Nebraska WBB Rallies in Fourth Quarter to Beat Ohio State

I could have sworn I wrote this article already - my apologies for getting it out so late!

Leigha Brown scored a season-high 19 points and Nicea Eliely produced another huge fourth quarter to help Nebraska rally from a deficit at the end of three quarters for a 78-69 win at Ohio State on New Year’s Eve.

Nebraska improved to 2-0 to start Big Ten play and notched its first road win of the season. Additionally the Huskers improved to 7-6 overall while the Buckeyes slipped to 4-7 and 0-2 in the conference.

Eliely, who scored 14 points for the second straight game, pushed the Huskers over the top by sparking a decisive 27-16 fourth-quarter rally. The 6-1 junior wing from Colorado Springs, Colo., hit a pair of huge three-pointers and finished a traditional three-point play as part of her 10 point fourth quarter.

While Eliely finished off Nebraska’s second straight Big Ten win, it was Brown and senior Maddie Simon who kept the Huskers close throughout the contest.

Brown, a 6-1 freshman from Auburn, Ind., scored 19 points in the first three quarters to help the Huskers survive sub-par offensive performances in the first and third quarters. Brown, who went 4-for-9 from the field with a pair of three-pointers and knocked down 9-of-12 free throws, added four rebounds, three assists and a steal in her best all-around game of the season.

Simon, a 6-2 forward from Lincoln, Neb., added a season-high-matching 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.

Junior guard Hannah Whitish gave the Huskers four players in double figures with 11 points while adding five assists. She knocked down a trio of triples in the game, including a pair of fourth-quarter threes. She also capped Nebraska’s scoring with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left after a technical foul was issued on the Buckeyes. Freshman Sam Haiby continued her solid play with eight points, including a key layup to give Nebraska a five-point lead at 70-65 with 3:54 left. Fellow freshman Ashtyn Veerbeek added six points and six big rebounds to help the Huskers.

For the game, Nebraska finished at 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field, including 31.8 percent (7-22) from three. The Huskers also knocked 75 percent (21-28) of their free throws. The Big Red dominated the turnover department, 20-12, and turned OSU’s turnovers into 26 points, outscoring the Buckeyes 26-11 in that category.

Ohio State hit 37 percent (20-54) of its shots for the game, including 8-of-18 threes (.444) and 84 percent of its free throws (21-25). OSU did out-rebound Nebraska, 39-33 on the day.

Nebraska continues its two-game Big Ten road swing on Thursday by traveling to Iowa. Tip-off between the Huskers and the No. 16 Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City is set for 7 p.m. Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network and Huskers.com with a live video stream available to subscribers of BTN Plus.