Lincoln - Kelsey Griffin posted her sixth double-double of the year with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nebraska women's basketball team to a 63-55 victory over Colorado at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Nebraska improved to 19-10 overall and 8-7 in the Big 12, while Colorado slipped to 15-13 overall and 4-11 in the league. Husker senior Danielle Page added 13 points to help the Huskers, who posted their seventh consecutive win in the series with the Buffaloes, completing a season sweep of CU.
Brittany Spears led Colorado with a double-double of her own with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Jackie McFarland added 13 points for the Buffaloes.
Nebraska led from nearly start to finish, as Colorado managed to tie the score only at 2-2 in the opening minutes. But the Huskers were never able to pull away from the scrappy Buffs, who battled to the final seconds.
"It is so hard to win a game in the league," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "It is unbelievable how tough our league is from top to bottom. It is an achievement any time any team gets a win in the Big 12. We are thrilled to get to eight league wins and we are looking forward to the opportunity to go for another one at home on Wednesday night. Like I say every night, the next one is the biggest game of the year, so we are going to need the help of every Husker fan out there to give us their support against Iowa State."
Griffin, a 6-2 junior from Eagle River, Alaska, was ultimately the difference. The All-America candidate tied her season-high with 26 points, including 15 points and six rebounds in the second half to continue her torrid conference season. Over the last nine games, Griffin is averaging 20 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, despite playing with a cracked rib. She has produced five of her six double-doubles on the year in league play.
Griffin also tied her career-high with three blocked shots to move into a tie for eighth on NU's career list in that category with 66. The returning first-team All-Big 12 performer added two steals and a pair of assists.
The Huskers led by as many as 12 in the first half and owned an 11-point second-half lead on several occasions, but the Buffs were able to whittle the lead to five on three occasions in the final three minutes.
Leading 56-51 with 2:12 left, Griffin knocked down a jumper to push NU's lead back to seven points. After Spears cut NU's lead back to five at 60-55 with 29 seconds left, Dominique Kelley connected on 1-of-2 free throws to extend NU's lead to 61-55 with 20 ticks left on the clock.
Bianca Smith then missed a jumper for CU that was challenged by Griffin, who also collected her 10th rebound on Smith's miss with eight seconds left. Griffin was fouled and buried both free throws with four seconds left to seal the victory.
For the game, Nebraska hit 40.7 percent of its shots from the field, going an identical 11-for-27 in each half. The Huskers also committed 10 turnovers in each half, but still finished plus-one in the turnover department by forcing 21 miscues by the Buffs. NU also outrebounded CU, 38-35, including a plus-four margin in the second half.
Colorado managed 38.7 percent (24-62) shooting from the field, but hit just 2-of-11 three-pointers while connecting on just 5-of-6 free throws. The Huskers connected on 17-of-25 free throws on the afternoon.
The Huskers took a 32-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Griffin scored 11 points to go along with four rebounds and two blocks in the opening period, while Kala Kuhlmann connected on a pair of first-half three-pointers to help NU.
Spears led the Buffaloes with eight first-half points, while McFarland picked up three first-half fouls. Despite the foul trouble, McFarland played 13 minutes. CU hit just 35.5 percent (11-31) of its shots, including just 1-of-7 three-pointers. The Buffs committed 11 first-half turnovers, but outrebounded NU, 19-18.
Nebraska wraps up the Big 12 Conference regular season on Wednesday night when the Huskers take on Iowa State at the Devaney Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. with the Huskers honoring senior Danielle Page with Senior Night pre-game activities. The game will be televised live statewide by NET with a free live video stream on Huskers.com.
Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Colorado vs Nebraska 03/02/08 2:05 PM at Bob Devaney Sports Center - Lincoln, NE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Colorado 15-13, 4-11 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 22 Spears, Brittany.... f 6-16 0-2 2-2 4 7 11 4 14 1 2 0 4 36 33 Putnina, Aija....... f 2-7 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 4 0 4 3 0 20 45 McFarland, Jackie... f 6-12 0-1 1-2 3 1 4 4 13 2 5 1 1 33 02 Smith, Bianca....... g 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 2 28 12 Powers, Susie....... g 2-5 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 0 4 1 1 29 03 Houston, Whitney.... 4-10 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 8 1 2 0 0 18 11 Skildum, Hannah..... 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 9 34 Dunn, Courtney...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 40 Dow, Caley.......... 1-4 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 1 2 1 0 1 0 16 44 Richards, Kara...... 2-2 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 5 6 0 2 1 1 7 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 24-62 2-11 5-6 13 22 35 20 55 5 21 8 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5% 2nd Half: 13-31 41.9% Game: 38.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 18.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 83.3% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 19-10, 8-7 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 8-17 0-0 10-15 4 6 10 1 26 2 0 3 2 32 52 PAGE, Danielle...... f 6-14 0-1 1-3 2 4 6 1 13 0 5 2 1 32 22 TURNER, Yvonne...... g 2-6 0-2 2-2 2 3 5 2 6 3 0 0 3 29 24 KELLEY, Dominique... g 2-4 0-1 2-3 0 2 2 1 6 1 2 0 0 21 32 HESTER, Tay......... g 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 1 2 2 4 0 1 26 05 BURKE, Kaitlyn...... 1-6 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 1 2 0 0 18 11 NEALS, Nicole....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 13 13 KUHLMANN, Kala...... 2-2 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 6 0 1 0 0 13 40 MONTGOMERY, Cory.... 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 14 42 BOBER, Nikki........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM................ 2 3 5 1 Totals.............. 22-54 2-9 17-25 13 25 38 11 63 10 20 5 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd Half: 11-27 40.7% Game: 40.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-5 0.0% Game: 22.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 9-16 56.3% Game: 68.0% 5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Scotty Hermann, Charles Gonzalez, Greg Small Technical fouls: Colorado-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 4881 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado...................... 25 30 - 55 Nebraska...................... 32 31 - 63