Manhattan, Kan. - Kiera Hardy scored 13 points and fellow senior guard Ashley Ford scored a career-high 11 to lead the No. 21 Nebraska women's basketball team to its first win at Bramlage Coliseum and first sweep of Kansas State since 2001 with a 62-55 victory on Wednesday night.
With the win, Nebraska matched the best 24-game start in school history by improving to 20-4 on the year, while also matching the Huskers' best conference start in school history at 8-2. The 2006-07 Huskers matched the records produced by the 1987-88 NU squad, which is the only Nebraska team to win a conference title. NU also pulled into a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 standings with Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Kansas State slipped to 15-8 overall and 3-7 in the Big 12 with its fifth loss in the last six games. The Huskers used balanced scoring from their starters and a 19-point advantage off the bench to produce their 11th road victory of the season. Nebraska improved to 4-1 on the year in Big 12 road games, while the rest of the Big 12 North Division is just 1-23 away from home this season.
Hardy, a 5-6 senior guard from Kansas City, Mo., pumped in 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while adding five assists and a steal. Ford, NU's lone Lincoln native, added a career-best scoring effort that included her sixth three-pointer of the season.
Senior forward Chelsea Aubry contributed a career effort of her own with a career-high 12 rebounds, all on the defensive end, to go along with eight points. Kelsey Griffin, who was handcuffed by foul trouble throughout the game, managed seven points and 10 boards.
While the starters were solid, the bench contributions were major factors in the Husker win. NU's bench outscored the Wildcat reserves 23-4, including a Big 12-best eight points from freshman forward Cory Montgomery, who added five rebounds. TK LaFleur added six points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench, while freshman Yvonne Turner pitched in five first-half points, including a three-pointer, to go along with a steal and an assist. Freshman guard Nicole Neals also added the first points of her Big 12 career.
"That was a great team win," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "We had foul trouble and our players stepped up off the bench. Cory Montgomery gave us a huge lift inside with Kelsey and Danielle (Page) in foul trouble. TK LaFleur played a great game in all areas. Nicole Neals scored her first basket since December, and Yvonne Turner continued to play well for us. It was just a great win."
Yori, who picked up her first win in Manhattan as Nebraska's head coach, also pointed out the Huskers' composure and toughness as keys to victory.
"Our players are tough. Those were some tough situations to overcome. After we got the lead to 13 and Kansas State cut it to three, our players just kept their composure and made plays to win the game. You've got to have great toughness to make plays and win on the road in those kind of situations, and our players did that tonight."
Nebraska used a 7-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half to break a tie game and carry a 32-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. LaFleur knocked down a three-pointer to close the run and added a defensive rebound and an assist to Hardy on a breakaway layup to close the first half.
The Huskers continued to build momentum at the start of the second half, as Aubry and Ford buried back-to-back three-pointers on NU's first two possessions to take its first double-digit lead at 38-27 with 18:50 to play. After a Claire Coggins basket for KSU, Montgomery scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Huskers their biggest lead of the night at 42-29 with 16:33 left.
But Kansas State responded with a 10-0 run over the next 4:49 to trim the Nebraska edge to just 42-39 with 11:10 left. Griffin, Aubry and Montgomery then combined for seven straight points for NU, before Neals hit her first shot of the Big 12 season to give the Huskers a 51-42 lead with 6:45 left and force a Kansas State timeout.
After a Coggins free throw, Ford answered with a bucket to push the Huskers' lead back to double digits at 53-43, and Nebraska used strong defensive rebounding and solid offensive decision-making down the stretch to seal the win.
Nebraska finished the night hitting 43.6 percent (24-55) of its shots from the field, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range. The Huskers were also a solid 7-for-10 at the free throw line, while outrebounding KSU, 46-33, including a plus-12 margin in the second half.
The Huskers held KSU to just 33.9 percent (21-62) shooting from the floor, including a dismal 17.4 percent (4-23) from three-point range. The Wildcats also hit just 52.9 percent (9-17) of their free throws. KSU's poor shooting allowed the Huskers to overcome 21 turnovers.
Shalee Lehning led Kansas State with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Kimberly Dietz added 14 points, four boards and three assists, but was 0-for-7 from three-point range. Coggins added 13 points and four boards but was just 5-of-19 from the field.
Nebraska continues a two-game Big 12 road swing by traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado on Saturday. Tip-off at the Coors Events Center is set for 3 p.m. central time with live national television coverage provided by Fox Sports Net.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Kansas State 02/07/07 7:06 p.m. at Manhattan, Kan. (Bramlage Coliseum)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 20-4 (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 04 SPIRIC, Jelena...... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 8 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 3-8 0-1 1-2 2 8 10 4 7 2 2 1 0 22 45 AUBRY, Chelsea...... f 3-10 1-3 1-2 0 12 12 2 8 0 3 0 0 31 02 FORD, Ashley........ g 3-5 1-2 4-5 0 2 2 2 11 1 3 0 0 25 21 HARDY, Kiera........ g 5-13 3-8 0-0 0 1 1 1 13 5 4 0 1 34 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 12 LaFLEUR, TK......... 2-4 1-2 1-1 1 3 4 1 6 2 3 0 1 28 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... 2-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 5 1 1 0 1 20 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 4-9 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 2 8 1 2 0 0 15 52 PAGE, Danielle...... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 4 2 0 2 2 0 12 TEAM................ 2 5 7 Totals.............. 24-55 7-17 7-10 9 37 46 19 62 13 21 4 3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 43.6% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 41.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100 % 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 70.0% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Kansas State 15-8 (3-7) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 04 Sweat, Ashley....... f 2-9 0-0 0-2 0 4 4 0 4 0 1 0 1 23 30 Wheeler, Shana...... f 1-3 0-0 3-4 2 5 7 0 5 1 4 1 1 25 05 Lehning, Shalee..... g 6-9 1-4 2-3 0 5 5 2 15 4 4 0 1 39 13 Dietz, Kimberly..... g 6-15 0-7 2-3 1 3 4 4 14 3 0 0 1 33 14 Coggins, Claire..... g 5-19 2-8 1-2 0 4 4 1 13 1 1 1 1 36 24 Smith, Naytanda..... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 5 0 1 1 0 2 15 25 Zanotti, Danielle... 0-2 0-1 1-2 3 0 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 19 41 Kincaid, Kari....... 0-1 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 44 McCullough, Carolyn. 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 3 1 0 0 0 7 TEAM................ 3 3 Totals.............. 21-62 4-23 9-17 10 23 33 13 55 12 11 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-28 32.1% 2nd Half: 12-34 35.3% Game: 33.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 1-12 8.3% Game: 17.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 52.9% 2,1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Clarke Stevens(R), Gator Parrish (U1), Cameron Inouye (U2) Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Kansas State-None. Attendance: 3950 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 32 30 - 62 Kansas State.................. 25 30 - 55