 Whitish |  Eliely |  Mitchell |
-----------------------------
1 2 3 4 total
UCONN 22 26 21 15 84
NEBRASKA 7 15 8 11 41
----------------------------- | ||
UConn improved to 11-0 on the season while Nebraska closed non-conference play with a 4-8 record after facing arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in school history.
Husky sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 threes. Fellow sophomore Napheesa Collier added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Kia Nurse pitched in 20 points and four assists, while fellow starter Gabby Williams nearly added a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Nebraska freshman Hannah Whitish led the Huskers with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal without a turnover. Whitish hit three three-pointers to help the Huskers go 8-for-26 from long range as a team. Fellow freshman Nicea Eliely added seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a block, while freshman Grace Mitchell added five points and three boards off the bench.
Senior forward Allie Havers contributed seven points and five boards as the only other Huskers to score more than four points against. Sophomore forward Jessica Shepard was held to season lows of three points and four rebounds, while going 1-for-13 from the field.
Nebraska finished 16-of-56 (.286) from the field and 1-of-4 at the free throw line. UConn finished 32-of-70 (.457) from the floor, including 8-of-17 (.471) from beyond the arc. The Huskies were also 12-of-14 at the line and outrebounded the Huskers 47-34. UConn won the turnover battle, 24-11.
UConn jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Havers put the Huskers on the board with just under 7:30 left in the first quarter. The Huskers trailed 22-7 at the end of the opening quarter, before UConn pushed the lead to 20 for the first time at 29-9 on a Crystal Dangerfield three-pointer.
However, the Huskers answered with back-to-back threes by Esther Ramacieri and Shepard to pull within 29-15 with 5:34 left in the half.
UConn responded to push its lead to 48-22 at halftime.
The Huskies hit 48.6 percent (18-37) of their shots in the half, including 4-of-9 threes and all eight of their free throws. UConn outrebounded the Huskers 23-19, and won the first-half turnover battle 16-6.
Nebraska hit 30 percent (9-30) of its first-half shots, including 3-of-12 threes. The Huskers added 1-of-4 free throws.
Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 28, when the Huskers play host to Northwestern. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m.