Columbus, Ohio - Jessica Shepard notched her 16th 20-point game of the season, but No. 5 Ohio State hit 13-of-24 threes to shoot to a 96-70 women's basketball win over Nebraska on Thursday night at Value City Arena.
With the loss, the Huskers completed Big Ten regular-season road action in preparation for a three-game home stand at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers slipped to 17-9 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State notched its 10th straight win to improve to 22-4 overall and 14-1 to stay atop the conference standings.
Shepard was the only Husker to manage double figures, but sophomore guard Jasmine Cincore tied her career high with nine points while hitting a career-high two threes. Rachel Theriot, Natalie Romeo and Allie Havers each pitched in eight points, while Maddie Simon and Anya Kalenta each contributed six points. Kalenta added seven rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes.
Alexa Hart led five Buckeyes in double figures with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Shayla Cooper contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston each added 16 points, while Asia Doss had 13 points and four steals.
Nebraska hit 40.6 percent (28-69) of its shots, including 5-of-16 threes, but the Huskers were just 2-of-11 from long range through the first three quarters. NU hit 9-of-14 free throws.
Ohio State shot a sizzling 52.7 percent (39-74) from the floor, including 13-of-24 three-pointers. The Buckeyes were just 5-of-9 at the line, but outrebounded Nebraska 43-38 and won the turnover battle 15-11.
Ohio State took a 50-34 lead into the locker room at halftime behind 13 points and seven rebounds from Alexa Hart, who hit 6-of-7 first-half shots. Alston added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a pair of threes, while Mitchell hit a pair of threes in the final two minutes of the half to finish with nine points and three assists.
The Huskers trailed 26-17 at the end of the first quarter and by 13 points early in the second before Nebraska rallied with a 9-2 surge to cut OSU's lead to 32-26 with 6:20 left in the half. But the Buckeyes responded with a 10-2 surge of their own to regain control.
The Buckeyes won the first half from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-14 threes while the Huskers knocked down just 1-of-7. Overall, Nebraska hit 45.2 percent (14-31) of its shots while adding 5-of-7 free throws. OSU won the possession battle 6-5 on turnovers and 22-14 on the glass.
Shepard led Huskers with 12 points and three rebounds in the first half, while Havers and Theriot each contributed six points. Natalie Romeo added five points in the second quarter.
Ohio State shot a sizzling 55.3 percent (21-38) from the field and hit 1-of-2 free throws.
The Huskers return to Lincoln to open a three-game home stand on Sunday. Nebraska tips off against Purdue at 2 p.m., with tickets available now at Huskers.com. The game also will be televised by BTN.
Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Ohio State 02/18/16 6:00 p.m. at Columbus, Ohio -- Value City Arena
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 17-9 (8-7) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 32 Jessica Shepard..... f 8-18 0-0 4-7 4 4 8 0 20 1 2 0 0 25 22 Havers, Allie....... c 3-5 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 0 8 0 1 0 0 24 04 Kyndal Clark........ g 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 15 05 Romeo, Natalie...... g 3-10 1-6 1-1 0 2 2 1 8 0 1 0 2 36 33 Theriot, Rachel..... g 4-7 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 8 3 3 0 0 23 11 Ramacieri, Esther... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 12 Wood, Emily......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 24 Maddie Simon........ 2-7 1-3 1-2 0 0 0 0 6 0 3 0 0 15 31 Kalenta, Anya....... 3-7 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 2 6 2 0 0 0 15 34 Cincore, Jasmine.... 3-6 2-4 1-2 0 2 2 3 9 2 1 0 0 27 43 Rachel Blackburn.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 3 0 1 2 0 0 13 50 Washington, Darrien. 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM................ 3 3 6 1 Totals.............. 28-69 5-16 9-14 14 24 38 10 70 12 15 0 2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-31 45.2% 2nd Half: 14-38 36.8% Game: 40.6% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 31.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-7 71.4% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 64.3% 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Ohio State 22-4 (14-1) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 22 Hart, Alexa......... f 8-10 0-0 2-5 3 6 9 3 18 0 2 3 0 26 03 Mitchell, Kelsey.... g 5-16 5-11 1-2 0 1 1 2 16 3 3 0 1 32 13 Craft, Cait......... g 2-3 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 5 6 0 0 0 27 14 Alston, Ameryst..... g 7-15 2-5 0-0 0 4 4 0 16 3 1 0 0 32 20 Doss, Asia.......... g 6-9 1-1 0-0 2 2 4 0 13 1 0 0 4 29 05 Chelsea Mitchell.... 3-4 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 8 21 Blair, Lisa......... 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2 4 0 0 1 0 7 24 Makayla Waterman.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 0 0 3 1 2 15 32 Cooper, Shayla...... 6-12 2-3 2-2 2 9 11 1 16 1 2 0 0 24 TEAM................ 3 1 4 Totals.............. 39-74 13-24 5-9 14 29 43 11 96 14 11 5 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 21-38 55.3% 2nd Half: 18-36 50.0% Game: 52.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-14 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% Game: 54.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 55.6% 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Barb Smith, Bryan Enterline, Frank Steratore Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Ohio State-None. Attendance: 5243 Score by Periods 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Nebraska...................... 17 17 12 24 - 70 Ohio State.................... 26 24 23 23 - 96