Nebraska and Iowa got into a shootout Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Huskers (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten), fresh off an upset of No. 8 Michigan, welcomed No. 22 Iowa (8-4, 2-1 Big Ten) to Lincoln with the fourth-biggest women’s basketball crowed at PBA: 8,415.
The Hawkeyes got off to a hot start and stayed there all afternoon. Iowa jumped out to a 15-7 lead thanks to 75 percent shooting early. That number would cool off, but the visitors shot 63 percent in the first quarter and 73 percent in the second quarter to lead 52-46 at the half.
The 52 first half points are tied for sixth best ever by a Husker opponent in the first half.
Nebraska had their best quarter out of the break, storming all the way back to make it a one point game until All-American Caitlin Clark drew a foul at the buzzer and made all three free throws.
The Huskers grabbed their first lead of the game at 79-78 with 6:17 to go in the game, but Big Red would make just two more shots the rest of the way. Iowa put together a 7-0 run to lead 88-81 then did enough to leave Lincoln with the 95-86 victory.
The Hawkeyes shot 61.7 percent for the game, including 11-of-19 from 3. Players not named Clark shot 72.2 percent.
“(Iowa) really shot the ball well,” Nebraska coach Amy Williams said. “They’re great players that got great shots that they wanted.”
Clark scored a game-high 31 points, adding 12 assists and eight rebounds. McKenna Warnock scored a career-high 23 points, including 7-of-9 shooting from deep. The seven triples tie Warnock for fourth on the all-time NU opponent list for 3s made.
Nebraska shot just 39.8 percent for the game, including 9-of-34 from 3. The Huskers kept themselves in the game by getting 23 more shots up, thanks to a 23-5 advantage on offensive rebounds and a 9-15 advantage in turnovers.
“I’m not disappointed with the way we played offensively,” Williams said. “But we just did not guard, we’re not gonna win many games when we give up 95 points.”
Sam Haiby led Nebraska with 20 points. Jaz Shelley added another double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Ashley Scoggin contributed 13 points and a team-high four assists.
Despite sitting the majority of the first half with a pair of fouls, Alexis Markowski scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The loss snaps Nebraska’s 10-game home winning streak, and is the first home loss of the 2021-22 season.
Nebraska gets another top-25 opponent Thursday at No. 6 Indiana.
“You flush (the loss) and you get ready,” Williams said. “The thing I love so much about coaching this team is their mentality is, the thing they love about the Big Ten is every game provides an opportunity. Our team really looks at that as a positive.”