• Photo Showcase: Penn State at Nebraska
• Box Score: Penn State 93, Nebraska 73
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LINCOLN — Penn State hadn’t yet shown exactly why it was a Big Ten preseason favorite in women’s basketball.
It reserved that argument for Sunday. Upstart Nebraska was on the receiving end of it.
In a physical, fast-paced game, PSU turned a 44-38 halftime deficit into a 64-53 lead seven minutes into the second half. And unlike a loss to NU in late December, the Lady Lions didn’t run out of gas in a 93-73 win.
“All of us had fire in our eyes,” Penn State guard Alex Bentley said.
Said NU coach Connie Yori: “Penn State was hitting on all cylinders in the second half.”
Dropping their first game in the Big Ten, the young Huskers — playing five freshmen — were not quite as in sync. The 93 points were the most NU has given up at home in nearly seven years.
Down to nine available players — guard Rebecca Woodberry missed the game with an ankle injury — Nebraska successfully ran with the Lady Lions for 20 minutes before wearing down on defense.
Penn State (13-4, 3-2 Big Ten) made 61 percent of its shots in the second half, and those shots got progressively easier. Guards Maggie Lucas, Bentley and Zhaque Gray scored 24, 23 and 16 points, respectively.
“We could not find a way to slow them down,” Yori said.
The Huskers’ offense, which feeds off its defense, suffered as a result. NU (15-2, 4-1) shot 36 percent for the game, including 24 percent in the second half. Jordan Hooper, Yori said, played in a virtual “headlock” for the minutes she was on the floor.
“It’s pretty frustrating when you’re getting shoved around all over the place and don’t get a call,” a red-eyed Hooper said afterward.
She took 18 shots — most of them contested — and made just four. Junior guard Lindsey Moore scored 16, but missed 9 of her 13 attempts.
But Hooper isn’t going to score 30 every night, Yori said. And in Big Ten wins against Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin, she didn’t have to. But the strong offensive rebounding that NU got in those games wasn’t there against the Lady Lions, whose frontcourt of Nikki Greene and Mia Nickson combined for 24 points and 19 rebounds.
For the afternoon, PSU won the rebounding battle 48-30.
“I like our frontcourt,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said. “Their strengths are their fight, their toughness, their tenacity ... they were focused and intent on putting their imprint on the game.”
Yori said she’d take a season split with Penn State — and quickly shift gears to a Thursday game at No. 13 Ohio State, which pulled into a three-way tie for second Sunday with a 64-56 win at Michigan State.
“You learn from it,” she said. “You watch film. We’re not going to win every game, guys. We’re not that darn good. I’ve been telling you that.
“We’re young. We make mistakes. We’re lucky to be 15-2 in my book. I feel good about where we are.
“We just got to keep going with it.”
Notes
• Purdue, a 57-55 winner against Iowa, is now the only Big Ten team undefeated in conference play.
• NU, OSU and Michigan State are tied for second in the league standings.
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402-202-9766, sam.mckewon@owh.com
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