Minneapolis - Kelsey Griffin notched her 19th double-double of the year and Dominique Kelley scored a career-high 22 points to lead No. 1 seed Nebraska to its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance with an 83-70 win over eighth-seeded UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship at Williams Arena on Tuesday.
Griffin, who earlier in the day was named one of 12 finalists for Wade Trophy, scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to become just the second Husker in history with 2,000 points and 1,000 career rebounds. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, helped NU improve to 32-1 overall and advance to play No. 4 seed Kentucky in the Kansas City Regional at the Sprint Center on Sunday, March 28 at 9 p.m. UCLA ended its season 25-9.
"We are so excited to make it to the Sweet 16 and do something no Nebraska men's or women's basketball team has ever done in history," Griffin said. "We can't wait to get to Kansas City, and we are excited that our fans will get the chance to come to Kansas City and see us play. Our fans have been awesome all year and we want to see them at the Sprint Center."
While it was Griffin set the tone on the glass and in the hustle category throughout the night, it was Kelley who provided the Huskers with the biggest offensive punch. The 5-7 junior from Lincoln hit 6-of-7 shots from the field, including her only three-point attempt, while also hitting 9-of-12 free throws. Kelley added four rebounds, two assists and a steal in arguably her best all-around game of the season.
Midway through the second half, Kelley answered a UCLA run by scoring eight straight points for the Huskers, before senior Kala Kuhlmann hit her second jumper of the night to give NU its biggest lead of the game at 66-47 with seven minutes to play.
"Dominique played a great game," 2010 WBCA National Coach-of-the-Year Connie Yori said. "If you look at her stat line, it is pretty impressive. She was tough tonight and in the second half she got aggressive and made plays."
Senior guard Yvonne Turner added 12 points, including a trio of three-pointers, as Nebraska hit 8-of-15 triples for a season-high 53.3 percent shooting from long range. In two tournament games, the Huskers connected on 18-of-35 three-pointers at The Barn.
Freshman point guard Lindsey Moore added a career night of her own with nine points and a career-best 11 assists, while Minnesota native Cory Montgomery scored all nine of her points in the second half to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
As a team, the Huskers hit 55.6 percent (25-45) of their shots from the field against a Bruin defense that had held foes to just 36.6 percent shooting on the season. NU also outscored UCLA 25-9 at the free throw line, while winning the turnover battle, 19-17.
Darxia Morris led the Bruins with 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, before fouling out, while Doreena Campbell added 15 points of her own off the bench. Jasmine Dixon added 13 points. Markel Walker contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
UCLA hit 28-of-62 shots from the field, including 5-of-13 from long range. The Bruins also hit 9-of-10 free throws, while outrebounding NU, 34-28.
"All season long, our team has prided itself on being mentally tough, and they showed it again tonight," Yori said. "We got down early and then we got tough and we made plays defensively. In the second half, we did a much better job on the defensive glass and that allowed us to make a run."
UCLA erupted out of the locker room to start the game with a 15-6 lead less than five minutes into the contest. But the Huskers slowed the Bruins' momentum after UCLA's leading scorers - Dixon and Walker - both picked up their second fouls in a span of 30 seconds with more than 10 minutes left.
With Dixon and Walker off the floor, The Huskers went to work, tying the score for the first time at 15 to cap a 9-0 run. Kelley then gave the Huskers their first lead at 24-23 on a three-pointer with 4:38 left in the half.
Turner then extended the lead to 27-25 with her second three-pointer of the half to spark an 11-0 surge that ended with her third three-pointer of the half to give the Huskers a 35-25 edge with 1:02 left in the half.
UCLA took some of NU's steam away in the final 40 seconds by scoring five straight points to go into the locker room, trailing the Huskers 35-30. Kelley led the Huskers with 11 first-half points, while Turner and Griffin both pitched in nine points.
Nebraska hit 10-of-22 shots from the field in the first half, including 4-of-9 threes, while connecting on 11-of-15 free throws. UCLA controlled the glass, 18-12 in the first, including nine offensive rebounds, but the Huskers held a 13-11 turnover margin.
The Huskers will head to Kansas City to play fourth-seeded Kentucky on Sunday at 9 p.m., following No. 2 seed Notre Dame's battle with third-seeded Oklahoma, which will tip at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised live by ESPN2-HD and ESPN360.com. The regional final at the Sprint Center will be played on Tuesday, March 30, at 8:07 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
UCLA vs Nebraska
03/23/10 8:35 PM at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)
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VISITORS: UCLA 25-9
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 Walker, Markel...... f 4-11 0-1 3-3 3 6 9 4 11 3 4 1 3 25
33 Dixon, Jasmine...... f 6-11 0-1 1-2 1 4 5 4 13 0 2 1 1 22
03 Morris, Darxia...... g 6-12 3-5 0-0 0 1 1 5 15 1 3 0 2 33
13 Tukiainen, Erica.... g 1-6 0-2 0-0 3 0 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 26
21 Campbell, Doreena... g 5-14 1-3 4-4 3 1 4 3 15 6 4 0 1 35
01 Earl, Nina.......... 1-3 0-0 1-1 1 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 2 9
04 Nzekwe, Christina... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 19
05 Williams, Mariah.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5
31 Alexander, Moniquee. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3
35 Gardner, Rebekah.... 4-4 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 4 9 3 1 0 0 23
TEAM................ 3 2 5 1 1
Totals.............. 28-62 5-13 9-10 15 19 34 26 70 16 19 2 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-30 43.3% 2nd Half: 15-32 46.9% Game: 45.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 38.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100 % 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 90.0% 1
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HOME TEAM: Nebraska 32-1
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 5-12 0-0 8-14 5 9 14 2 18 3 2 2 1 35
40 Montgomery, Cory.... f 3-6 2-3 1-2 1 3 4 0 9 3 0 0 1 35
00 Moore, Lindsey...... g 2-2 1-1 4-5 0 1 1 2 9 11 7 0 1 37
22 Turner, Yvonne...... g 4-11 3-8 1-3 0 1 1 4 12 0 0 0 0 23
24 Kelley, Dominique... g 6-7 1-1 9-12 1 3 4 1 22 2 2 0 1 30
11 Neals, Nicole....... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 18
12 Reeves, Layne....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
13 Kuhlmann, Kala...... 2-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 6 0 4 0 0 11
35 Periago, Jessica.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
44 Redmon, Catheryn.... 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 4 0 1 0 0 9
TEAM................ 2 2 4
Totals.............. 25-45 8-15 25-38 9 19 28 12 83 21 17 2 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-22 45.5% 2nd Half: 15-23 65.2% Game: 55.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 4-6 66.7% Game: 53.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-15 73.3% 2nd Half: 14-23 60.9% Game: 65.8% 5
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Officials: Bob Trammell, Carla Fountain, Karen Pence
Technical fouls: UCLA-TEAM. Nebraska-None.
Attendance: 2396
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UCLA.......................... 30 40 - 70
Nebraska...................... 35 48 - 83
NCAA Second Round