A pair of Australians with impending decisions to make about whether or not to return for an extra season led Nebraska to yet another win at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Issie Bourne and Jaz Shelley combined for 33 points, 19 rebounds, and nine assists in Nebraska’s 77-57 victory over Northern Iowa. The Huskers improved to 18-14 on the season.
Despite the 20-point margin of victory, Nebraska didn’t control the game from start to finish.
Northern Iowa used a 14-2 run to take an eight-point lead late in the first quarter. Sam Haiby then got a layup to end a 5:12 run without a made basket. And just before the buzzer sounded on the end of the quarter, Haiby hit a 3 to bring the deficit to just one point.
The second quarter was all Huskers, using a 22-12 advantage to take a 38-29 lead into halftime.
The Husker lead was in single digits for just 1:13 of game time in the second half as Nebraska pulled away for the WNIT second round victory.
Nebraska shot 40.9 percent for the game, including 10-of-28 from 3. Northern Iowa made 38.6 percent of their shots, including 9-of-29 triples.
NU’s defense led the way for the home team. The Huskers forced 13 turnovers, with 11 of those coming on steals. Big Red turned those into 16 points.
Nebraska will play the winner of Kansas and Missouri in the WNIT Super 16. The exact date, time, and location are yet to be determined, but the game will be played in the window of March 22-24.