Lincoln - Jessica Shepard, Kyndal Clark, Rachel Blackburn and Allie Havers all produced big games to power Nebraska to an 85-40 women's basketball win over Evansville at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
Nebraska improved to 7-1 with the victory, while Evansville slipped to 1-7 on the season.
Shepard, a three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, set the tone inside for the Huskers with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot in just 15 minutes of action on the night. The 6-4 freshman forward from Fremont, Neb., went 4-for-4 from the floor for eight points, three rebounds and an assist in just five first-quarter minutes, as Nebraska jumped to a 21-9 lead at the end of one quarter.
Shepard added seven points and three more rebounds to finish the first half with 15 points and six rebounds in just eight minutes, as Nebraska led 41-18.
Shepard was far from the only big gun firing for the Big Red in the first. Allie Havers, a 6-5 junior center from Mattawan, Mich., headed to halftime with eight points and seven rebounds off the bench on her way to a career night.
Havers finished with her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while adding an assist and three blocked shots in 25 minutes of action.
Freshman forward Rachel Blackburn added a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, while pitching in six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Senior forward Anya Kalenta contributed eight points and eight rebounds of her own, while adding two assists and a steal in 17 minutes, as the Husker posts combined for 54 points, 33 rebounds and nine assists while combining to go 25-of-38 from the field.
While Nebraska's front line was firing on all cylinders, senior guard Kyndal Clark started firing away from long range in the second half. The 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year erupted for five three-pointers, including four in the second half to finish with a Husker career-best 17 points. It was Clark's sixth career game in double figures against Evansville. Clark added four rebounds, two assists and a game-high four steals.
Natalie Romeo added seven points to help the Husker backcourt, while point guard Rachel Theriot did not score but dished out nine assists and snagged three steals in just 22 minutes.
Reserve guard Emily Wood added a three-pointer, a career-high three rebounds and a career-best five assists with no turnovers in a career-high 23 minutes for the Huskers.
Sophomore Jasmine Cincore rounded out the scoring for the Huskers with four points, three assists and two steals.
As a team, Nebraska hit 52.2 percent (35-67) of its shots from the field, including 35 percent (7-20) of its threes, while going 8-of-11 at the free throw line. Nebraska outrebounded the Purple Aces, 56-30, and won the turnover battle 14-13.
Perhaps most impressively, the Huskers totaled 30 assists on 35 made baskets in the win. It was the ninth-highest assist total in school history.
The Huskers held Evansville to just 23.1 percent (15-65) shooting, including 22.2 percent (6-27) from three-point range. The Purple Aces went just 4-of-7 at the line in a game that featured just 18 combined fouls, including five in the first half.
Nebraska returns to road action on Saturday when the Huskers face No. 22 California. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley is set for 7 p.m. (central) with live television coverage on the Pac-12 Network Bay Area, which is available on the Time Warner Cable sports tier in Lincoln.
Evansville vs Nebraska (12/08/15 at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.))
Box Score |
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score Evansville vs Nebraska 12/08/15 7:06 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Evansville 1-7, 0-0 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 33 Hawkins, Ashley..... f 0-7 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 33 04 Coleman, Camille.... g 3-9 0-4 0-0 0 3 3 0 6 1 1 0 0 26 13 Friday, Laura....... g 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 1 3 3 0 0 0 20 15 Johnson, Kenyia..... g 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 15 24 Dickey, Sara........ g 3-15 2-8 4-6 0 4 4 1 12 0 4 0 4 33 00 Williams, Camary.... 3-7 1-3 0-1 2 2 4 1 7 0 3 0 1 19 02 Gasper, Kerri....... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 17 14 Langston, Peyton.... 3-13 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 1 8 1 3 0 2 22 25 Campbell, Jordan.... 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 32 Sinnott, Erin....... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 8 TEAM................ 1 1 2 1 Totals.............. 15-65 6-27 4-7 10 20 30 8 40 8 14 0 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-35 22.9% 2nd Half: 7-30 23.3% Game: 23.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-13 15.4% 2nd Half: 4-14 28.6% Game: 22.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 57.1% 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska 7-1, 0-0 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 32 Shepard, Jessica.... f 7-12 0-0 4-5 2 5 7 1 18 3 2 1 0 15 43 Blackburn, Rachel... f 7-9 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 2 14 3 1 0 1 23 04 Clark, Kyndal....... g 6-12 5-11 0-0 0 4 4 0 17 2 4 0 4 28 05 Romeo, Natalie...... g 3-9 1-5 0-0 0 2 2 0 7 2 2 0 0 24 33 Theriot, Rachel..... g 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 9 3 1 3 22 12 Wood, Emily......... 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 2 3 5 0 0 0 23 22 Havers, Allie....... 7-11 0-0 0-2 2 10 12 2 14 1 0 3 0 25 31 Kalenta, Anya....... 4-6 0-0 0-0 3 5 8 1 8 2 1 0 1 17 34 Cincore, Jasmine.... 0-3 0-1 4-4 0 1 1 2 4 3 0 1 2 23 TEAM................ 3 7 10 Totals.............. 35-67 7-20 8-11 13 43 56 10 85 30 13 6 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-33 54.5% 2nd Half: 17-34 50.0% Game: 52.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 35.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-5 100 % Game: 72.7% 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Felicia Grinter, Amy Bonner Technical fouls: Evansville-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 4614 Score by Periods 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Evansville.................... 9 9 9 13 - 40 Nebraska...................... 21 20 27 17 - 85