Lincoln - All-America candidate Kelsey Griffin produced her 15th double-double of the season with 25 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high six assists to lead No. 3 Nebraska to an 89-73 win over Colorado at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory in front of 12,747 fans at the Devaney Center, the Huskers continued the best season in school history by improving to 25-0, while notching a school record with their 12th conference victory. NU also matched the second-best league start in Big 12 history by improving to 12-0, tying the 2009 Oklahoma squad. The Huskers also stretched their school-record winning streak to 25 games, while notching their 18th straight home win.
Griffin's big game led four Huskers in double figures and offset a record-setting three-point shooting performance by the Buffaloes, who hit a Nebraska opponent and Devaney Center record 15 three-pointers on just 27 attempts. CU's Brittany Spears led all scorers with 26 points by hitting her first six three-pointers.
Bianca Smith added four threes to finish with 18 points and seven rebounds for CU, while Courtney Dunn threw in a trio of threes to finish with 11 points. However, the Buffs hit just 11 two-point field goals, finishing at 44.8 percent (26-58) from the field overall, and just 6-of-8 at the free throw line.
In addition to Griffin's 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, senior forward Cory Montgomery contributed 17 points and seven boards, while hitting 8-of-14 shots from the field, including 1-of-2 three-pointers. Senior guard Yvonne Turner knocked down 4-of-14 threes to finish with 14 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block, while junior guard Dominique Kelley added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Lindsey Moore added six points on a pair of threes to go along with four assists and three rebounds, while Nicole Neals contributed six points on a pair of threes off the bench to go along with two assists. Catheryn Redmon also scored six points, while adding two rebounds and a block.
It marked the seventh time in 12 conference games that the Big Red's "Big Four" scorers all produced double figures in a game. Nebraska also hit 50 percent (32-64) or better of its shots from the field for the 10th time this season, while scoring 80 or more points for the 12th time in 25 games.
Nebraska's precision passing game against CU's zone defense produced a season-high 25 assists against just nine turnovers. It marked the fourth time in the past six games that NU had committed 10 or fewer turnovers. The Huskers also outrebounded Colorado, 37-33, including 16 offensive boards, while forcing 17 turnovers by Colorado.
"That was a great team win," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "How often do you see a team hit 15 three-pointers and lose a game by 16 points. I think that says a lot about the kind of firepower Colorado has on offense. I think it also says a lot about the mental toughness of our players. It would have been really easy to lose that game. It felt like Colorado couldn't miss. They hit some tough shots. But our players worked hard on the boards, kept the pressure up and kept running the floor and did a lot of little things to win the game. We also hit some shots."
In a high-scoring first half, Nebraska used a 15-2 run over a 3:10 stretch to break open a game tied at 25 with 7:21 left in the half. Colorado continued to fire from long range to trim NU's 13-point lead to seven at 43-36 at the half. Kelley led the Huskers with 10 first-half points, while Turner added eight including a pair of threes. Griffin contributed seven points, five rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in the opening period, while Montgomery added six points and five boards. Redmon pitched in all six of her points in the opening period.
Nebraska hit 41.7 percent of its shots from the field, including 4-of-16 three-pointers, while hitting 9-of-13 free throws. CU outrebounded NU, 20-18, but the Huskers were plus eight in the turnover department, 11-3.
Colorado kept it close in the first half with hot long-range shooting, hitting 8-of-15 threes, including 7-of-10 to open the game. Brittany Spears hit 4-of-4 threes to open the game, pouring in 12 points and six rebounds in just seven first-half minutes before being forced to the sideline with her third foul with more than 10 minutes left in the half. Bianca Smith picked up the scoring slack by hitting a trio of threes of her own, to finish with 13 first-half points. CU hit 12-of-25 shots from the field overall in the first half, and 4-of-6 free throws.
Nebraska allowed CU to get no closer than five points in the second half, the last time coming at 70-65 with 8:39 left. A layup by Griffin and a three by Turner on back-to-back assists by Kelley pushed NU's lead back to 10 with 7:53 left. Leading 80-70 with 5:06 left, Nebraska used a 9-0 run to end any CU upset hopes, capped by a Moore three-pointer with 2:37 left.
The Huskers return to Big 12 road action on Wednesday when they take on No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Arena with live radio coverage on the Husker Sports Network, including free audio on Huskers.com. Live television coverage will also be available in Lincoln on MyTV, Time Warner Digital Cable Channel 110.
Coverage will also be provided on Charter Communications Channel 17, and on other select community cable networks in Nebraska that carry MyTV. Using a digital tuner, you can receive MyTV over the air on channel 10.2 in Lincoln and channel 11.2 in Grand Island. Contact your local provider for more information on how you can receive MyTV in your area. DirecTV channel 25 may also provide coverage of the game in Nebraska.
The Sooner Sports Network is producing the game locally in Oklahoma. Fox Sports Net and ESPN national network analyst Debbie Antonelli is scheduled to provide color commentary for the television broadcast.
Official Basketball Box Score
Colorado vs Nebraska
02/20/10 1:05 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center- Lincoln, Neb.
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VISITORS: Colorado 12-13, 2-10
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 10-17 6-7 0-0 2 5 7 3 26 1 4 0 0 27
34 Dunn, Courtney...... c 4-6 3-4 0-0 3 2 5 3 11 1 1 2 2 34
01 Fressle, Alyssa..... g 2-6 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 3 4 8 1 1 1 35
02 Smith, Bianca....... g 5-16 4-12 4-4 1 6 7 2 18 2 3 0 0 35
23 Jeffery, Chucky..... g 2-8 1-2 2-2 1 2 3 3 7 3 5 0 1 33
14 Malcolm-Peck, Meagan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
21 Dale, Chelsea....... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
32 Mullaney, Kelly Jo.. 3-5 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 7 0 1 0 1 23
42 Bailey, Kailah...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
55 MacFarlane, Melissa. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 5
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 26-58 15-27 6-8 12 21 33 19 73 15 17 4 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-25 48.0% 2nd Half: 14-33 42.4% Game: 44.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 8-15 53.3% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 55.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-2 100 % Game: 75.0% 1
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HOME TEAM: Nebraska 25-0, 12-0
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 10-14 0-0 5-10 6 6 12 1 25 6 2 2 2 31
40 Montgomery, Cory.... f 8-14 1-2 0-0 4 3 7 3 17 0 1 0 1 30
00 Moore, Lindsey...... g 2-5 2-4 0-0 0 3 3 1 6 4 1 1 0 30
22 Turner, Yvonne...... g 5-16 4-14 0-1 1 2 3 2 14 5 0 1 2 29
24 Kelley, Dominique... g 3-5 0-1 7-10 1 3 4 1 13 5 4 0 2 24
11 Neals, Nicole....... 2-5 2-4 0-0 0 0 0 1 6 2 0 0 1 20
12 Reeves, Layne....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
13 Kuhlmann, Kala...... 0-1 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 2 2 3 0 0 0 16
35 Periago, Jessica.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
44 Redmon, Catheryn.... 2-3 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 1 6 0 1 1 0 15
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 32-64 9-26 16-25 16 21 37 12 89 25 9 6 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-36 41.7% 2nd Half: 17-28 60.7% Game: 50.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-16 25.0% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 34.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-13 69.2% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 64.0% 4
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Officials: Tina Napier, Michael Price, Maj Forsberg
Technical fouls: Colorado-TEAM. Nebraska-None.
Attendance: 12747
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Colorado...................... 36 37 - 73
Nebraska...................... 43 46 - 89