No. 5 Nebraska Women's Basketball battles past No. 8 Maryland, advances to Big Ten Championship
No. 5 Nebraska Women’s Basketball (22-10, 11-7) battled past No. 8 Maryland 78-68 to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship. The Huskers advance to the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2014. NU will play No. 2 Iowa on March 10 at 11:00 a.m. CT on CBS.
The Terrapins (19-13, 9-9) came back from a 12-point second-quarter deficit to tie it up 51-51 in the third. However, they went cold in the fourth quarter as NU outscored them 18-9. Maryland upset No. 1 Ohio State, the 2024 Big Ten Regular Season Champions, 82-61 in the quarterfinals.
The Huskers hit 13 three-pointers and were led by Jaz Shelley‘s six. Shelley finished with 30 points and nine assists while going 6-for-12 from behind the arc. Her performance is now the third-highest-scoring game by a Husker in Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament History.
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Alexis Markowski, who suffered from foul trouble, had nine points and 13 rebounds. First-Team All-Big Ten selection Shyanne Sellers led Maryland with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Nebraska catches fire from behind the arc
Logan Nissley was the first to score with an open three-pointer in the corner. Nissley had 11 points and went 3-for-7 from three against Purdue.
Both defenses were lockdown to start the game. Nebraska’s lead of 3-2 held for nearly two minutes until Markowski hit two free throws with 6:33 left in the first. Neither team scored a field goal for over three minutes.
Faith Masonius was the first to score with a tough layup. Then Nebraska’s Callin Hake followed it up with a three-pointer to take an 8-4 lead.
Both teams scored quickly after the media timeout. Each team scored on their next three possessions. Shelley broke the scoring surge as her three bounced out. Nebraska held a 14-10 lead with 3:28 remaining.
Shelley went on an 11-0 scoring run over the final 1:27 of the first quarter. She nailed three straight three-pointers. The senior juked out Sellers on the first, nailed a fastbreak shot and then launched one four feet behind the line before the buzzer. Nebraska took a 25-12 thanks to Shelley’s unbelievable run.
Maryland went on an 8-2 run to start the second quarter. After Sellers swished a shot from behind the arc, Annika Stewart made one of her own from deep. Stewart scored in the paint on the next possession as well.
Maryland’s surge didn’t stop with two Stewart buckets. They put together a 6-0 run but the Huskers’ answered with back-to-back threes from Shelley and Jessica Petrie. Shelley drilled another three after a Kubek layup.
Nebraska shot their way to a 41-29 lead with 4:54 left in the first half.
Within her first two minutes on the court, Kendall Coley drained a three-pointer to force a Maryland timeout. With Coley’s bucket, Nebraska took a 47-35 lead.
The Terrapins scored six unanswered points after the timeout. Masonius made a layup and two free throws during the run. Maryland made a great defensive play as they forced an offensive foul by Shelley on a layup she made.
Maryland’s late half spark cut Nebraska’s lead 47-40 heading into halftime.
The Terrapins outscored Nebraska 28-22 in the second quarter. They shot 76.9 percent from the floor in the second quarter and 59.3 percent during the half. Sellers led her team with nine points and three assists in the second.
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Maryland’s scoring surge, then cool off, Huskers prevail
Maryland built on their 6-0 scoring run with two buckets in the first minute of the third quarter.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year Natalie Potts scored her first points of the game on a layup from an inbound under the basket. But Brown-Turner, who made the first basket of the half, took it coast-to-coast and made the and-one.
Markowski made a tough paint shot to give NU a 51-47 lead with 6:29 left in the third. Nebraska Women’s Basketball didn’t make another bucket until Shelley hit a jumper in the lane with 3:30 left. NU took back the lead 53-51.
Coley drained a much-needed three to make it a two-possession game. Stewart, who came in with Markowski on the bench, made two shots in the paint.
However, Alexander’s three-pointer and Sellers continued domination inside made it 60-56 Huskers. Alexander drained another shot from behind the arc nearly one minute after the first.
After 10 threes in the first half, Nebraska went 1-for-5 in the third quarter. They shot 35.3 from the floor. Meanwhile, the Terrapins shot 43.8 from field-goal range and went 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
Maryland started the fourth quarter with two turnovers. With the shot clock winding down, Hake drove to the hoop and was fouled. She sank both free throws to go up 62-59.
Shelley nailed a contested three for NU’s first field goal of the quarter and her first three of the half.
The Terrapins didn’t score for the first three minutes of the final quarter. Kubek took it to the hoop for a layup for Maryland’s first points of the fourth.
Nissley responded by drilling her second three-pointer of the game. Potts pulled up for a jumper in the paint to give Nebraska Women’s Basketball a 70-61 lead with five minutes left.
Kubek made a wild open three and Maryland’s second basket of the quarter. She scored all five points for her team within the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
Maryland went ice cold as then went 3-for-14 from field-goal range in the fourth quarter.
Masonius was the second Terrapin to score with under two minutes left. She made two free throws and a layup.
Shelley surpassed her season-high with an off-balance, falling jumper. She scored all six of Nebraska’s final points.
The Huskers battled past and cooled down a red-hot Maryland team to advance to the Big Ten Championship game. They will face No. 2 Iowa on March 10 at 11:00 a.m. CT on CBS.
Shelley, three-pointers leads NU to victory
Shelley, a second-team All-Big Ten selection, absolutely ignited in the first half to build a 13-point Husker lead. She hit three-straight three-pointers to go on an 11-0 scoring run in the final 1:27.
“We just really needed to go in strong into that second half,” she said in the postgame interview. “I don’t know, I kind of went unconscious for a little bit. I was feeling it and I’m fortunate to have a coach that lets me shoot those sorts of shots. It was pretty cool to be able to do that.”
The run could be one of the highlights of the entire tournament. It could very well be Husker Head Coach Amy Williams‘.
“An absolute highlight,” she said on the Huskers Radio Network. “Really, really special play and special performance. Jaz Shelley trusted us a lot by coming back to do some special things for this program and to watch this culminate today in her performance in this semifinal game and lead this program back to the championship game. I’m just so proud of her. I’m so happy for her, and I’m just so grateful.”
Shelley also ignited the entire team’s three-point shooting confidence. Nissley and Hake made the Huskers’ first two threes of the game. After Shelley made three straight from behind the arc, NU made five in the second quarter.
Shelley took over in the fourth quarter when the Huskers’ lead closed to 60-51. She scored 12 of Nebraska Women’s Basketball’s 18 points.
Next up, the senior guard will rematch Iowa and the NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer Caitlin Clark in the Big Ten Championship. She played her best regular-season game against the Hawkeyes to lead Nebraska to the upset win. Can she do it again?
Playing four games in four days
The Huskers are bound to feel some fatigue on Sunday. They have played four games in four days. If Michigan had advanced, they have also played the same number of games in four games. However, Iowa played two fewer games than NU in the tournament.
Shelley, in particular, has played 116 minutes over the last three days. She sat for a total of four minutes in the Huskers’ first three tournament games. This was because she was in foul trouble against Purdue. She is used to playing all 40 minutes.
She said in the postgame interview that she isn’t worried about fatigue.
“We have a pretty elite staff,” she said. “I felt really good before this game and there’s no reason why I can’t feel like that tomorrow. We have all the resources possible. I’m getting into the ice boss after this. We trained for this before the season even started, so I’m ready for it.”
Markowski added she has never seen Shelley tired.
The Huskers typically play more players than average and have all season long. NU played 11 players compared to Maryland’s seven on Saturday. Their depth but also their ability to rest players throughout the tournament will help combat the inevitable fatigue.
