The struggles continued for the No. 24 Nebraska women’s basketball team, as the Cornhuskers lost at Wisconsin, 63-60, Wednesday night at Madison, Wisc. Nebraska (14-5, 3-5 Big Ten) has lost five of its last seven games.
The Badgers (13-7, 5-4 Big Ten) were led by Gift Uchenna, who finished with 22 points on 10-for-17 shooting and 14 rebounds. Kyrah Daniels added 19 points and eight rebounds. Amiah Hargrove led Nebraska with 15 points. Eliza Maupin gave the Huskers with a double-double, 13 points and 13 rebounds. Britt Prince added 11 points. Wisconsin dominated the glass, outrebounding the Huskers, 45-26. But Nebraska’s defense was opportunistic, causing 22 turnovers, which the Huskers converted into 18 points. Wisconsin forced 10 turnovers and converted them into 11 points.
Nebraska struggled in the first half, hitting just 37 percent of its shots while missing their first 10 three-pointers before Prince hit one with 4:11 remaining in the second quarter. Wisconsin also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Huskers 26-10 in the first 20 minutes. The Badgers converted 11 first-half offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points, while NU was shutout on points off offensive rebounds in the first half. Uchenna had a double-double in the first two quarters alone, scoring 18 points on 9-for-13 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds before halftime. Wisconsin led 15-13 through one quarter, then rode a 10-1 run over the final three minutes to lead 38-25 at halftime.
Nebraska rallied in the third quarter. The Huskers went on a 17-4 run over the first 8:30 of the quarter. A three-pointer by Maupin gave Nebraska a 44-42 lead, but Wisconsin answered with a three-pointer to take back the lead. Hargrove hit a free thrown, then scored on a putback to send the Huskers to the fourth quarter leading 47-45. Nebraska started the fourth quarter strongly. After allowing a three-pointer, the Huskers went on a 7-0 run, opening a 54-48 lead with 7:25 remaining. A Prince layup with 3:45 to go built a 58-53 lead for NU. Prince had a layup later to keep the Huskers ahead, 60-57, with 2:12 to go. But then the Badgers went on a 6-0 run to finish the game. Daniels scored the first four points of the run, then Uchenna clinched the win with a basket with 53 seconds to go.
Nebraska is next in action Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena as the Huskers take on Illinois. Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.