Lincoln - Alexis Markowski scored a game-high 24 points and Darian White notched her first Husker double-double, but a big first quarter was enough to propel No. 22 Creighton to a 79-74 women's basketball win over Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.
Nebraska suffered its first loss of the season while playing in front of more than 6,600 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena, while Creighton improved to 3-1.
In a tight contest from start to finish, Creighton jumped out in front by hitting 8-of-13 three-pointers in the first quarter. Morgan Maly, who led Creighton with 23 points in the game, hit four threes in the opening period to finish with half of CU's 28 in the period. However the Huskers stayed close with 10 points on 4-of-6 first-quarter shooting from Markowski to trail 28-23 heading to the second period.
Nebraska made adjustments the rest of the way and held CU to just 1-of-15 from long range over the next 30 minutes. However, after going 1-for-2 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter, the Huskers finished just 3-for-21.
Creighton took a 47-40 lead to halftime, and the margin grew as large as 11 late in the third quarter before the Huskers rallied in the fourth.
White, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, combined with Jaz Shelley for all 11 points in an 11-4 Big Red surge to cut CU's margin to 72-69 with 3:38 left. White was then fouled on a drive with 3:09 remaining but missed both free throws. She got her own rebound on the second miss, but Nebraska was unable to turn the possession into points.
Creighton made enough plays down the stretch to hold on for the victory. Emma Ronsiek helped the Jays with 21 points, while Lauren Jensen put three CU players in double figures with 14 points. Mallory Brake contributed eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds for Creighton.
Freshman Natalie Potts continued her strong play for Nebraska by finishing with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Shelley finished with seven points - all in the fourth quarter.
Graduate guard Maddie Krull pitched in five points while making her first regular-season appearance of the season after missing Nebraska's first three games with a foot injury.
For the game, Nebraska hit 44.8 percent (24-56) of its shots from the floor and 19-of-28 free throws (.679). The Huskers also won the rebounding battle, 41-37. Creighton took the edge in turnovers, 12-10, in a well-played, early season game.
Creighton hit 28-of-66 shots (.424), including 9-for-23 threes (.321), while also sinking 14-of-16 free throws (.875).
Nebraska returns to action on Thanksgiving Day when the Huskers take on Lamar at the St. Pete Showcase. Tip-off with the Cardinals is set for 2:30 p.m. with free live audio on the Huskers Radio Network. A live video stream also will be available from FloSports.