Huskers Slip to Hoosiers

Indianapolis - Sophomores Amiah Hargrove and Britt Prince each scored 20 points, while Jessica Petrie added a double-double, but Nebraska succumbed to a second-half Indiana rally in a 72-69 loss to the Hoosiers in the first game of the Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday afternoon.

With the loss, NCAA NET 25 Nebraska slipped to 18-13 overall, while Indiana improved to 18-12. The No. 13 seed Hoosiers advanced to play No. 5 seed Ohio State on Thursday afternoon.

Hargrove, a 6-2 forward from Christopher, Ill., scored 19 of her game-high 23 points in the first half to help the Huskers sprint to a 45-28 halftime lead. Hargrove hit 8-of-9 shots from the floor including a three-pointer in the first half, but went just 2-for-5 in the second half.

Fellow sophomore Britt Prince added 20 points and a game-high eight assists. It was the 10th 20-point game of the season for the 5-11 point guard out of Omaha. Prince scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half, but hit just 2-of-10 shots after halftime as the Hoosier defense clamped down in the final 20 minutes.

Petrie, a junior forward from Gold Coast, Australia, added 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Huskers on the glass, but went just 2-for-6 from the field and had just two rebounds in the second half after getting six points, eight rebounds and three assists in the first 20 minutes.

Logan Nissley rounded out four Huskers in double figures with 12 points.

In a spectacular start, Nebraska took its first double-digit lead at 14-4 on a Prince layup that followed six straight points by Hargrove. The Big Red lead grew to 26-10 after four straight points from Hargrove, which followed four consecutive points from Petrie. 

The Huskers took a 29-15 lead to the second quarter, before building their first 20-point lead at 45-25 on a traditional three-point play from Hargrove with 1:18 left in the half.

First-team All-Big Ten guard Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 22 points, including 11 in both halves. She went 5-for-8 from the field in the second half after going 5-for-12 in the first half.

Edessa Noyan added six points in each half to finish with 12 points and 10 rebounds inside for the Hoosiers. Lenee Beaumont and Navaeh Caffey provided the biggest second-half lifts to rally the Hoosiers. 

Beaumont, who went scoreless in the regular-season loss at Nebraska, scored 11 of her 14 points for the second half, including 3-of-4 three-point shooting. Caffey added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists on the day for Indiana, including nine big points in the second half.

Freshman Maya Makalusky pitched in seven points after halftime, as the Hoosiers outscored Nebraska 44-24 in the final 20 minutes.

Nebraska stretched its 17-point halftime lead to 18 points at 53-35 on a Callin Hake layup with 5:45 left in the third, before back-to-back threes by Makalusky and Beaumont in a 25-second span sparked the Hoosiers and the partisan crowd in Indianapolis. Noyan added a bucket before Makalusky scored against to cap a 10-0 Hoosier run and pull Indiana within single digits at 53-45 with 2:36 left in the period.

The Huskers took an eight-point lead to the fourth, but Caffey scored five straight points early in the period to pull IU within 57-54 with just over seven minutes left. 

Nebraska maintained a 67-60 lead with 2:30 left, but a pair of Beaumont three-pointers around a Makalusky layup gave the Hoosiers an 8-0 run in just 1:16 and Indiana its first lead of the game at 68-67 with a minute left.

The Huskers hit 66.8 percent (11-16) of their shots in the first quarter but went just 17-for-51 (.333) the rest of the way. The Big Red opened the game by burying their first two three-pointers but went just 3-for-20 in the final 30 minutes.

On the flip side, Indiana hit 61.5 percent (8-13) in the third quarter and 69.2 percent (9-13) in the fourth quarter, including 4-of-7 three-point shooting in the second half. The Hoosiers finished the game at 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field while Nebraska finished 28-of-67 (.418).

Remarkably, those were the exact same shooting numbers for the two teams in Nebraska's 78-73 regular-season win over the Hoosiers in Lincoln (Jan. 8).

Nebraska expects to play more postseason basketball. The Huskers will learn their next destination on Sunday, March 15 when the NCAA makes its announcement of the 68 teams in March Madness. The NCAA Selection Show will air at 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.