Sometimes you take awhile to heat up. Sometimes you realize that you never turned the heat on to begin with.
Nebraska women’s basketball fell victim to never turning the heat on Saturday afternoon as a poor shooting performance doomed them in a 57-45 loss at Rutgers. The 45 points scored are a season-low.
The cold shooting took effect from the get-go. Nebraska managed just five points in the opening quarter, going 2-of-12 from the field. The second quarter was better as Big Red posted 15 points, but Rutgers was five points better to take a 10 point lead into the half.
Rutgers won the third quarter 15-11 and began the final quarter on a 7-2 run.
With 4:46 to go, a near-miracle happened: Maddie Krull made a 3.
In a normal game, that wouldn’t seem so spectacular. On Saturday, Krull’s triple stood out because it was the first made three-pointer for the Huskers in the game.
That 3 sparked an 8-0 run, but it was too little too late as the upset bid by the Scarlet Knights held up.
Nebraska shot just 28.3 percent from the field and made just 2-of-25 3s. The Huskers haven’t been held to just two made 3s since going 2-of-20 in a 65-52 loss at Ohio State on Feb. 19, 2020.
Only two Huskers scored in double-figures: Krull with 11 points and Sam Haiby with 10 points. Issie Bourne finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The top two players for Nebraska struggled mightily. Alexis Markowski managed just five points on 1-0f-8 shooting, adding only three rebounds. Jaz Shelley failed to make any of her 10 shots, finishing with zero points. Shelley distributed six assists.
With the road loss, the Huskers are 1-5 in true road games this season.
Nebraska returns home Wednesday to host Penn State.