Lincoln - Junior Alexis Markowski scored a game-high 21 points and joined Nebraska's 1,000-point club as the Huskers cruised to a 76-51 victory over 2023 SWAC Champion Southern on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Graduate guard Jaz Shelley contributed 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, while freshman Logan Nissley put up 14 points, including a game-high four three-pointers, as Nebraska improved to 9-2 on the year. Markowski and Shelley each scored 11 points in the first half, while Nissley contributed eight off the bench in the first 20 minutes as Nebraska surged to a 43-17 halftime lead.
The Big Red knocked down 9-of-14 three-pointers in the opening half, including seven in the second quarter alone, on its way to 12 three-pointers for the game. It marked the fifth consecutive game that the Huskers had hit 10 or more threes and sixth time in 11 games this season. Southern, which slipped to 1-8 on the year, hit just 1-of-11 threes on the afternoon.
Nebraska also produced a decisive 44-26 edge on the glass, led by nine rebounds from freshman Natalie Potts. Graduate guard Darian White added eight points, five rebounds and five assists in a solid effort, while Callin Hake also contributed eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Huskers opened the game with back-to-back 6-0 runs to take an early 12-2 lead, then pushed the margin to 19-6 at the end of the first quarter. Markowski scored all 11 of her first-half points in the opening quarter, including both of Nebraska's three-pointers in the period.
Nissley got Nebraska got in the second quarter with a three-pointer to open the period before Shelley hit a pair of threes around a Kendall Coley three from the corner to push the Huskers to a 31-9 lead with 5:07 left in the half. Hake and Shelley then hit two more threes to extend the margin to 37-14 before Nissley got NU's only two-point field goal of the quarter. She then closed the half with NU's seventh three of the quarter to send the Big Red to halftime with a 43-17 edge.
Nebraska bolted out of the locker room on an 8-2 surge to extend the margin to 32 points at 51-19, before taking a 60-35 lead to the fourth. Markowski opened the final period with five straight points, including a reverse layup with 9:18 left to reach 1,000 career points. She was fouled and completed the three-point play to put the Huskers back up by 30 at 65-35.
For the game, Nebraska hit 44 percent (22-50) of its shots from the field, including 12-of-27 threes (.444), while connecting on 74.1 percent (20-27) of its free throws. The Huskers held Southern to just 33.3 percent (18-54) shooting, including 9.1 percent (1-11) from long range. The Jaguars did hit 14-of-21 (.667) free throws, and won the turnover battle 23-19.
Tionna Lidge, who scored six consecutive points in the final five minutes for Southern, led the Jaguars with 10 points. Taylor Williams and Chloe Fleming each added eight points. All-SWAC guard Genovea Johnson made her first appearance of the season for the Jaguars, adding four points, while Aniya Gourdine made her Southern debut. Gourdine was an All-AAC Freshman Team selection in 2021-22 at Temple before transferring to Southern mid-season in 2022-23. She managed five points and three rebounds.
The Huskers hit the road to take on Kansas on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Lawrence, Kan. with streaming available on ESPN+ and radio coverage provided by Huskers Radio Network.