Huskers Vanquish Lady Demons

Lincoln - Claire Johnson scored a game-high 21 points in her Nebraska debut to lead five Huskers in double figures as the Big Red rolled to a 103-46 women's basketball win over Northwestern State in the season opener at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday afternoon.

Johnson, a sophomore transfer from Paducah, Ky., by way of Samford, scored nine quick points in the closing minutes of the first quarter to help the Huskers build a 32-10 lead at the end of one period. She finished the first half with 14 points in just over seven minutes of work, as Nebraska took a 59-18 lead to halftime. Johnson's final bucket of the day came on a three-pointer with 1:41 left to send Nebraska across the century mark.

Nebraska's 59 points were the most ever scored by the Huskers in the first half of a season opener, while the 32 first-quarter points were the most ever scored by the Big Red in an opening period since the quarter system was put in place in 2015-16.

Fellow sophomore Britt Prince (Omaha, Neb.) pumped in 19 points, while senior guard Callin Hake (Victoria, Minn.) contributed 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go with three assists and three steals in a strong all-around effort. 

Prince scored eight points in a 1:35 span in the first quarter to turn a 4-2 Husker deficit into a 12-4 lead.

Northwestern answered with four points to cut the Husker lead to 12-8 with five minutes left in the opening period, before Hake scored six quick points in a 54-second span to help the Big Red surge to a 20-8 lead. Hake's six points were part of an 11-0 Husker run that ended with a Lady Demon basket by Dasia Turner with 3:05 left. 

Johnson then scored nine consecutive points in the final 2:20 to send the Huskers to the second quarter with a 32-10 lead. Bozan, Petrie and Prince then combined for nine straight points in the first 1:50 of the second quarter to cap an 18-0 Big Red run that took just 4:10 and pushed the Nebraska edge to 41-10.

Sophomore forward Petra Bozan (Split, Croatia) added 11 points in her first career start, while junior forward Jessica Petrie (Gold Coast, Australia) rounded out the five Huskers in double figures with 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Junior transfer Emily Fisher added an impressive debut with a career-high-tying nine points to go along with four rebounds, a career-high-tying three assists and a career-high four steals. Fisher, a 6-0 small forward from Libertyville, Ill., spent her first two seasons at Maryland.

Junior Logan Nissley contributed eight points on a pair of three-pointers to open her season, while Hailey Weaver and Amiah Hargrove each added four points. Redshirt freshman Kennadi Williams pitched in three points and three assists in her Nebraska debut. Her third-quarter layup put the Huskers up 67-23 with 4:50 left in the period and drew the loudest cheer of the day from the 8,000 on hand, including nearly 4,000 middle-grade students and accompanying adults attending the annual Sizemore Sportsmanship Pep Rally.

Nebraska hit 36-of-59 (.610) of its field goal attempts in the game, including 8-of-17 three-pointers (.471). NU also went 23-of-30 (.767) at the free throw line. The Big Red won the rebounding battle, 36-26, and the turnover margin, 24-12. 

The Huskers held Northwestern State to 15-of-42 shooting (.357), including 4-for-16 (.250) from three-point range. Sophomore forward Vernell Atamah led the Lady Demons with 20 points, including 15 in the third quarter.

Nebraska will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. (CT) against Samford at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tickets are available now at Huskers.com.