Some losses you just can’t afford. Thursday was one of those for Nebraska women’s basketball.
The Huskers (9-6, 7-5 Big Ten) entered the day on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament in the latest ESPN Bracketology. They will likely fall further out of the projections after suffering an 85-74 loss at Penn State (7-7, 4-6 Big Ten).
Nebraska started the game 0-for-7 from 3, but made 9-of-16 to not only claw back into contention, but lead 71-68 with 3:39 to go in the game. Nobody could have guess the Huskers would shoot just 1-of-6 from the field the rest of the way, committing three turnovers down the stretch as well.
Meanwhile Penn State shot 3-of-4 from the field in the final 3:39, adding 11-of-13 from the free throw line to close on a 17-3 run and the upset victory.
Three Huskers scored in double digits, led by Kate Cain with 21 points. Cain added seven rebounds and five blocks.
Ashley Scoggin scored 11 points, including a trio of 3s. Sam Haiby scored 10 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Isabelle Bourne made her return to the lineup after missing the last few games with an ankle injury. Bourne scored nine points and reeled in a team-high nine rebounds.
The Huskers shot 41.7 percent from the field, including 10-of-27 from 3. Penn State shot just 37.3 percent form the field, but grabbed 15 offensive rebounds that turned into 20 second chance points. The Lady Lions were also successful at the stripe, finishing 26-of-32 compared to just 4-of-12 for the visitors.
This is the fourth loss for Nebraska to a team that entered the game with a losing record. The losses to Penn State, plus the others to Creighton (4-7, 3-4 Big East), Purdue (6-8, 3-7 Big Ten), and Minnesota (5-8, 4-7 Big Ten) don’t counteract the quality wins over then No. 15 Northwestern (10-3, 8-3 Big Ten), then No. 23 Michigan State (9-4, 4-4 Big Ten), and then No. 15 Ohio State (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten).
Nebraska is at Rutgers (5-3, 1-3 Big Ten) Sunday.
Feature Image Courtesy Nebraska Athletics Communications Office