• Photo Showcase: Nebraska vs. Kansas

• Video: See the postgame press conference with NU coach Connie Yori. Highlights below the story:



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LINCOLN — Nebraska didn't want emotions to spoil a memorable night.

The program's largest senior class was honored one-by-one before its final home game began, but the veteran group, unfazed by the pre-game spectacle, made sure it remembered an often ignored fact on a night like Wednesday: The real show doesn't start until tipoff.

The Huskers refused to soak in their senior night moment and as a result, they out-hustled and out-executed Kansas long enough to earn their 28th consecutive win, 77-52.

Nebraska (28-0, 15-0) led 9-0 in the first three minutes, used an 11-2 spurt to take an 18-point lead before halftime and simply piled on from there. It was the ideal way to send off the seniors, even though they promised one another beforehand that they wouldn't make too much of their last Devaney Center appearance.

“We made a pact that we weren't going to cry after the game,” senior Cory Montgomery said. “We wanted to win this game and we wanted to play hard. I think the way we played on the court showed how good and how tough this team has been this whole year.”

Nebraska didn't waste any time to prove that. Senior Kelsey Griffin sandwiched two layups around senior Yvonne Turner's driving jumper and free throw. Lindsey Moore capped the run with a steal and a fastbreak layup.

KU coach Bonnie Hendrickson called a timeout immediately after. She used another one four minutes later when Montgomery's 3-pointer put Nebraska up 17-6.

“They threw a punch and we didn't respond,” Hendrickson said.

Kansas (15-13, 5-10) nearly upset the Huskers the first time these two teams met. Nebraska won the Feb. 10 game 67-60 in Lawrence, Kan., but needed to force eight turnovers down the stretch to cool off a well-prepared and precise-shooting KU team.

No crunch-time heroics were needed Wednesday.

Nebraska put the game away with its 12-2 run to begin the second half. The Huskers led by as many as 31 in front of 12,280 fans.
Coach Connie Yori began individually replacing her seniors with about seven minutes left. Each of the five active players — senior Nikki Bober tore her ACL in November — received standing ovations as they left the court. Yori gave them a hug before they took their seats on the bench.

“I don't think we could have scripted it any better than this,” Yori said. “It just worked out perfectly.”

Kind of reflective of the entire season. One more win and NU becomes the first Big 12 team to finish the entire regular season undefeated. Oklahoma was 16-0 during league play in 2006.

The Huskers, who already won a Big 12 title last week, play at Kansas State on Saturday, but it won't be easy for the Wildcats to upend Nebraska if it performs anything like the way it did Wednesday night.

Four NU players finished in double figures, largely because of an impressive offensive attack early on. The 49 points before halftime were the most Kansas has allowed in any half all year and its 17-point deficit at the break was the largest the Jayhawks have faced.

The Huskers forced 22 turnovers and held KU's leading active scorer in conference play, freshman Carolyn Davis, to zero points. Davis had a team-high 17 last time against NU.

“We were focused,” Griffin said. “We didn't want to be all emotional or get all caught up in the moment. We wanted to go out there and play good, hard basketball.”

Contact the writer:

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

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• Video: Highlights from Wednesday's Nebraska-Kansas women's basketball game:

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