Nebraska WBB Falls to Creighton

This one hurts.

I had been holding out hope that the Husker women’s basketball team had a poor record because of their difficult schedule, a point guard who is playing on a knee that isn’t 100%, and because they have so many young contributors still adjusting to the college game.

OK, they probably are struggling because of all of the above, but a loss to a Creighton team that was 1-4 prior to playing Nebraska is a pretty tough pill to swallow. The Huskers shot just 2-22 from the three point line. The three-pointer seems to be an important part of the Amy Williams offense and when that breaks down, so does the rest.

Sam Haiby scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half. Haiby, a 5-9 freshman guard from Moorhead, Minn., led the Huskers in scoring for the fourth time in seven games by going 4-for-11 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free throw line. She added five rebounds to keep Nebraska within striking distance in the final period after Creighton built a 13-point lead at 60-47 with 5:51 left in the game.

The Huskers refused to surrender, cutting the CU margin to 62-57 with 3:20 left. Nebraska was still within striking distance at 69-64 with 25 seconds left before succumbing to the Jays. CU improved to 2-4 on the year.

Sophomore center Kate Cain added 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting as the only other Husker in double figures, while junior wing Nicea Eliely contributed nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for Nebraska, which slipped to 2-5 on the season.

Creighton senior Audrey Faber led the Bluejays with a double-double that included game highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tatum Rembao added 18 points of her own and a team-high six assists.The Jays received arguably their greatest contribution from guard Olivia Elger, who scored all 16 of her points in the second half.

Creighton also hit 21-of-24 free throws to help seal the game down the stretch. Nebraska knocked down 19-of-27 free throws on the day.

For the game, Nebraska shot just 35.5 percent (22-64) from the floor, while Creighton hit 44.4 percent (24-54). The Huskers outworked the Jays on the glass 39-38, and also won the turnover battle, 16-13.

Nebraska led 28-27 at the half thanks to an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter and a strong putback on the last scoring play of the half by Grace Mitchell. The Huskers led despite going just 12-for-31 from the field (.387) and 0-9 from three-point range. NU won the first-half battle of the boards, 20-19, and the first-half turnover battle, 10-9.

Nebraska returns home to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time in nearly a month when the Huskers take on Kansas Wednesday. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Jayhawks is set for 7 p.m.