Women's Basketball: Cady and Theriot step up as the Huskers take down Alabama 62-48

First Half

The Huskers got off to a faster start in this game but Alabama managed to keep close early on only trailing 10-8 going into the first media timeout.  The Huskers began to open up a big lead after the break and started forcing a lot of turnovers on Alabama possessions.  Nebraska lied to try a lot of three pointers with a lot of time left on the shot clock.

Alabama liked to bleed out the clock when they had possessions of the ball while the Huskers like to get down the court and score right away with led to a lot of turnovers and misplaced passes.  Alabama managed to keep it close and take a 24-23 lead with under three minutes left in the half but the Huskers ended the half on a 6-0 run to take a five point lead into halftime.

Although the Huskers got off to a hot start shooting 7 for 11 in the first eight minutes, they team shot a poor 2 for 14 and 1 for 7 beyond the arc for the rest of the half.  The main reason the Huskers maintained a lead was because they were 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.  Emily Cady had 15 of the Huskers 29 points while Jordan Hooper was held to just 2 points but racked up 9 rebounds.  Daisha Simmons led Alabama in scoring with 8 points in the first half.

Second Half

The Huskers got off to a better start in the second half.  They started to run things much slower and methodically down the floor when they had possession of the ball.  Every time the Huskers extended their lead, Alabama cut the lead a little closer only trailing the Huskers by six points with 11:51 remaining.

The Huskers then went on a big 10-0 run in a 2:55 span forcing Alabama to call a timeout.  Alabama began to pull back again but Jordan Hooper came alive with six points in a one minute span to finish the game with 8 points and 13 rebounds while the Huskers maintained a big lead and went on to win 62-48.

Post-Game Notes

-Nebraska had a very solid defensive game tonight but on offense they committed 19 turnovers in this game and shot just under 39 percent for the game.  The Huskers shot 20-24 from the foul line tonight and Emily Cady was a perfect 10-10.

-Even though Jordan Hooper didn’t have a great game tonight, Emily Cady and Rachel Theriot really stepped up their game tonight.  Cady had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the game for her ninth career double-double.   Theriots recored 17 points, including 11 in the second half and five assists.  Daisha Simmons led the Crimson Tide with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

-Connie Yori said in the post-game presser the team was their own worst enemy tonight on offense but were solid on defense and mentioned Emily Cady and Rachel Theriot “will have to step it up when they need to” when Jordan Hooper struggles to score.

-The next women’s basketball game will be on the road this Friday against the Utah Utes.  When I asked Coach Yori how the team will prepare for the altitude in Salt Lake City, she said they just got to be tough and suck it up because for the few minutes will be a struggle but they should be able to adjust to it.

GO BIG RED!!!