The No. 20 Nebraska women’s basketball team sustained its first loss of the 2025-26 season with a 74-66 loss to No. 17 USC Monday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Cornhuskers had started the season 12-0, the second-best start in school history.
A disastrous third quarter sank Nebraska (12-1, 1-1 Big Ten). The Huskers went to the halftime locker room leading 38-36. But in the third period, the Trojans (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) shot a blistering 62 percent, including five-for-nine from three-point range to outscore Nebraska by 15 points and take a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter. USC’s defense pressure wore on the Huskers in the second half, with 10 NU turnovers resulting in 18 Trojans points. For the game, USC had a nine-point advantage in points off turnovers (27-18), despite committing three more turnovers than Nebraska.
USC also had a significant advantage in the paint, as the Trojans outscored the Huskers in the free-throw lane, 44-28, while outrebounding Nebraska, 38-25. Kennedy Smith and Jazzy Davidson led USC with 17 points each. Smith nearly reached a double-double with nine rebounds. Kara Dunn added 14 for the Trojans, while Londynn Jones tallied 13. The Huskers were led by Britt Prince’s 18 points and seven assists, while Logan Nissley and Eliza Maupin scored 10 each. No Nebraska player had more than four rebounds.
The Huskers will have little time to shake off the defeat, as Nebraska hits the road to face No. 14 Iowa on Thursday at 1 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.