Evanston, Ill. - Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore both went over the 1,500 career point mark and powered the Nebraska women's basketball team to a 55-50 victory at Northwestern on Thursday night.
With the victory, Nebraska improved to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in the Big Ten, as the Huskers notched their fourth conference road win of the year. Northwestern slipped to 11-12 overall and 3-7 in the league.
Hooper finished with a game-high 19 points, while adding seven rebounds, and Moore pitched in 16 points, two assists and four steals. Hooper and Moore also sank four straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal Nebraska's fifth straight win.
Emily Cady added seven points and seven rebounds, while Rachel Theriot pitched in six points and three assists, including an assist on the Huskers' final field goal of the night by Katie Simon with 7:27 left in the contest. Hailie Sample contributed just one point but led NU with nine boards.
The Huskers built a 15-point lead at 47-32 with 8:38 left before going cold from the field down the stretch. NU won on the road despite hitting just 32.7 percent (17-52) of its shots from the field, including 5-of-17 three-pointers. Northwestern also matched the Huskers on the boards at 42 and won the turnover battle 13-12. But the Huskers won the game at the free throw line, going 16-for-18 and outscoring the Wildcats 16-7 at the stripe.
Nebraska held the Wildcats to just 29.7 percent (19-64) shooting for the game, including 5-of-15 three-pointers. Lauren Douglas led the Wildcats with 14 points, while fellow freshman Maggie Lyon pitched in 12 points for the Cats. Senior center Dannielle Diamant contributed nine points and a game-high 14 boards for Northwestern.
Nebraska surged down the stretch in the first half to take a 25-17 lead into the locker room. NU held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 5:40 and closed the half on an 8-1 surge in the final five minutes. Hooper and Moore led the Huskers with seven points apiece in the first half, while Cady and Theriot each added four points.
Northwestern's 17 points matched the fewest allowed by the Huskers in a half this season, as NU held the Wildcats to just 21.9 percent (7-32) shooting, including a 1-for-8 effort from long range. Nebraska didn't shoot it much better in the opening half, as the Huskers hit just 25.8 percent (8-31), including 2-of-9 threes. But the Huskers outscored Northwestern 7-2 at the free throw line, and dominated the glass, 28-22 in the opening period. NU also won the first-half turnover battle 6-5.
Douglas led Wildcats with eight first-half points on 3-of-4 shooting, while Diamant added five points but picked up her third foul of the first half with just under three minutes left in the half.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Monday, when they take on Iowa. Tip-off between the Huskers and Hawkeyes in Iowa City is set for 7:30 p.m. with live national television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Northwestern 2/7/13 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 17-6, 7-3 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 23 Cady, Emily......... f 2-4 1-1 2-2 2 5 7 3 7 1 3 0 0 31 3 Sample, Hailie...... f 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 8 9 2 1 2 1 0 1 30 35 Hooper, Jordan...... f 5-13 2-7 7-8 0 7 7 3 19 1 1 1 1 34 00 Moore, Lindsey...... g 5-14 2-6 4-4 0 2 2 1 16 2 2 0 4 40 24 Theriot, Rachel..... g 2-9 0-2 2-2 0 3 3 1 6 3 2 0 0 31 1 Laudermill, Tear'a.. 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 1 7 10 Williams, Meghin.... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 13 Jeffery, Brandi..... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 8 14 Simon, Katie........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 6 TEAM................ 3 4 7 2 Totals.............. 17-52 5-17 16-18 7 35 42 13 55 12 13 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-31 25.8% 2nd Half: 9-21 42.9% Game: 32.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 29.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-8 87.5% 2nd Half: 9-10 90.0% Game: 88.9% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Northwestern 11-12, 3-7 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 11 Douglas, Lauren..... f 5-10 2-3 2-4 1 5 6 3 14 2 1 2 2 39 25 Orban, Brittany..... f 5-14 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 3 12 2 1 0 1 39 4 Hackney, Kendall.... f 3-15 1-4 0-0 1 3 4 1 7 0 1 0 2 36 31 Diamant, Dannielle.. c 2-11 0-2 5-6 4 10 14 3 9 3 4 2 1 34 42 Roser, Karly........ g 4-11 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 8 6 5 0 2 39 13 Kedem, Nof.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 40 Popovec, Kate....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 5 Cohen, Alex......... 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 2 0 9 TEAM................ 2 2 4 Totals.............. 19-64 5-15 7-10 13 29 42 15 50 14 12 7 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-32 21.9% 2nd Half: 12-32 37.5% Game: 29.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-8 12.5% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 33.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-6 83.3% Game: 70.0% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Felicia Grinter, Frank Steratore, Brian Hall Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Northwestern-None. Attendance: 636 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 25 30 - 55 Northwestern.................. 17 33 - 50