Huskers Surge Past Bison

Sioux Falls, S.D. - Amiah Hargrove produced a huge second half to finish with Nebraska team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead four Huskers in double figures, as the Big Red worked its way to an 82-70 women's basketball win over North Dakota State at the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday.

Nebraska improved to 4-0 with the victory, while the Bison slipped to 2-2 despite game highs of 26 points and nine rebounds from first-team All-Summit League forward Avery Koenen.

The Huskers countered Koenen's contributions with balanced scoring. Overall, 10 Huskers put points on the board in the victory led by the perfect shooting performance from Hargrove off the bench. The 6-2 forward from Christopher, Ill., hit all seven of her shots from the floor, including a three-pointer, while adding a pair of free throws.

Nancy Lieberman Award candidate Britt Prince added 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while junior forward Jessica Petrie pitched in 12 points and a team-high four assists. Sophomore Claire Johnson rounded out four Huskers in double figures with 10 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with two rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.

Graduate forward Eliza Maupin also provided significant contributions with eight points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes off the bench, while senior Callin Hake and sophomore Petra Bozan each provided five points.

As a team, Nebraska hit 60 percent (33-55) of its shots from the field, including 40 percent (6-15) of its three-point attempts. The Huskers also knocked down 10-of-13 free throws (.769), while winning the rebounding fight, 29-27, and the turnover battle, 20-17.

In a well-played first half by both teams, Nebraska surged late in the second quarter to a 42-34 halftime lead. The Big Red closed the half on a 16-2 spurt over a seven-minute span, holding the Bison to just one field goal during the stretch.

The Huskers held a narrow 22-20 lead after one quarter, but the Bison stampeded to a 32-26 lead in the opening three minutes of the second period. Nebraska answered in a big way with four points from Prince and Hargrove during the surge and three-points apiece from Petrie and Bozan. Kennadi Williams added two points and a pair of big steals for Nebraska to help the Huskers close out the half on a 6-0 run. Williams added four assists on the afternoon.

Prince led the Huskers with 11 first-half points, while Hargrove added six off the bench. Petrie pitched in five points, while the balanced Big Red also got four points from Johnson and Hailey Weaver. In all, nine different Huskers found the scoring column, and nine Huskers got at least one of NU's 13 first-half rebounds.

Koenen led NDSU with 15 points and five rebounds in the half but did not score in the final seven minutes of the period during the Big Red outburst. Jocelyn Schiller, who finished with 10 points, pitched in seven in the half but committed five of her seven turnovers for the game.

Nebraska hit 17-of-27 (.630) first-half shots, including 2-of-6 threes, while going 6-for-7 (.857) at the free throw line. NU out-rebounded NDSU, 13-12, and won the turnover battle, 12-9, in the first half.

North Dakota State hit 15-of-31 shots (.484) and 1-of-8 threes, while sinking 3-of-5 free throws.

Nebraska's lead grew to 12 points on several occasions in the third quarter, the last time on a Hake layup with 2:30 left in the period, but NDSU outscored the Huskers 8-2 to close the quarter.

The Huskers ended North Dakota State's upset hopes early in the fourth by erupting on a 9-2 surge in the opening three minutes capped by a Petrie three-pointer to give the Big Red a 70-57 lead. 

The Bison stopped the bleeding with a bucket from Karrington Asp, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench, but Hargrove answered with five straight points including her three-pointer with 5:33 to play to extend NU's margin to 75-61. Three points from Johnson gave Nebraska its biggest lead of the game at 78-61 with 3:18 left.

NDSU finished 46.7 percent (28-60) from the floor, but just 3-of-16 from three-point range. The Bison also sank 11-of-16 free throws.

Nebraska returns home to face another team from the Summit League on Wednesday night when the Huskers face off with Oral Roberts. Tip-off between the Golden Eagles, who advanced to the 2025 Summit League Championship Game, and the Big Red is set for 7 p.m. (CT) with tickets available at Huskers.com. Live audio from the Huskers Radio Network will be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App, while a live video stream will be provided to subscribers of B1G+.