Huskers Overwhelm Lancers

Lincoln - Nebraska erupted for 32 points in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into an 87-56 women's basketball win over Cal Baptist on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

With the victory, Nebraska closed non-conference action with a perfect 11-0 record to improve to 12-0 on the season, matching its second-best start in school history.

Jessica Petrie scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, as Nebraska outscored the Lancers (6-7) 49-21 over the final 20 minutes.

Fellow forward Amiah Hargrove added 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds, including 13 points in the first half to help the Huskers hold a 38-35 halftime lead.

Sophomore Britt Prince managed 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter to help the Huskers pull away from the scrappy Lancers.

Senior Callin Hake produced a strong effort at both ends of the floor with 10 points, six rebounds, a game-high five assists, a steal and three charges drawn.

Petra Bozan, Hailey Weaver, Logan Nissley and Kennadi Williams contributed eight points apiece in another balanced effort that allowed Nebraska to extend its school record by scoring 80 or more points to 12 consecutive games.

Although the Huskers closed out their eighth victory of the season by 30 or more points, CBU ended the first half on a 4-0 run before opening the second half on a 5-0 spurt to take a 40-38 lead one minute into the third quarter.

From that point, Nebraska dominated. Petrie opened a 14-0 Husker run with a layup, before Hake drained a three-pointer to put NU back in front at 43-40 with 8:04 left in the third. Bozan added a bucket, before Petrie contributed a three-point play to give Nebraska its biggest lead of the game to that point at 48-40 with 6:43 left in the period.

Petrie scored again, before a pull-up jumper by Nissley extended the margin to 52-40 with 2:37 left in the third quarter.

Filipa Barros finally ended a nearly seven-minute scoreless drought by the Lancers, and scored again in the closing seconds of the period to send CBU to final quarter trailing 55-46. Barros finished with four points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

A free throw by CBU's Lauren Olsen, who finished with game highs of 17 points and eight rebounds, cut the NU lead to 55-47, before a 15-2 Nebraska outburst over the next four minutes gave the Huskers their first 20-point lead at 70-49. 

Olsen scored five points in a 46-second span, before Nebraska uncorked a 13-0 run to extend the margin beyond 30 points. Kennadi Williams scored all of her career-high eight points during the outburst for the Big Red.

As a team, Nebraska hit 20-of-35 shots (.571) in the second half, including 72.2 percent (13-18) in the fourth quarter. The Big Red hit 5-of-11 second-half threes (.455), including 3-of-4 in the final period.

Defensively, the Huskers held CBU to just 9-of-29 shooting in the second half, including 4-of-15 in the fourth.

For the game, Nebraska finished 45.1 percent (32-71) from the floor, including just 30.8 percent (8-26) from three-point range. Nebraska did connect on 15-of-19 free throws (.789). NU also won the turnover battle, 22-9, committing just two second-half turnovers. The Huskers also outworked CBU, 41-39, on the glass.

Nebraska held Cal Baptist to 36.7 percent (22-60) shooting, including 7-of-30 threes (.233). CBU went 5-of-6 from the line, as the Huskers committed just eight fouls in the game.

Hargrove put together a big first half for the Big Red, scoring 13 points on 3-of-7 shots from the field. Hargrove also connected on 6-of-7 free throws while adding five rebounds.

Hargrove scored seven straight points midway through the second quarter to build NU's biggest lead of the half at 33-26 with 4:20 left.

Petrie and Hake each contributed seven first-half points, while Hake also had five rebounds and two assists.

Nebraska hit just 33.3 percent (12-36) of its first-half shots, including just 3-of-15 threes, while the Lancers hit 41.9 percent (13-31), including 33.3 percent (5-15) from long range. NU outscored CBU, 11-4 at the line, while winning the first half battle of the boards, 22-21.  The Huskers also won the turnover margin, 12-7.

Emma Johansson led CBU with 11 first-half points including a career-high-tying three three-pointers. She finished with 13 points for the game. Olsen added nine first-half points, while Shawnee Nordstrom scored seven first-half points on her way to nine in the game.

Nebraska will take a week off from competition before returning home to battle nationally ranked USC at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Dec. 29. Tip-off between the Huskers and Trojans is set for 2 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com.