Huskers Sprint Past Leathernecks

Lincoln - Britt Prince became the 39th 1,000-point scorer in Nebraska history on the first shot of the game, and the Huskers never looked back in a 98-35 throttling of 2026 NCAA Tournament qualifier Western Illinois at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskers, who improved to 2-0, posted the seventh-largest victory margin (63 points) in school history by holding the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Leathernecks to single-digit points in the first (9), second (8) and third (6) quarters. The six third-quarter points matched the second-fewest points ever allowed by Nebraska in a third quarter. 

Nebraska got a game-high 19 points from Prince, as the Naismith Trophy and Nancy Lieberman Award candidate hit 7-of-13 shots from the field and added three assists in just 20 minutes of work to lead five Huskers in double figures.

Fellow junior Amiah Hargrove (Christopher, Ill.) contributed 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds in just 22 minutes, while freshman Ashlyn Koupal pitched in a career-high 16 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals in an outstanding effort.

Senior Emily Fisher (Libertyville, Ill.) added a career-high 10 points to go with six rebounds, two steals and a block off the bench, while sixth-year Husker Allison Weidner contributed 10 points, and game highs of four assists and four steals.

Natalie Potts contributed nine points and four rebounds in her first start of the season, as all 11 Huskers who played in the game got at least two points and one rebound.

The Huskers got 13 first-half points from Prince and 11 from Hargrove on a trio of three-pointers, as they exploded to a 49-17 halftime lead.

Prince scored the game's first two points on a free-throw-line jumper in the opening seconds to spark a 6-0 run. Western Illinois got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Despite 16 points and three rebounds from 2026 Mid-Major and Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Mia Nicastro, the Leathernecks never threatened after Nebraska built a 28-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Weidner led a Husker defense that produced 12 first-half steals on its way to forcing 18 Western Illinois turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

The Big Red settled for 18 steals in the game, while forcing 33 WIU turnovers, amassing a plus-21 edge in turnover margin (33-12). The Huskers also dominated the glass, 38-24, while outscoring the Leathernecks 13-0 in second-chance points.

Nebraska shot 54.3 percent (38-70) from the field, including a strong 42.1 percent (8-19) from three-point range while hitting 87.5 percent (14-16) of its free throws.

On the flip side, the Huskers held Western Illinois to 31.8 percent (14-44) shooting, including just 2-of-15 threes (.133). They also kept the Leathernecks off the free throw line (5-7).

Nebraska wraps up its three-game season-opening home stand by playing host to North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. (CT). Tickets are available at Huskers.com. The game can be streamed by Big Ten+ subscribers, and heard live on the Huskers Radio Network, including Huskers.com and the Husker App.