Honolulu, Hawaii - Freshman Dominique Kelley sparked a 29-4 run to close the first half and start the second half, as the Nebraska women's basketball team cruised to a 75-47 victory over Akron in the final game of the Oahu Classic on Sunday afternoon.
Kelley scored nine of her team-high 13 points during the Huskers' decisive surge, as Nebraska improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Zips slipped to 2-4.
Nebraska started the game strong, working its way to a 12-4 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half, before Akron began to chip away. The Zips pulled within 20-18 on Riana Miller's layup with just over six minutes left in the opening period.
The Husker defense then took over, holding the Zips without a field goal for the rest of the first half to close the period on a 14-2 run. Kelley did the most damage during the run, hitting four straight free throws. Nicole Neals capped the run with NU's only three-pointer of the game coming with just seven seconds left as the shot clock expired to send NU to the locker room with a 34-20 lead.
Nebraska made sure the outcome would not be in doubt for long, opening the second half with a 15-2 run. Kelley scored five quick points in the first four minutes of the second half to power NU's run, while playing a major role in the stifling defense that held Akron without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.
In addition to her team-high 13 points, Kelley added a career-high seven rebounds to help the Huskers. Sophomore Cory Montgomery was the only other Husker to finish in double figures with 12 points, while Kelsey Griffin, Kala Kuhlmann and Catheryn Redmon each added nine points in a true team effort by the Huskers. Danielle Page also pitched in eight points and six rebounds.
Miller led all scorers for Akron with 18 points, while Sarah Tokodi pitched in 13 points and four assists in a losing effort for the Zips.
Nebraska hit 49.2 percent (30-61) of its shot from the field and 70 percent (14-20) of its free throw attempts, while Akron to just 29.1 percent (16-55) shooting from floor. The Zips were 0-for-9 from long range, but they did hit 15-of-19 free throws.
The Huskers dominated the boards (46-29), while also winning the turnover battle by forcing 22 miscues by the Zips. NU did commit 19 turnovers of its own.
Nebraska returns home to take on Creighton to begin a three-game home stand on Friday, Nov. 30. Tip-off against the Jays is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Official Basketball Box Score AKRON vs Nebraska 11/25/07 12:00 pm at Honolulu, HI (McKinley High School Gym)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: AKRON 2-4 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 01 TOKODI, Sarah....... * 4-13 0-3 5-8 2 1 3 2 13 4 3 1 0 34 04 SNOWDEN, Keyla...... * 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 17 24 MURPHY, Kara........ * 2-7 0-1 0-1 0 4 4 2 4 1 1 0 2 28 25 STEPHENSON, Lauren.. * 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 1 0 27 52 MILLER, Riana....... * 6-14 0-0 6-6 3 3 6 4 18 0 4 2 1 26 11 ROSEN, Kristina..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 16 20 SEDLACK, Amanda..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 14 22 GREEN, Rachel....... 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 13 23 SCOTT, Teresa....... 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 1 4 0 2 1 0 12 32 VEAL, Ashley........ 0-2 0-0 4-4 0 2 2 1 4 0 1 0 0 8 51 DEVILLE, Jessica.... 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 TEAM................ 3 3 6 2 Totals.............. 16-55 0-9 15-19 10 19 29 19 47 5 22 5 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-32 25.0% 2nd Half: 8-23 34.8% Game: 29.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-6 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-3 0.0% Game: 0.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 11-14 78.6% Game: 78.9% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 4-2 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... * 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 3 0 1 3 0 1 19 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... * 4-6 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 1 9 0 0 1 1 18 24 KELLEY, Dominique... * 4-7 0-0 5-7 1 6 7 3 13 1 2 0 1 24 32 HESTER, Tay......... * 2-4 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 1 4 4 3 0 1 15 52 PAGE, Danielle...... * 4-7 0-0 0-0 0 6 6 0 8 1 2 1 0 15 05 BURKE, Kaitlyn...... 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 4 1 0 1 24 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 1-3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 0 0 13 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 4-6 0-0 1-1 1 3 4 1 9 2 2 0 0 15 15 WHITTAKER, Monique.. 1-2 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 10 35 PERIAGO, Jessica.... 0-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 10 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 5-9 0-0 2-3 1 4 5 2 12 1 1 0 0 13 42 BOBER, Nikki........ 1-4 0-0 2-4 2 2 4 2 4 3 0 1 1 10 44 REDMON, Catheryn.... 4-6 0-0 1-1 2 1 3 3 9 0 2 1 1 14 TEAM................ 2 2 1 Totals.............. 30-61 1-5 14-20 14 32 46 18 75 23 19 4 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9% 2nd Half: 18-33 54.5% Game: 49.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-3 0.0% Game: 20.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 9-13 69.2% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 70.0% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Mark Gines, Cindy Leaong, Billy Titcomb Technical fouls: AKRON-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total AKRON......................... 20 27 - 47 Nebraska...................... 34 41 - 75 Game 7 of 2007 Oahu Classic