A dominant first quarter propelled No. 24 Nebraska women’s basketball to an 85-44 victory over Illinois State Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Most of the drama of the contest was sapped after a first quarter in which the Cornhuskers outscored the Redbirds, 21-2. The win moved Nebraska to 11-0, with NU scoring 80 points or more in all 11 games.
Nebraska bolted out to an 8-0 start, then after allowing a basket with six minutes to go in the period, the Huskers finished the quarter on a 13-0 run. The lead remained 19 as the teams headed to halftime, as NU led 40-21. The lead ballooned to 62-35 through three quarters and Nebraska cruised in from there to victory.
Petra Bozan led a balanced scoring effort with 14 points and a team-lead-tying six rebounds, while Britt Prince tallied 13 points, a team-leading six assists and a team-lead-tying six rebounds. Eliza Maupin and Amiah Hargrove both scored 11 points and both grabbed five rebounds. ISU’s Kya Hurt led all scorers with 18 points.
Nebraska outshot Illinois State, 53 percent to 30 percent. From behind the arc, it was even more drastic as the Huskers were six-for-20 while the Redbirds were one-for-10. Nebraska outrebounded Illinois State, 42-30. The Huskers converted 20 ISU giveaways into 35 points, while the Redbirds had just 10 takeaways, which they converted into nine points.
The Huskers will wrapup non-conference play with their next game, next Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena against Cal Baptist at 11 a.m.