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Minnesota holds off a Nebraska second-half comeback

Abby Barmore HuskerOnlineby: Abby Barmore02/13/26abby_barmore

Nebraska Women’s Basketball (16-9, 5-9) suffered another disappointing loss in a string of losses. Minnesota (19-6, 10-4) dominated the first half, but Nebraska cut its 21-point lead to six in the third quarter. The Huskers put together a solid second half but couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole, losing 84-67.

The Golden Gophers have won seven straight games while NU has lost seven of the last nine. The Huskers have not recorded a quad one or top 25 win this season. They are at risk of not making the NCAA Tournament.

Amiah Battle led Minnesota with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists. Mara Braun added 15 points and was 3-of-7 from deep. Sophie Hart and Grace Grockolski scored in the double digits as well.

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Nebraska had four players score in the double digits. Britt Prince led the group with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Jessica Petrie posted 14 points, five rebounds and was 4-of-6 from deep. Amiah Hargrove and Logan Nissley added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Huskers shot 41% with a 47% clip from the field in the second half. Minnesota shot 53% from the field. Both teams had 16 turnovers, but Nebraska recorded 21 points off turnovers. The Gophers won the rebound battle 36-29.

First-half domination by Gophers

Nebraska never led against the Gophers. Grocholoski had three layups in the first four minutes to establish Minnesota’s dominance in the paint.

The Gophers went on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 26-11 lead late in the first quarter. Braun hit back-to-back three-pointers to force a Husker timeout with 1:34 left. Hargrove made her first bucket of the game to end the quarter down 26-13.

Minnesota shot incredibly from nearly all over the floor, but especially down low. They had 32 points in the paint in the first half. The Huskers didn’t have any until the start of the second quarter. The Gophers shot 56% from the field, 30% from deep and 89% from the free-throw line.

Nebraska has struggled all season with unforced turnovers and mistakes. They had 11 turnovers in the first half, leading to 13 points for the Gophers.

Battle had a solid first half with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. She had 10 points in the second quarter. Mara Braun was Minnesota’s first-quarter star with nine points. Prince was Nebraska’s top scorer of the first half with 10 points and three rebounds.

Minnesota cruised to a 49-30 advantage at halftime.

Huskers win third, but Minnesota prevails

Jessica Petrie struggled down low but was shooting lights out from behind the arc. She drained back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third quarter to make it 53-38. The junior forward finished with 4-of-7 from three.

Petrie sparked Nebraska’s offense. The Huskers went on a 13-0 run to cut the Gophers’ lead to 53-45. Minnesota didn’t score for over five minutes. Hart was the first Gopher to score with a layup with 3:46 remaining in the third.

The Gophers didn’t score another field goal in the third quarter. But they had five free-throw points to stay in the lead. Hargrove ended the quarter with a triple to make it 60-52 heading into the final quarter.

In the second half, NU was 4-of-8 from deep after going 2-of-10 in the first half. The Huskers shot 53% from the field after the break. In the third, Minnesota was 3-of-11 from the field, shooting 27%. The home team had seven turnovers, which led to 12 Husker points in the quarter. The Gophers shot much better in the fourth with a 64%.

Minnesota started the fourth quarter with seven straight points to take a 67-52 lead with eight minutes left. But Nebraska responded with eight consecutive points, cutting it to 67-60. Nissley and Petrie hit threes in the run while the Gophers were scoreless for three minutes.

With Nebraska breathing down their necks, the Maroon and Gold went on a 13-2 run to win 84-67.

The Huskers are back in action on Monday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. CT to face No. 15 Iowa at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

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