Nebraska WBB 72 Purdue 83: Recap

First Quarter

Purdue scored on their first four trips down the floor, but the Huskers hung tough behind some shots from Isabelle Bourne and Bella Cravens and Kate Cain’s trademark turnaround. It’s good to see Kate hit one early as she has struggled on offense.

The Huskers took their first lead 12-9 behind a Bourne three.

The Huskers extended that lead out to 15-11 (Scoggins three) before Purdue got a three point play of their own.

Purdue took the lead back 19-17 as the clock went under two minutes and ended the quarter with a 23-20 lead.

Bourne has eight points and Scoggin has six.

Second Quarter

Issie Bourne opened the second quarter scoring with a hook and Sam Haiby followed it with a layup to give the Huskers a 24-23 lead.

Purdue went on a 9-0 run to open up some daylight at 32-24.

The teams went back and forth with that eight point Boilermaker lead for several minutes until Purdue took a 10 point lead into the media timeout. They extended it to 13 (41-28) before Nebraska got some of that back behind Cain and Bourne. Bella Cravens blocked a layup and the Huskers trailed 41-34 at the half.

Bourne has 12 points, Scoggin has eight and Cain has six. Bella Cravens leads Nebraska in rebounds at four and Sam Haiby has three assists. Cravens also has both of Nebraska’s blocked shots.

Third Quarter

Purdue scored the first four points followed by a pair of Sam Haiby free throws. Kate Cain registered her first block around two minutes into the half. The Boilermakers extended their lead out to 13 at 51-38 at the quarter neared the midpoint. Freshman Annika Stewart is having a rough game as she has gone 0-3 from the field and has four turnovers. She is a talented player and will work her way out of this skid.

The score stagnated at 51-38 for a couple of minutes of game time and for the media timeout.

Ashley Scoggin took the team lead in scoring (13) with an old-fashioned three point play and the Huskers fought their way back within eight (54-46) with 2:38 left in the third quarter.

That didn’t last long however as Purdue scored six quick points to grab their largest lead at 60-46 less than a minute later.

The stat monitor has now adjusted Nebraska’s score down to 45. I think an Issie Bourne three was ruled to be a two.

At the end of the third quarter. Purdue 62 Nebraska 49

Fourth Quarter

Both Cain and Haiby picked up their third fouls early in the quarter and the Huskers continued to trail by 13-14 points. Bella Cravens continues to play a solid all-round game. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sold on her being the starter over Annika Stewart after Trinity Brady sprained her ankle, but Cravens has continued to improve each game while Stewart has struggled after an incredibly impressive start to her Husker career.

Haiby and Scoggin scored quick back to back layups to pull Nebraska within 10 points (69-59) at 7:44.

Every time the Huskers try to claw back within single digits, Purdue answers. This time, they went on a scoring run that led to a 15 point lead (78-62) and forced Amy Williams to take a timeout midway through the quarter.

The Huskers gained a little ground behind some vintage Haiby drives to the basket. Both Sam and Bella Cravens picked up their fourth fouls as the clock went under two minutes left in the game. The Purdue lead has been cut to 12 at 80-68.

The Huskers worked hard in the final portion of the game, but had too big a hole to climb out of.

Final. Purdue 83 Nebraska 72

Issie Bourne totaled 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists with only one turnover. Ashley Scoggin and Sam Haiby both notched 16 points while Kate Cain was the fourth Husker in double digits with 12. Bella Craven led the Huskers in rebounds with 10 and added six points.

Next Game

The Huskers get an eight day break and will be back on New Year’s Eve when they host Northwestern. Game time is 1 pm and it will be televised on BTN.