Bakersfield, Calif. -- Freshman guard Kaitlyn Burke produced career highs with 15 points, five three pointers and seven assists to shoot the Nebraska women's basketball team to a 66-62 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday at the Icardo Center.
Nebraska improved to 8-2 on the season with their fifth straight win, while CS Bakersfield slipped to 5-5.
Burke, a 5-7 guard from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hit four three-pointers in the first half to help shoot Nebraska to a 34-31 halftime lead despite trailing by seven points on two occasions early in the game.
But her biggest three-pointer came with 2:35 left with Nebraska clinging to a 57-56 lead. Burke's three-pointer sparked an 8-0 run in a 1:30 span, capped with a three-point play by Cory Montgomery to give NU's its biggest lead of the night at 65-56 with 1:05 left.
Montgomery also played a major role in the outcome. The 6-2 sophomore from Cannon Falls, Minn., scored nine of her 12 points in the final eight minutes, including back-to-back baskets with under four minutes left to give Nebraska a 57-54 lead with 3:09 to play.
Kelsey Griffin added a pair of field goals in the final 4:15 to help the Huskers hold off the Runners down the stretch. Griffin finished with 12 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal. Griffin also drew three offensive charges on the night, including the fifth foul on CSUB's Naomi Johnson with 5:03 left in the game. Johnson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Along with the offensive contributions of Burke, Montgomery and Griffin, the Huskers received a huge defensive effort from Danielle Page. The 6-2 senior forward from Monument, Colo., pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end, while swatting a season-high seven blocked shots. Page's block total ties for the second-highest mark in school history, trailing only her nine blocks against Baylor last season. Page added seven points, two assists and a steal in a solid all-around effort.
Despite a major height disadvantage, Cal State Bakersfield controlled the boards in the first half, pulling down 12 offensive rebounds compared to just three offensive boards for the Huskers. The Roadrunners' work on the glass helped them lead by as many as seven points on two occasions in the opening half.
CSUB maintained its edge on the glass at the end of the game (42-37), although Nebraska did pull down seven offensive boards in the second half. Nebraska also matched the Roadrunners with 23 turnovers on the night. CSUB entered the night with a plus-six turnover average on the year.
Page closed down the boards for the Runners late in the half, finishing with 10 first-half rebounds to force CSUB to settle for a 24-19 edge on the glass in first half. Page added seven points and two blocks in the opening stanza to help spark NU's first-half comeback inside.
While Page asserted herself in the paint, Burke bombed the Huskers back into the game from long range by hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers in the first half.
NU hit 6-of-13 three-point attempts in the first half, but added just 7-of-15 shooting from inside the arc. NU was also just 2-of-4 from the free throw line in the first half. The Huskers finished the night at 46.3 percent (25-54) from the field and 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from three-point range, with a season-high eight threes. NU hits just 8-of-19 free throws, allowing the Roadrunners to cut the final margin to just four points in the final minute.
CSUB hit just 36.5 percent (23-63) of its shots from the field, including a dismal 29.7 percent (11-37) in the first half. The Roadrunners connected on 72.2 percent (13-18) of their free throws and were 3-of-6 from three-point range.
Kelley Tarver led all scorers with 16 points for the Roadrunners, while Krista Arase added 11 points for CSUB.
Nebraska concludes its two-game California road trip on Saturday, when the Huskers take on Long Beach State. Tip-off at the Walter Pyramid is set for 7 p.m. Central time with radio coverage on the Husker Sports Network, including 98.1 KFGE in Lincoln with a free live audio broadcast on Huskers.com.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Univ. of Nebraska vs CSU Bakersfield 12/13/07 7:00 pm at Icardo Center - Bakersfield, CA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 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 23 GRIFFIN, Kelsey..... f 5-9 0-0 2-5 1 2 3 3 12 0 5 1 1 25 32 HESTER, Tay......... f 3-5 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 5 6 0 1 0 0 11 52 PAGE, Danielle...... c 3-10 0-0 1-4 0 13 13 2 7 2 4 7 1 33 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... g 1-5 1-5 0-1 2 2 4 0 3 2 3 1 3 23 24 KELLEY, Dominique... g 1-2 1-2 3-6 1 2 3 2 6 3 2 0 1 23 05 BURKE, Kaitlyn...... 5-8 5-8 0-0 1 2 3 2 15 7 1 0 0 34 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 2-8 1-6 0-0 0 1 1 2 5 2 1 0 1 21 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 5-7 0-2 2-3 0 4 4 1 12 1 5 1 0 25 42 BOBER, Nikki........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 5 TEAM................ 2 1 3 Totals.............. 25-54 8-23 8-19 10 27 37 18 66 18 23 10 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-28 46.4% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 46.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-13 46.2% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 34.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-15 40.0% Game: 42.1% 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: CSU Bakersfield 5-5 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 12 BELT, Tiffany....... f 2-6 0-1 1-2 0 3 3 1 5 1 1 0 2 26 21 STRIBLING, Rosemary. f 0-7 0-1 4-6 2 3 5 2 4 1 1 1 2 26 30 JOHNSON, Naomi...... c 6-13 0-0 2-3 6 2 8 5 14 1 6 0 2 30 03 TARVER, Kelley...... g 5-17 1-1 5-6 2 3 5 2 16 1 5 0 1 33 25 ARASE, Krista....... g 5-10 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 11 3 4 0 1 39 15 WEST, Nikhol........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 20 JONES, Ke'Airra..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 KEPENEKIAN, Chris... 3-7 1-1 1-1 0 6 6 5 8 2 1 0 5 22 32 LEON, Nikki......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 5 34 CARTER, Shawnee..... 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 17 TEAM................ 7 3 10 Totals.............. 23-63 3-6 13-18 18 24 42 17 62 9 23 1 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-37 29.7% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 36.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 1-1 100 % Game: 50.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 72.2% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Gina Jojola, Mike Hay, Rick Rodman Technical fouls: Univ. of Nebraska-None. CSU Bakersfield-None. Attendance: 590 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Univ. of Nebraska............. 34 32 - 66 CSU Bakersfield............... 31 31 - 62