Nebraska Women's Basketball Beats UCLA to Gain First-Ever Sweet 16

Just got back a little while ago from the Husker women's basketball game against UCLA at Williams Arena. It was a very physical game. Every time Griffin got the ball down low, she was immediately surrounded by two or three Bruin players who pummeled her pretty heavily. UCLA kept trying to pressure Nebraska early, but the Huskers worked through it, breaking their traps and press, and eventually taking over the game.

The Husker struggled making shots early on, at one point shooting 20% while UCLA was shooting 71%. It was defense that brought the Huskers back. UCLA scored 15 and stayed at that point for about six minutes while the Huskers went on a 16-0 run.

You have to hand it to UCLA, they never quit, even in the final minute when they kept fouling to the point of annoyance. It did get a little out of hand late, though, with Lindsay Moore getting punched in the chest a couple times while Bruins were trying to steal the ball and/or pick up fouls late.

In one of the more bizarre moments, play was stopped and UCLA was called for a technical foul as the Bruins had six players on the floor. I can't remember ever seeing that at this level.

The crowd was nearly all Husker. Even the Minnesota basketball fans (Cory Montgomery is from Cannon Falls, MN, which is about an hour south of the Minnesota campus) around us had decided to root for Nebraska, perhaps out of concern for their personal safety as much as anything.

At one point late in the game, Connie Yori turned around to the crowd and barked and waved at us to start cheering. Everyone responded immediately, rising to their feet, yelling, clapping and stomping and UCLA was treated to a lot of noise for the final five minutes of the game.

The final score ended up in the Huskers' favor, 83-70. They earn their first-ever Sweet 16, and they head to Kansas City to face #4 seed Kentucky. The winner will face the winner of #3 seed Oklahoma and #2 seed Notre Dame.

I realize women's basketball isn't exactly a huge draw, but if you if you have the chance to go see them play, take it. It's a huge amount of fun, you're sure to be around a bunch of rabid Husker fans (which is always fun in itself), and you never know just how far this women's team can go.