Lincoln - All-America candidate Kelsey Griffin produced her 11th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds to power the No. 4 Nebraska women's basketball team to a 71-60 victory over No. 12 Texas A&M in front of 10,889 fans and an FSN national television audience at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
Nebraska extended its school-record winning streak to 21 games, while improving to 21-0 overall and 8-0 in the Big 12, while Texas A&M slipped to 16-5 overall and 4-4 in the league. The Huskers also improved to 5-0 against Big 12 South foes this season, while notching their fifth win over a top-25 foe this year.
Griffin, a 6-2 power forward from Eagle River, Alaska, hit 7-of-12 shots from the field and 7-of-8 free throws, while adding three steals, two charges drawn, a blocked shot and an assist, to help the Huskers avenge a 43-point loss at Texas A&M last season.
Griffin scored eight of NU's last 10 points in the final six minutes, as the Huskers weathered an Aggie rally that trimmed Nebraska's lead to 65-60 with 3:06 left. Griffin then answered A&M's surge with a layup off a spectacular assist from Dominique Kelley with one second on the shot clock to give the Huskers a seven-point edge. Kelley then added a defensive rebound and a layup with 1:55 left to push the Husker margin back to nine points at 69-60 with 1:55 left. Griffin then capped the victory off an assist from Lindsey Moore with 31 seconds left, and blocked A&M's final shot of the game to secure NU's 18th double-digit win of the year.
Cory Montgomery, a 6-2 forward from Cannon Falls, Minn., also had a big day inside and out for the Huskers, matching her season high with 18 points, while adding five rebounds. Montgomery hit 7-of-13 shots from the field, including 2-of-5 three-point attempts. She added an assist and a steal.
Kelley, a 5-7 guard from Lincoln, had a big second half with six points, four rebounds and three assists, to finish with 11 points, five boards and five assists on the afternoon. Fellow Nebraskan Yvonne Turner, a 5-8 guard from Omaha, added 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while adding three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Moore rounded out the NU starting five with six rebounds and six assists.
Junior Catheryn Redmon added major production for the Huskers off the bench. The 6-3 center from Grand Prairie, Texas, went 4-for-4 from the field to finish with eight points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
For the game, Nebraska hit 43.1 percent (25-58) of its shots from the field, including 5-of-22 three-pointers, while draining 16-of-21 free throws. The Huskers also outrebounded A&M, 40-37, and forced the Aggies into 16 turnovers, while committing just 14 of their own.
A&M, led by 18 points from Danielle Adams and 15 points and eight rebounds from Tyra White, hit 40.3 percent (27-67) of its shots from the floor, including 5-of-14 three-pointers. The Aggies hit just 1-of-2 free throws.
The Huskers jumped out to another quick start in front of the third straight crowd of more than 10,000 fans at the Devaney Center, by answering Texas A&M's first basket of the game by Sydney Carter with a 12-0 run to take a 10-point lead just over two minutes into the contest.
Nebraska was able to maintain the double-digit lead at halftime, carrying a 40-29 edge into the locker room. The Aggies were able to cut the NU advantage to four points on one occasion at 22-18, before Griffin answered with six straight points to push the Husker margin back to double figures. The Huskers led by as many as 12 points two times in the first half, thanks to 11 points from Montgomery and eight points apiece from Griffin and Turner. The Huskers also got six big first-half points and three rebounds from Redmon.
The Huskers shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field in the first half, including 3-of-9 three-pointers. NU also hit 13-of-17 free throws in the opening half, outscoring A&M 13-1 at the line. A&M outrebounded NU, 19-16, in the first half, but the Huskers were plus-four (10-6) in the turnover department.
Adams led the Aggies with eight first-half points, while White pitched in seven points, as A&M hit 13-of-33 shots from the field, including 2-of-8 three-pointers. The aggressive and physical Aggies were saddled with first-half foul trouble as Tanisha Smith picked up two early fouls and a third late in the half, while Maryann Baker also had three fouls. Adams and Adaora Elonu also committed two first-half fouls, as the Aggies committed 14 first-half fouls, compared to just seven for NU.
Nebraska returns to Big 12 road action with a pair of North Division battles next week. The Huskers open the week on Wednesday, Feb. 10, by clashing with Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with live television coverage provided by Fox Sports Midwest (Ch. 37 in Lincoln, Ch. 47 in Omaha). The game will also be available to DirecTV customers in Nebraska on Ch. 657 and on DISH Network Ch. 450. The game can also be heard live on the Husker Sports Network, including 98.1 KFGE in Lincoln, 93.3 KTWI in Omaha and 880 KRVN in Lexington, and free world-wide on Huskers.com.
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score Texas A&M vs Nebraska 2/6/10 12:05 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center- Lincoln, Neb.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Texas A&M 16-5, 4-4 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 04 Carter, Sydney...... f 4-18 0-4 0-0 0 0 0 2 8 2 3 0 0 31 23 Adams, Danielle..... f 8-16 2-5 0-0 3 3 6 2 18 0 1 2 0 32 02 Buchanan, Damitria.. g 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 4 2 0 1 2 1 28 20 White, Tyra......... g 7-11 1-3 0-0 1 7 8 2 15 0 5 0 2 37 22 Smith, Tanisha...... g 2-7 0-0 0-0 1 6 7 4 4 3 3 1 2 25 05 Bellock, Kristi..... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 Baker, Maryann...... 3-3 1-1 0-0 3 0 3 3 7 1 0 1 0 17 21 Elonu, Adaora....... 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 3 2 0 0 1 1 8 40 Assarian, Kelsey.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 51 Colson, Sydney...... 1-4 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 3 1 0 0 11 TEAM................ 2 2 4 2 Totals.............. 27-67 5-14 1-2 11 26 37 22 60 9 16 9 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-33 39.4% 2nd Half: 14-34 41.2% Game: 40.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 35.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 50.0% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 21-0, 8-0 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 7-12 0-0 7-8 1 9 10 2 21 1 3 1 3 30 40 Montgomery, Cory.... f 7-13 2-5 2-2 1 4 5 0 18 1 0 0 1 35 00 Moore, Lindsey...... g 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 6 6 1 0 6 3 0 1 35 22 Turner, Yvonne...... g 3-11 3-10 2-4 2 1 3 3 11 1 4 1 2 23 24 Kelley, Dominique... g 4-8 0-0 3-5 1 4 5 3 11 5 2 0 0 28 11 Neals, Nicole....... 0-4 0-4 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 19 13 Kuhlmann, Kala...... 0-3 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 15 44 Redmon, Catheryn.... 4-4 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 2 8 0 1 2 1 15 TEAM................ 2 1 3 Totals.............. 25-58 5-22 16-21 11 29 40 12 71 18 14 4 8 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-24 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-34 38.2% Game: 43.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-13 15.4% Game: 22.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 13-17 76.5% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 76.2% 1,1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Melissa Barlow, Scotty Hermann Technical fouls: Texas A&M-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 10889 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Texas A&M..................... 29 31 - 60 Nebraska...................... 40 31 - 71