Nebraska WBB Loses to Maryland 89-63

Two technical fouls.

One on the Husker point guard, Hannah Whitish and one on the Husker coach, Amy Williams.

That pretty much sums up the level of composure Nebraska displayed against a talented and ranked Maryland team.

The Huskers were scrappy - for 2 ¹⁄₂ quarters at least. They somehow kept the Terrapin lead under double digits for 27 minutes despite Maryland being the clearly more athletic group on the floor.

Nebraska trailed 51-43 after a three-pointer by Kayla Mershon capped a string of seven straight points by the freshman. But with 3:06 left Maryland’s Brianna Fraser scored and drew a foul. That was the start of a 16-0 run by Maryland to end the third quarter and put away any hopes of a Husker upset as the Terps cruised to a 89-63 win. Nebraska slipped to 6-8 in the Big Ten and 11-14 overall.

Nicea Eliely scored a season-high 18 points and Nebraska got 11 points from Sam Haiby off the bench.

For the game, Nebraska hit 39.3 percent (22-56) of its shots from the field, including 7-of-16 threes (.438), while hitting 12-of-20 at the free throw line. The Huskers out-rebounded Maryland 42-41, but Maryland forced 19 turnovers by Nebraska while committing just eight of its own in the game. The Terps outscored the Huskers 19-2 in points off turnovers.

Maryland hit 42.9 percent (30-70) of its shots, including 6-of-15 threes (.400) and 23-of-31 free throws (.742).

The Huskers return home to battle another top-25 team on Sunday, when Nebraska takes on Michigan State. Tip-off between the Big Red and the No. 24 Spartans is set for 3 p.m.