Nebraska women's basketball can't overcome first-quarter deficit, scoring droughts vs No. 14 Michigan
Nebraska women’s basketball couldn’t come back from a rough first quarter and fell 75-59 to No. 14 Michigan at home.
Michigan started off hot right out of the gate. They went on a 9-0 scoring run over three minutes. Izzie Bourne ended the drought with a bucket inside the paint.
However, Nebraska continued to struggle and Alexis Markowski was the only other Husker to score in the first quarter. Markowski battled down low and put up her only basket of the first quarter.
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Annika Steward made one of her two free throws with one minute remaining in the quarter. Nebraska didn’t score for the last 5:35 of the first quarter.
The Huskers shot 2-of-13 while the Wolverines went 7-of-16 from the field. Nebraska ended the first quarter down 19-5. Their five points were the least scored in a quarter by NU in the quarter era.
Nebraska’s defense improved in the second quarter and its offense fed off that, momentarily. Star guard Jaz Shelley scored her first points with 7:35 remaining in the second. She hit a three-pointer, Nebraska’s first basket behind the arc, to close the gap to 25-12.
The Pinnacle Bank Arena crowd erupted and then got louder when Michigan missed a basket on the next possession. Shelley tried for another three but her shot bounced out. She was fouled and made two of the three shots. Nebraska closed the gap to 25-14.
The Huskers went on another scoring drought after that. It lasted under four minutes but was ended by Sam Haiby intercepting a Michigan pass and taking it down the court for a layup.
Stewart and Kendall Moriarty went on a run themselves to end the half. Stewart scored in the paint. Then Moriarty intercepted another Wolverine pass, took it down the court and found Stewart at the top of the key for a three.
The Huskers forced one of Michigan’s eight turnovers in the first half on the next possession. Freshman Callin Hake drained the three-pointer for Nebraska to go into the locker room down 35-26 at half.
Second Half battle
Haiby started off the half strong with a great move to the rim as the shot clock was running down. Bourne and Nebraska’s next bucket closed Michigan’s lead to 37-30. Former Husker Leigha Brown responded right away by juking out Hake, causing her to fall to the ground and scoring an easy jumper.
Hake, who received more playing time with Weidner out, nailed a three-pointer with under seven to go and finished the game with 11 points, her first double-digit career game.
Michigan went on a drought of its own as they didn’t score for three minutes in the middle of the third quarter.
Nebraska tightened up and only had two turnovers in the third quarter after having 10 in the first half. They forced five Wolverine turnovers.
Shelley hit a deep shot from behind the arc to keep Nebraska within 10. Michigan still led 53-44 with 7:15 remaining in the game.
Michigan’s shots were falling and Nebraska couldn’t buy a shot. For example, Shelley drove inside and popped the ball out to an open Bourne, whose shot bounced out. Michigan rebounded it, took it down the court and Maddie Nolan had no problem making the shot.
Nebraska tried again with Maggie Mendelson wide open at the top of the key and it bounced out again.
Overall, Nebraska women’s basketball shot 33.3 percent from the field and 23.1 from beyond the arc against Michigan. The Wolverines shot 51.9 percent on field goals and 44.4 percent on three-pointers.
Nebraska was led by Jaz Shelley’s 21 points and five assists. Bourne and Markowski each had eight rebounds.
Nebraska is on the road against No. 4 Indiana on Sunday, Jan. 1 at noon. The game is on ESPN.
Allison Weidner’s season-ending injury deeply affected Nebraska
Nebraska Head Coach Amy Williams said after the game that guard Allison Weidner, who was out against Michigan, suffered a season-ending injury. Weidner slide into a mat against Kansas and was helped off the court.
Williams said the sophomore is the “heart and soul” of Nebraska’s team.
“We want to always be the hardest working team out there and she sets the tone for that,” she said. “She really, defensively, is kind of a bulldog and is very aggressive with her defensive intensive and pressure. She’s our best rebounding guard, our third rebounder on our team as a whole. She really pushes the pace and sets the tone with tempo but creates a lot of offense, not just for herself but for other teams with the pace she plays at.”
So yes, the Huskers lost a lot when Weidner went down.
Callin Hake is one player who took her chance to play more minutes and capitalized. The freshman played a season-high 19 minutes and scored 11 points. She was 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
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Williams said Hake was one of the few Nebraska women’s basketball players that were shooting with confidence against Michigan.
Hake said after the game that she thought “what would Allison do.”
“With Allison going out, we needed to play for her and I say that as my opportunity,” she said. “What would Allison do and how can I play for her because she is an incredible spark and she’s the heart of our team with her defensive energy and her offensive rebounds.”
Shelley said that Nebraska needs to have people get one or two more rebounds per game to make up for Weidner’s absence. She thought Hake and Moriarty both did a good job of stepping up against Michigan.
Williams said Shelley will have to adjust to having the ball in her hands more with Weidner sidelined. Every aspect of Nebraska’s offense and defense was deeply affected by the guard’s injury and they are still adjusting.
