Nebraska women’s basketball used the strong finishing kick of a 13-2 game-ending run to stop a three-game losing streak with a 72-61 win over Penn State Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
With the game tied at 59 with just under four minutes to go, Britt Prince drained a jumper to give Nebraska (11-4, 2-2 B1G) the lead for good. Alexis Markowski followed with a putback basket. Then after Allison Weidner knocked down a jumper, Kendall Coley hit a three-pointer to open a nine-point lead with 1:17 to play. Two free throws by Weidner capped the 11-0 run. After a basket by Gabby Elliott, two more free throws from Coley sealed the victory for the Huskers.
The run came after the Nittany Lions (9-6, 0-4 B1G) had started the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run to erase what had been a 13-point NU lead at the start of the quarter. With the advantage whittled to two, Callin Hake hit a three-pointer. After an Elliott basket, Hake hit a jumper to push the lead back to five. Penn State scored the next five points, then the teams traded free throws before the Huskers’ game ending run. Nebraska led 13-9 after the first quarter, 30-25 at halftime and 53-40 through three quarters.
Hake led the Huskers with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Markowski bounced back from two tough games in Los Angeles to turn in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Prince scored 13 as well. The Nittany Lions were led in scoring by Alli Campbell, who had 19 points.
Nebraska now prepares to host No. 21 Michigan State Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.