Nebraska women’s basketball shot a blistering 65 percent including 10-for-17 from behind the arc after halftime to defeat Penn State, 101-83, Saturday in University Park, Pa. Amiah Hargrove led the Cornhuskers (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) with a career high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Britt Prince added 20, while Petra Bozan tallied 17 on eight-for-12 shooting. Logan Nissley scored 14 and Jessica Petrie scored 10 for NU. The Nittany Lions (6-2, 0-1 Big Ten) were led by Gracie Merkle’s 23 points, while Kiyomi McMiller scored 22. Nebraska hit 12 three-pointers, but only two in the first half.
Nebraska bolted out to a 9-0 lead to start the game. A 7-0 run pushed the Huskers lead to 20-9 with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter, and NU led 22-13 through one quarter.
But then the Nittany Lions’ defense took over, holding Nebraska to a meager four-for-14 from the field and just one-for-six from three-point range as Penn State chipped away at the Huskers’ lead. A 6-0 PSU run gave the Lions their first lead of the game, 29-27 with 4:20 remaining in the half. Penn State took a 38-34 lead to halftime.
Nebraska responded in the third quarter, chipping away at the Lions lead until a 5-0 Husker run gave NU a 46-45 lead with 5:47 to go in the third. The game remained tight from there, with six lead changes in the following four minutes of the game. Two McMiller free throws gave Penn State a 56-55 lead with 2:31 to go in the third, but then Nebraska went on an 8-0 run to build a 63-56 lead with 1:19 to go in the third quarter. NU led 65-60 through three quarters.
The Huskers began the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run, building their largest lead of the game, 70-60 with just under nine minutes remaining in regulation. Penn State cut the deficit to 74-70 with 6:44 to go, but Nebraska didn’t allow the Lions to get any closer. An 8-0 run keyed by three pointers by Hargrove and Nissley and a Hargrove layup all but finished off Penn State. A 15-2 Nebraska run erased any remaining drama as the Huskers built a 101-78 lead with 40 seconds to go. Nebraska outscored Penn State 67-45 in the second half.
Nebraska returns to non-conference play in its next action Tuesday. The Huskers face Omaha at Pinnacle Bank Arena with a 7 p.m. tipoff. Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.