half run to take the lead.
For the game, Nebraska hit 51.7 percent (30-58) of its shots from the field, including 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range. The Huskers also knocked down 70 percent (14-20) of their free throws, including 6-of-7 in the final 3:30. NU forced 19 UT turnovers, while committing 15 of its own. Texas did control the glass, outrebounding Nebraska, 41-29.
Texas hit 45.2 percent (28-62) of its shots from the field, including 2-of-5 three-pointers. The Longhorns also connected on 77.3 percent (17-22) of their free throws, but missed three straight during NU's 11-0 run and did not score at the line in the game's final 10 minutes.
Tiffany Jackson led all players with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Earnesia Williams added 16 points for Texas.
The Huskers got off to a solid start in the game, leading 13-8 after a jumper by Danielle Page with 14:21 left in the first half, as Page was NU's sixth different player to hit the Huskers's first six field goals.
Texas took the lead at 16-15 on a pair of Jackson free throws with 11:59 left in the opening half. The Huskers tied the score briefly at 22, before UT carried a 34-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Nebraska opens home Big 12 Conference play by taking on No. 8 Oklahoma at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Texas 01/03/07 7 pm at Austin, Texas (Erwin Center)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 13-2, 1-0 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 1-2 0-0 4-4 0 3 3 4 6 3 4 0 2 25 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 10-14 0-0 1-2 1 6 7 3 21 0 3 1 1 31 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 2-7 1-2 0-0 1 6 7 2 5 1 0 0 1 28 02 FORD, Ashley........ g 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 2 4 6 4 0 2 35 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 9-18 3-8 6-8 0 4 4 2 27 2 3 0 3 28 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 5-7 1-1 0-2 0 1 1 0 11 0 1 1 1 23 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 8 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 2-5 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 0 14 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 30-58 5-12 14-20 4 25 29 18 79 14 15 3 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 17-27 63.0% Game: 51.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 41.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 11-16 68.8% Game: 70.0% 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Texas 10-4, 0-1 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 00 Williams, Earnesia.. f 7-11 0-0 2-4 5 1 6 4 16 0 3 0 1 24 10 Raven, Brittainey... f 5-10 0-0 1-2 0 3 3 3 11 1 3 0 1 35 33 Jackson, Tiffany.... f 7-21 0-1 14-15 4 7 11 1 28 4 5 2 2 38 04 Arriaran, Erika..... g 4-8 2-4 0-1 1 6 7 2 10 3 4 3 1 35 20 Bailey, Erneisha.... g 3-6 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 5 6 2 1 0 1 19 03 Cortijo, Carla...... 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 5 5 2 4 6 1 0 0 29 15 Mattox, Gabriell.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 Hughes, Niqky....... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 44 Robinson, Katrina... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 12 TEAM................ 1 3 4 Totals.............. 28-62 2-5 17-22 13 28 41 21 75 17 19 5 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 15-31 48.4% Game: 45.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-2 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-3 66.7% Game: 40.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 9-13 69.2% Game: 77.3% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Barry Roberts, Mary Day, Charles Gonzalez Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Texas-None. Attendance: 4511 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 30 49 - 79 Texas......................... 34 41 - 75