Lincoln - Nebraska outscored Creighton 46-10 in the paint, but Creighton knocked down 14 three-pointers to shoot the Bluejays to a 79-74 win over the Huskers at Pinnacle Banka Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Kate Cain led three Huskers in double figures with 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Sam Haiby added 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Leigha Brown pitched in 14 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Big Red, which slipped to 5-1 on the season. Creighton got game highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds from Jaylyn Agnew to improve to 4-1 on the year.
Nebraska led 18-17 after one quarter despite four first-quarter threes by the Jays. CU added three more threes in the second quarter and the two teams went to halftime tied at 32. Creighton finished the first half 7-for-20 from the long range, and got hotter in the second half.
The Jays opened the third quarter with back-to-back threes from Tatum Rembao and Temi Carda to push their lead to 38-32 after trailing by as many as six points in the second quarter. Rembao finished with 11 points and two threes, while Carda poured in 18 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting for the game. Olivia Elger carried CU for much of the third quarter scoring 10 points including back-to-back to keep the Jays up by six at 50-44 with 2:50 left.
The Huskers trimmed the lead to 52-51 on Ashtyn Veerbeek's traditional three-point play with 36 seconds left, but Carda closed the quarter with CU's fifth three of the period to head to the fourth with a 55-51 edge. Veerbeek finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Elger, who finished with 18 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting and 7-of-10 free throws, then buried a triple to start the fourth before a three-point play from Agnew extended Creighton's margin to 10 at 61-51 with 8:50 left. Nebraska refused to quick cutting Creighton's margin to five on multiple occasions in the final minute, but the Jays ultimately prevailed, while hitting 7-of-12 threes and 20-of-25 free throws in the second half.
The Huskers out-shot the Jays, hitting 44.1 percent (30-68), but went just 3-for-16 from three-point range. CU (.368) hit just seven two-point baskets (7-25) but went 14-of-32 (.438) from three-point range. The Jays also connected on 23-of-29 free throws, compared to 11-for-18 shooting at the stripe for Nebraska. Both teams managed 41 rebounds, and the Huskers won the turnover battle, 9-6.
Seniors Hannah Whitish and Nicea Eliely each had four points, while freshman Isabelle Bourne finished with seven points on the day, including NU's only three pointer in the first half.
Nebraska returns to action on Friday, Nov. 29, when the Huskers take on USC at the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas. Tip-off against the Trojans (3-2) is set for 7:45 p.m. (CT).
Kate Cain led Nebraska with 18 points against Creighton.