LINCOLN — Nebraska used its aggressive defense and blatant height advantage inside to wear down a depleted UNK women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon.

On a day when the Huskers held a clear edge in depth and athleticism, their up-tempo style couldn't have been more lethal.

They forced 29 turnovers and scored 48 points in the paint, earning an 89-47 exhibition win against the University of Nebraska at Kearney in front of 1,570 at the Devaney Center.

The Lopers, decimated by injuries already this year, dressed just eight players — including guard Morgan Abert, a soccer player who just recently joined the team. They had no one taller than 6 feet available.

“You feel bad for Kearney, but we have to play our system,” NU coach Connie Yori said. “Exhibition games are for us to get better, improve and do what we do.”

So Nebraska's guards kept feeding their post players and eventually they capitalized on driving opportunities of their own.

Five Huskers scored in double figures, and eight others scored. Nebraska did turn the ball over 19 times, but when under control, junior Dominique Kelley thought they were effective offensively.

“I thought when we took care of the ball, we got just about any shot that we wanted,” said Kelley, who finished with 13 points.

It was far from the exhibition test that UNK provided last year when the Huskers had to battle back from a second-half deficit in an 80-69 win.

But the four Lopers who combined for 77 percent of their points in that game either graduated or transferred.

Debi Johnson, a sophomore from Elsie, Neb., led UNK with 18 points Sunday, but she and the four other starters played nearly the entire game. The Lopers' three bench players totaled a combined 15 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Nebraska substituted on what seemed like every dead ball, constantly reloading its high-pace attack with fresh bodies.

Johnson's 3-pointer with 13:55 left cut Nebraska's lead to 46-32, but that was the closest UNK got in the second half. Less than four minutes later, the Huskers led by 28.

UNK...............21 26—47

At Nebraska.............38 51—89

UNK: Johnson 6-20 4-4 18, Thissen 2-7 2-2 6, Jamison 4-11 1-1 10, Leeper 3-9 2-3 8, Lane 0-4 4-4 4, Ludwick 0-2 1-2 1, Abert 0-0 0-0 0, Rickels 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-53 14-16 47.

NU: Moore 3-7 0-0 8, Kuhlmann1-2 0-0 3, Griffin 4-8 2-4 10, Kelley 5-6 3-5 13, Montgomery 6-8 1-2 13, Williams 0-1 2-2 2, Neals 0-3 1-2 1, Reeves 2-6 2-2 7, Leick 2-2 0-0 4, Turner 4-8 0-0 10, Periago 2-4 0-0 4, Bober 1-3 2-2 4, Redmon 5-7 0-2 10. Totals 35-65 13-21 89.

3-point goals: UNK 3-10 (Johnson 2-5, Jamison 1-4, Leeper 0-1), NU 6-15 (Moore 2-3, Turner 2-5, Kuhlmann 1-1, Reeves 1-2, Montgomery 0-1, Bober 0-1, Neals 0-2). Rebounds: UNK 28 (Johnson 7), NU 44 (Griffin 10). Assists: UNK 6 (Johnson 2), NU 20 (Moore 5). Turnovers: UNK 29, NU 19. Total fouls: UNK 18, NU 17. Technical fouls: None. A: 1,570.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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