After their worst game of the season against Ohio State and a tough first quarter against Purdue, Nebraska women’s basketball came back to pick up a 77-65 victory over the Boilermakers on the road.
With the win, NU moves to 17-9 on the season and 9-6 in the Big Ten
The game did not start off as planned for the Big Red in West Lafayette, Indiana, Saturday night. After a competitive first half of the first quarter, in the last two minutes of play, the Boilermakers exploded for a 9-0 run, extending their lead to 22-12.
The final minutes of the first were very reminiscent of the team’s play at Ohio State: sloppy, turnover-heavy, and no offense. The team’s two-and-a-half-minute drought looked poised to be the story for the rest of the game.
But that was not the case.
The Huskers rebounded after the disappointing end to the first quarter with a dominant second quarter. NU outscored Purdue 24-10 and held the Boilermakers to 30% shooting from the field. After struggling from long range, NU began to crash the paint and get to the charity stripe. Nebraska took ten free throws in the second, making all but two. The Big Red were led by Jaz Shelley and Logan, who both had seven points, leading the Huskers into the locker room with a 36-32 lead.
The Big Red did not let up in the third quarter. All-Big Ten forward Alexis Markowski found her stride in quarter number three, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds. The Huskers also kept the petal to the metal on the defensive end. Purdue shot 21% from the field and was outrebounded by NU 13-to-5. After three quarters, Nebraska led Purdue 55-44.
It was smooth sailing for the Big Red the rest of the way, as Purdue did not pull within double digits.
Markowski, who finished the contest with 20 points and 21 rebounds, delivered a dominant performance. Markowski’s 21 rebounds are a career-high and the 4th most in NU single-game history. Freshman Logan Nissley also had a stellar performance, scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Jaz Shelley had a signature 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists performance.
The Big Red is back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 20, against Northwestern