What looked to be on paper a potential blowout turned into a dogfight at Pinnacle Bank Arena Thursday.
Nebraska women’s basketball hung on to beat Illinois 56-48. The win improves NU to 12-4 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten play.
The Huskers had spurts of erratic defense mixed with sloppy offense. Nebraska shot 33.9 percent as a team, including 6-of-18 from 3. Turnovers were again an issue as they gave the ball away 16 times.
The biggest difference in the game came on the glass, with Nebraska grabbing a 45-29 advantage. Tilting the game even more towards the Huskers was the fact that they nabbed 12 offense rebounds to just one for the Illini.
On Australia night, Aussie Jaz Shelley posted a game-high 17 points, adding six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. It was her highest scoring game in more than a month.
Alexis Markowski notched her tenth double-double of the season and 31st of her career with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Nebraska heads to Minnesota Sunday.