Britt Prince (23) shoots the ball during the game against Wisconsin at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Britt Prince (23) shoots the ball during the game against Wisconsin at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska women’s basketball continued its hot stretch extending its win streak to four games in a 91-60 victory over Wisconsin.
The streak comes at a much-needed time as the Huskers have had to deal with key injuries and some disappointing losses. Nonetheless, this victory provides some key insight into the identity of this team. Here are three takeaways from their win on Monday night:
Six of Nebraska’s thirteen first half assists came from the Husker’s bigs. This can be attributed to Nebraska’s clear mission to collapse the defense by force-feeding the paint. Not only did the bigs attract multiple bodies but it left the perimeter wide open.
“When we get paint touches or inside-outside looks, we tend to shoot it much better,” head coach Amy Williams said postgame. ”I thought that was the key in this game.”
Senior center Alexis Markowski and sophomore forward Jessica Petrie had no issue facilitating the ball to the outside. Markowski finished the half with three assists and Petrie finished with two assists.
As a result, the Badgers gave up quite a bit of three-point opportunities due to their concern with the inside and allowed the Huskers to shoot 7-of-15 from behind the three-point line in the first half.
While Nebraska’s inside game is headlined by an All-Big Ten performer in Markowski averaging just around 14 points per game, the Huskers are one of the premier shooting teams in the Big Ten. They rank second in 3-point percentage shooting around 35.4% on 22.9 shots which leads the conference in attempts.
Even with all the injuries Nebraska is still a tough team to guard as they have the personnel to provide a balanced offensive gameplan.
The Huskers laid down much of the groundwork for the blowout during the second quarter. Coming into the period Nebraska had only mustered up a four-point lead. Next time out the Huskers made sure to keep the ball in front and held position inside. They swarmed Wisconsin’s bigs inside and forced them to kick out to shooters adopting a similar game plan to their opponent. Junior Serah Williams put up 20 points, but was held to 9-of-23 from the field.
“You’re never going to shut a player like Serah Williams completely down,” Williams said postgame. “But you can try to make them work hard and I thought we did a good job of that.”
One major difference was that Nebraska stayed attached to the assignments and continued to rotate out to shooters even when the ball was out of Williams’ hands. During conference play, the Badgers rank fourth in the Big Ten in three-point percentage shooting at a 34.3% clip. In the first half, the Huskers held Wisconsin to 1-of-12 from behind the three-point line and kept them well below their conference average. When it was all said and done Wisconsin shot 37% from the field and 17% from three.
Nebraska also did a great job of sharing the wealth as five players finished in double digits during the 91-point outing. This performance marks the sixth time that at least five Husker players have put up double figures. Petrie and senior forward Kendall Moriarty each set career highs on the night and led the team in scoring. Moriarty posted 17 points alongside Petrie’s 15 as both combined for six three-pointers. With two key injuries to sophomore forward Natalie Potts and redshirt junior guard Allison Weidner, this squad has had to ask more of their bench unit.
“I think it’s awesome to have so many people on this team ready to go any given game,” Moriarty said postgame. “That’s something that success follows.”
In the effort Nebraska rallied together, putting up sixteen three-pointers and setting a Pinnacle Bank Arena record. To go along with this, the Huskers also finished with 27 assists against a 16.1 assist season average.
Despite not getting into double figures, senior guard Alberte Rimdal also was key as she led the team with eight assists.
“Rimdal really set the tone for our team, hunting paint touches and dropping dimes,” Williams said postgame. “There were contributions well beyond the five that were in double digits tonight.”
With tonight’s victory, the Huskers extended their winning streak to four games amidst conference play and the streak will be on the line once again during Sunday’s pack PBA game against No. 12 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are 17-1 this season and provide another opportunity for Nebraska to get a win against a ranked opponent. Coming into the season, Williams mentioned how much she strived to maintain consistency throughout the year.
The injuries have made that a near impossible task, but if the Huskers keep this momentum they could sneak a win against a tough opponent at home. The matchup will also feature a premiere matchup against two of the best freshmen in the Big Ten as Britt Prince faces off against Jaloni Cambridge. Both players were named Big Ten co-freshman of the week.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
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