Nebraska Women’s basketball suffered a postseason-altering road loss tonight as a last-second three-pointer put Minnesota on top 95-92.
It was an entertaining contest between the two squads Wednesday night. There were 14 ties and 16 lead changes in a game that unsurprisingly came down to the last possession.
It was an incredible night for Junior guard Jaz Shelley. Shelley led the Huskers with 37 points, her career high, 6 made threes and some late-game heroics. Minnesota’s answer to Shelley’s magical night was the play of Freshman guard Mara Braun. Braun led the Gophers with 28 and scored six straight points in the fourth quarter.
It was a competitive first quarter in Minneapolis. After ten minutes of back-and-forth play the score was a 15-14 Husker lead. The largest lead of the quarter was just three points.
The shooting was fairly even for both squads as Nebraska was 41.2% from the floor as Minnesota finished with a 37.5% field goal percentage.
Issie Bourne was the catalyst for the NU offense, scoring eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first. Shelley scored five of her 37 in quarter one.
The Tides turned in the second quarter.
Over the first five minutes of play, Minnesota outscored Nebraska 18-4. Nebraska made just one field goal during the Gopher run as Minnesota held a 32-20 lead with 4:50 to go in the first half.
Nebraska, on the verge of letting the game get out of hand, stopped the bleeding and put together an 11-4 run led by Bourne and Shelley to cut the lead to 5 with less than a minute to play.
NU had an opportunity to cut the lead to one possession at the end of the half but after a missed shot but guard Maddie Krull, Gopher forward Angelina Hammond took the ball coast to coast and converted a layup with 2 seconds remaining in the second to give Minnesota a 38-31 lead heading into the locker rooms.
Nebraska ended the half, shooting 36% from the field and 22% from three. Bourne and Shelley combined to score 24 of Nebraska’s 31 first-half points
Alanna Micheaux and Braun led Minnesota in the first half. Braun and Micheaux had 10 points and combined to shoot 9-of12 from the floor.
Nebraska continued their strong first-half finish into the third quarter. The Huskers scored first the nine points of the third quarter and took a 43-40 lead after a Krull three with seven minutes left in the third.
Both teams traded buckets for the next three minutes as Nebraska held a 55-52 lead. Minnesota then rediscovered their 2nd quarter rhythm. The Gophers proceeded to go on a 9-3 run making it 61-58, Minnesota.
Jaz Shelley scored five straight Cornhusker points keeping the offense afloat during the Minnesota run, but the Gophers ended the third up 67-64.
Free throws were falling four both sides in quarter three. Minnesota went 10-of-12 from the free throw line compared to the Huskers, who went 11-for-13.
NU started the final quarter with a 9-2 run, seven of which came from the free throw line. Nebraska led 73-69 with 8:07 to play until a 6-0, and a nearly 2:30-minute Husker scoring drought put Minnesota up 75-73 with 5:43 left.
Shelley ended Minnesota’s run with a three, giving the Big Red a one-point lead with 5:35 left to play.
Over the next two minutes of play, the lead changed six times until another Shelley three gave NU an 83-81 lead with under four to play. Minnesota then began its fourth-quarter surge.
The Gophers put together a 10-2 run led by Braun, moving the score to 91-85, with just two minutes to play.
It seemed like the game was over as Minnesota held a six-point lead and the ball with 1:08 to play. The Huskers implemented a full-court press, caused a turnover, and found the hot hand Shelley who knocked down her third three of the quarter to cut the lead in half.
Minnesota went down the other end and hit a free throw to extend their lead to four. Shelley who already had 33 points, made the most clutch play of her Nebraska career by converting a 4-point play to tie the game at 92.
The Huskers stopped Minnesota on the other end and held the ball with 16 seconds left all tied up. Sam Haiby, after drawing an off-ball foul, had an opportunity to take the lead with 13 seconds left but missed both free throws
Minnesota regained possession and had the ball with 11 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout Minnesota’s Isabelle Gradwell hit a three with 1.1 seconds to win the game 95-92 for the Minnesota Golden Gophers securing their third Big Ten win of the season.
Minnesota shot 50% from the floor, 50% from three, and went 23-of-31 from the free throw line.
Nebraska shot just 40% from the field and 39% from three but shot the ball tremendously from the charity stripe going 28-of-35.
After Shelley’s 37, Nebraska’s best scorer was Bourne who finished the game with 21
Nebraska dropped their third game in a row and moved to 14-12 on the season and 6-8 in the Big Ten.