Nebraska women's basketball fell short 80-76 against No. 10 Iowa
Nebraska women’s basketball (12-9, 4-6) went head-to-head with No. 10 Iowa ( 17-4, 9-1) on the road but fell just short 80-76.
All five Husker starters scored in double digits. Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski both had double-doubles. Shelley had 10 points and 11 assists while Markowski had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Haiby led the team with 16 points.
Caitlyn Clark was one assists from her ninth career triple-double. She had 33 points, nine assists and 12 rebounds. Monica Czinano added 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Huskers have been plagued with slow starts against ranked Big Ten teams this season. They didn’t have this problem against Iowa on Saturday.
Sam Haiby and Jaz Shelley started the game by attacking the hoop. The guards helped Nebraska go up 6-0 in the first three minutes.
After a delay due to a clock malfunction. Nebraska kept it going. Shelley stole the ball from Iowa and then passed it inside to Issie Bourne for a fastbreak bucket.
National Player of the Year Candidate Caitlyn Clark scored Iowa’s first points of the game with a three-pointer from the corner with 6:21 left in the first quarter. She then stole the ball from Haiby, took it down the court and passed it off the Kate Martin for a three. Iowa was back in it 8-6 with six minutes left in the first.
Nebraska responded with four points in 20 seconds, two Markowski free throws and a Maddie Krull jumper to be exact. Iowa didn’t go away as Clark hit another three.
The Huskers buckled down. Callin Hake made Nebraska’s first three-pointer of the game to make it 15-9 with under five to go in the first. The Huskers’ finished the first quarter up 21-11 and shooting 60 percent from the floor.
Then Iowa caught fire to start the second quarter.
Molly Davis, who started with McKenna Warnock injured, hit a three and a smooth floater. Clark then stole the ball and drained a fastbreak three-pointer. The Hawkeyes scored eight points in two minutes and never looked back.
Iowa went on a 30-9 scoring run over the second quarter. They shot 62.5 percent from field goal range and made 3-of-4 three-pointers. Clark hit two of the threes, only missing one from roughly half-court.
Nebraska didn’t score for six minutes in between a Markowski layup and a Stewart jumper. With under two minutes until the half, Haiby made both her free throws and Shelley hit Nebraska’s second three of the game.
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The second-half comeback
Czinano started the second half with a layup and an and-one. Markowski responded with a much-needed jumper. She scored her first points since the beginning second quarter.
Krull tried to get the threes flowing with a triple to make it 48-37 with 7:25 left in the third. Unfortunately, Iowa’s Marshall took the hint and drained a three on the other end.
On Iowa’s next possession, Clark perfectly passed it to Czinano underneath who laid it in. Clark and Czinano’s connection was on point all game long.
Soon after, Hake made her second three of the game from the top of the key. Her shot closed the gap to 53-40 Iowa with 5:17 left in the third.
After Czinano’s bucket, Iowa didn’t score for two minutes. They made up for it with five points in one minute. Three points were from free throws.
Nebraska went on a two-minute drought themselves. Markowski ended it with a bucket from behind the arc and Krull backed it up with a layup on the next possession. They closed Iowa’s lead to 58-45 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
Iowa was up 67-50 after the first three quarters. Nebraska didn’t give up and went on a 7-0 scoring run to start the final 10 minutes. Shelley and Haiby, just like at the beginning of the game, sparked the Huskers. The duo had nine points in 2:30 minutes to make it 67-59.
Shelley and Haiby did it by attacking the basket and making all three of their free throws.
Stewart brought the run behind the arc as she drained a three to make it 67-62 and extend the run to 12-0.
Clark ended Nebraska’s run with three with 6:29 left in the game. She hit a stepback jumper around the free throw line to make it 72-62 and got the crowd back in it.
Iowa didn’t score a field goal after Clark’s jumper. Free throws kept the Hawkeyes in it as they made eight.
Nebraska went on a 7-0 scoring run as Bourne scored all seven points to close Iowa’s lead to 75-70 with one minute left.
Haiby hit a clutch three-point with 17 seconds left to make it 77-73. Nebraska was forced to foul Clark. She made five free throws in the last 41 seconds.
Krull hit a buzz-beating three but it was too little, too late. The Huskers’ comeback ran out of time.
Notable:
***Nebraska started off on fire out of the gates. They won the tip and scored the first eight points against one of the top offenses in the country. Iowa’s shots were falling and the Huskers kept their foot on the pedal for a few forced turnovers.
When Nebraska started off strong, they led the No. 10 team in the country 21-11 after the first quarter.
***The Huskers played third good quarters and lost 80-76. Head Coach Amy Williams said she wants her team to be past moral victories. I agree, especially with the talent and experience they have on this roster.
But seeing this squad come that close to an upset after three quarters of good basketball makes you wonder what they could do if they could consistently put together four quarters. Not many teams can do it consistently. Iowa didn’t against the Huskers on Saturday.
***Haiby and Shelley are a great one-two punch. The duo went on two runs together throughout the game to spark their team.
Shelley’s scoring has tapered off since the start of the season. She has found other ways to impact the game with her passing and defense. Against Iowa, she did all three.
While did only scored 10 points, those 10 came at critical points and created big ripple effects.
Haiby showed a glimpse of the player she was last season before her knee injury. She thrives in clutch moments and showed that with a big three at the end of the game.
“We really do feel like our program is beyond feeling like moral victories are a good thing but we do want to be a team that is known for fighting for 40 minutes and continuing to be aggressive and scratch and claw and fight. I thought there was a point where we got down by 17 and it could have gone one way but our kids just dug deep and they got some defensive stops and played a little more physical with the rebounding and were able to spark us in transition a little bit and at least gave us a chance in the ball game.”
Husker Head Coach Amy Williams on the Huskers Radio Network
