Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
No. 13 seed Indiana erased a 20-point, late second-quarter deficit and stormed back to defeat No. 12 seed Nebraska women’s basketball, 72-69, Wednesday in the first game of the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. The loss is part of a larger slide for the Cornhuskers (18-12), who started the season 14-2, but lost 10 of their last 14 and seven of their last nine, culminating with the loss to the Hoosiers (18-13), a team they’d beaten for their 14th win on Jan. 8, 78-73.
Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 22 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Lenee Beaumont added 14 points, while Nevaeh Caffey tallied 13 points. Edessa Noyan turned in a double-double for IU with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nebraska was led by Amiah Hargrove’s 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Britt Prince scored 20 and added eight assists. Logan Nissley tallied 12, while Jessica Petrie notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The game started well enough for the Huskers. Nebraska opened the game on a 9-2 run and led by 16 late in the first quarter, before taking a 29-15 lead to the second period. The Huskers led the entire second quarter by at least 14 points. A three-point play by Hargrove with 1:17 remaining in the half opened a 45-25 lead, and Nebraska went to halftime leading 45-28.
Indiana fought its way back into the game with a 10-2 run midway through the third quarter, slicing the Huskers’ lead to 53-45 with 2:38 to go in the third quarter. A Noyan layup late in the third quarter shunk NU’s lead to 55-47 going to the fourth quarter. Indiana stayed within striking distance for most of the fourth quarter, before mounting a 12-2 run over the final 2:23 of the game. A layup by Beaumont gave the Hoosiers a 68-67 lead, their first of the game, with 1:06 to play. A Ciezki layup boosted the lead to 70-67 with 32 seconds to go. Hargrove hit a layup to pull the Huskers within one with 17 seconds to go, but two free throws by Caffey with 12 seconds remaining iced the win for Indiana.
The Huskers now return home and await their postseason fate. Most projections had Nebraska as one of the last teams into the NCAA women’s basketball tournament field, but the Huskers’ first-round Big Ten Tournament loss jeopardizes that status. The NCAA will announce its women’s tournament bracket on Sunday, March 15 at 7 p.m. If the Huskers are not selected for the NCAA tournament, they would likely be tabbed for the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.