Lincoln - No. 20 Nebraska had its 10-game winning streak snapped as No. 7 Penn State shot nearly 70 percent in the second half on its way to an 82-67 women's basketball victory over the Huskers in the final game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday.
The Huskers ended their regular season with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-4 Big Ten mark, in front of 10,832 fans who came to say farewell to the building and seniors Lindsey Moore and Meghin Williams in postgame ceremonies.
Nebraska claimed the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will tip-off tourney play on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Penn State improved to 24-4 overall and 14-2 in the Big Ten. The Lady Lions claimed sole possession of the conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament.
In her final game at the Devaney Center, Husker senior Lindsey Moore scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward Emily Cady added her fifth double-double of the conference season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Jordan Hooper just missed a double-double of her own with 14 points and nine rebounds.
However, Penn State got a huge performance from junior Maggie Lucas, who set the Devaney Center record with eight three-pointers. Lucas went 8-for-13 from long range on her way to a game-high 34 points. The eight threes matched the most by an opponent in any game against the Huskers (Stacy Frese, Iowa State, Jan. 28, 1999). Lucas added nine rebounds.
Alex Bentley added 13 points, while Mia Nickson contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Nikki Greene gave the Lady Lions four players in double figures with 10 points and six boards.
Nebraska trailed 38-32 at halftime after shooting just 32 percent (8-25) in the opening period. Moore led the Huskers with 11 points, but sat for much of the final six minutes of the half after being whistled for her third foul.
Cady added seven points and six rebounds, while Hooper pitched in six points and six boards in the first half despite going just 1-for-8 from the field. Theriot added four points and seven rebounds in the opening period.
Penn State hit 40 percent (14-35) of its shots in the first half, led by 18 points from Lucas on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 threes. Bentley added seven points, while Greene contributed six points and four boards in the first half. PSU won the first half battle of the boards, 23-21, and edged NU 10-9 in turnovers.
Nebraska kept it close early in the second half, trailing by just three points on four occasions, the last time coming after a Moore layup with 12:27 left made it 55-52 PSU. But Penn State answered by hitting three of its next four shots, including back-to-back baskets from Bentley to push the lead to 61-52 with 9:45 left. A pair of Lucas free throws capped an 8-0 Penn State run and gave the Lady Lions their first double-digit lead at 63-52.
After a jumper by Moore cut the margin back to nine with 6:32 left, Penn State closed out the game by hitting eight of its last 10 shots. PSU did not allow NU to cut it to single digits the rest of the way.
Penn State hit 52.5 percent (32-61) of its shots for the game, including 69.2 percent (18-26) in the second half. The Lady Lions went 8-of-17 from three-point range, thanks to Lucas' 8-for-13 effort. PSU added 10-of-17 free throws.
The Huskers hit 40.7 percent (22-54) for the game, including 48.3 percent (14-29) in the second half. NU was 5-of-16 from long range and 18-of-26 at the free throw line. Nebraska outrebounded the Lady Lions, 37-34, but Penn State won the turnover battle 18-15.
The Huskers return to action on Friday at 11:30 a.m., when they face the winner of the No. 7 Iowa/No. 10 Northwestern game in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Live television coverage will be provided by BTN, while the Husker Sports Network will provide free live audio coverage on Huskers.com.
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score Penn State vs Nebraska 03/03/13 5:06 p.m. at Bob Devaney Sports Center- Lincoln, Neb.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Penn State 24-4, 14-2 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 24 Nickson, Mia........ f 4-9 0-0 4-4 3 3 6 2 12 0 2 1 1 29 54 Greene, Nikki....... c 5-8 0-0 0-2 3 3 6 3 10 0 1 1 0 27 02 Taylor, Dara........ g 2-5 0-2 0-2 0 1 1 2 4 2 3 0 1 28 20 Bentley, Alex....... g 6-13 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 4 13 2 2 0 2 32 33 Lucas, Maggie....... g 11-20 8-13 4-4 0 9 9 3 34 1 3 0 3 40 05 East, Talia......... 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 2 23 Edwards, Ariel...... 3-5 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 4 7 0 1 0 0 27 25 Studevent, Gizelle.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 44 Waldner, Tori....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 0 2 1 1 10 TEAM................ 2 2 4 Totals.............. 32-61 8-17 10-17 10 24 34 23 82 5 15 3 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-35 40.0% 2nd Half: 18-26 69.2% Game: 52.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 4-6 66.7% Game: 47.1% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 58.8% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 22-7, 12-4 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 3-7 1-2 8-9 4 6 10 1 15 2 0 1 2 36 35 Hooper, Jordan...... f 4-17 1-8 5-7 3 6 9 1 14 0 2 2 0 37 00 Moore, Lindsey...... g 9-11 2-2 3-5 0 1 1 3 23 2 8 0 1 34 03 Sample, Hailie...... g 0-1 0-0 0-2 1 3 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 23 24 Theriot, Rachel..... g 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 6 7 2 4 4 3 0 2 31 01 Laudermill, Tear'a.. 3-9 1-2 2-3 2 2 4 4 9 1 1 0 1 19 10 Williams, Meghin.... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 8 13 Jeffery, Brandi..... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 12 TEAM................ 1 1 1 Totals.............. 22-54 5-16 18-26 12 25 37 15 67 10 18 3 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-25 32.0% 2nd Half: 14-29 48.3% Game: 40.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 2-8 25.0% Game: 31.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 13-18 72.2% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 69.2% 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Bryan Enterline, Michael Price, Angie Enlund Technical fouls: Penn State-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 10832 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Penn State.................... 38 44 - 82 Nebraska...................... 32 35 - 67