College Park, Md. - Nicea Eliely scored a season-high 18 points, but it was not enough to overcome Maryland's 16-0 run in the final 3:06 of the third quarter, as the No. 7 Terrapins ran to an 89-63 win over the Huskers at the Xfinity Center on Thursday night.
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 to end the quarter to put the game out of reach.
Nebraska, which slipped to 6-8 in the Big Ten and 11-14 overall, got 11 points from Sam Haiby off the bench.
Kaila Charles led five Terrapins in double figures with 22 points, while Blair Watson pumped in 17 points and Fraser added 14 points off the bench. Stephanie Jones and Shakira Austin both pitched in 10 points to help Maryland improve to 23-2 overall and 12-2 in the Big Ten.
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).
Maryland jumped to a 9-0 lead in the game's first 2:05 and took its biggest lead of the first half at 15-4 with 3:05 left in the opening period, before Nebraska rallied. The Huskers trimmed the Terp margin to 22-15 at the end of the quarter, then pulled within 29-26 after an 11-4 surge over a four-minute span that started with back-to-back threes by Eliely and ended with a three-pointer from Taylor Kissinger with 4:42 left in the half.
Maryland responded to push the margin back to seven at 41-34 at halftime. Eliely led the Huskers with 12 first-half points, including 10 in the second quarter, while Haiby added seven points. Kate Cain contributed four points, five rebounds, four blocks and two assists in the opening 20 minutes.
In the half, Nebraska hit 44.4 percent (12-27) of its shots, including 6-of-10 threes, while adding 4-of-6 free throws. The Huskers out-rebounded Maryland 20-18 in the half and blocked six shots as a team.
Maryland responded by shooting 42.9 percent (15-35) in the half, including 2-of-7 threes. The Terps also hit 9-of-12 free throws. First-quarter turnovers set the tone in the first half for Maryland, as the Terrapins forced eight first-quarter turnovers by Nebraska and turned those mistakes into eight points. The Huskers committed just three turnovers in the second quarter. Maryland turned the ball over just three times in the half.
Fraser led Maryland with nine points off the bench in the half, while Watson added eight points. Austin and Charles both contributed seven first-half points, while Jones pitched in six points.
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., and tickets are available now at Huskers.com.
Lincoln – James Palmer Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift the Nebraska men’s basketball team to a 62-61 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena
In a game that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes, Nebraska led for much of the second half before Minnesota used a 6-0 run to take a 61-59 lead with less than a minute to play. The Gophers led by one with under 30 seconds on the clock when Isaiah Roby made the defensive play of the game, drawing a charge from Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy to give the ball back to Nebraska with 18 seconds remaining. On Nebraska’s first chance to win the game, Thomas Allen had his shot blocked out of bounds. On the ensuing inbound, Palmer caught the ball on the baseline, pumped fake, and drew a foul on Amir Coffey to set up his game-winning free throws.
Palmer, who scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, was 8-of-10 at the line on the night, including 3-of-4 in the final minute. In addition to Palmer’s big night, Glynn Watson Jr. erupted for 19 points, just one shy of his season high. While Palmer and Watson combined for 43 of the Huskers’ 62 points, Allen added seven points and a career-high nine rebounds in his return to the starting lineup, while Roby had six points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for Nebraska, improved to 14-11 on the season and moved to 4-10 in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska shot 50 percent from the field, its first time hitting more than 40 percent of its shot in six games. Minnesota (16-9, 6-8 Big Ten) got a double-double from Murphy with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Daniel Oturu added 16 points and Amir Coffey – who had a career-high 32 points in the first meeting with Nebraska – chipped in 11 points.
Nebraska shot 52 percent in the first half, but still trailed by one, 31-30, heading into the locker room. Palmer started off the game for the Huskers with a driving layup for the game’s first points, but his bucket was followed by a 5:14 scoring slump. During the scoreless stretch, Minnesota scored 10 straight points during a 15-2 run that gave the Gophers a 11-point lead seven minutes into the game.
Minnesota maintained its 11-point lead midway through the period, but Nebraska cut the lead to seven before Palmer used a personal 8-0 run to give the Huskers a 22-21 lead with 6:34 left in the half. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half, with Dupree McBrayer hitting a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play in the half to give Minnesota the halftime advantage. as Minnesota tacked on ten straight points to go up 10-2 heading into the under 16-minute media timeout.
The Huskers then came out red hot to begin the second half as Allen took the lead right back for the Huskers with a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 14 seconds into the period. Behind consecutive 3-pointers from Watson and Palmer, Nebraska scored nine of the first 10 points of the second half to build a seven-point advantage, its largest lead of the game.
The Gophers answered with nine straight points to take a 44-41 lead with 14 minutes remaining. But Nebraska bounced back, holding Minnesota without a field goal for more than four minutes, which allowed the Huskers to open up a 51-48 lead with 8:12 to play.
Minnesota fought back to tie the game at 53, but Nebraska built the lead back to four at 59-55 with 3:43 left. The Huskers did not make a basket over the final 4:06, which allowed Minnesota to regain its late lead. Five of Nebraska’s seven points in the final five minutes came at the free-throw line, with Palmer accounting for all five free throws, including the game-winner.
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=
Omaha Brownell-Talbot 46, Conestoga 43
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=
Class B=
Subdistrict B-1=
Final=
Omaha Gross Catholic 56, Omaha Duchesne Academy 46
Subdistrict B-2=
Final=
Elkhorn 49, Elkhorn South 45, 2OT
Subdistrict B-3=
Final=
Waverly 49, Platteview 43
Subdistrict B-5=
Final=
South Sioux City 62, Columbus 39
Subdistrict B-7=
Final=
North Platte 50, Lexington 27
Class C1=
Subdistrict C1-1=
Auburn 49, Falls City 30
Syracuse 44, Fairbury 32
Subdistrict C1-3=
Louisville 64, Conestoga 23
Omaha Brownell-Talbot 55, Ashland-Greenwood 47
Subdistrict C1-9=
Adams Central 58, Kearney Catholic 57, OT
Grand Island Central Catholic 54, Minden 23
Subdistrict C1-10=
Broken Bow 39, Centura 23
St. Paul 53, Ord 52
Subdistrict C1-11=
Chase County 55, Hershey 44
Ogallala 44, Gothenburg 33
Class C2=
Subdistrict C2-3=
Fillmore Central 65, Sutton 43
Superior 56, Thayer Central 44
Subdistrict C2-10=
Blue Hill 47, Wood River 30
Hastings St. Cecilia 52, Doniphan-Trumbull 29
Subdistrict C2-11=
Elm Creek 53, Amherst 43
South Loup 44, Southern Valley 23
Class D1=
Subdistrict D1-1=
Archbishop Bergan 63, Cedar Bluffs 17
Weeping Water 57, Omaha Christian Academy 27
Subdistrict D1-5=
Howells/Dodge 50, Fullerton 27
Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 56, Nebraska Christian 39
Subdistrict D1-9=
Central Valley 26, Ansley-Litchfield 24
Pleasanton 66, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 35
Subdistrict D1-10=
Axtell 55, Alma 42
Overton 50, Elwood 44
Class D2=
Subdistrict D2-1=
Falls City Sacred Heart 48, Parkview Christian 16
Sterling 53, Mead 25
Subdistrict D2-2=
Bruning-Davenport/Shickley 65, Nebraska Lutheran 35
Exeter/Milligan 48, Dorchester 41
Subdistrict D2-3=
Humphrey St. Francis 64, St. Edward 20
Spalding Academy 47, Riverside 36
Subdistrict D2-6=
Hampton 72, Kenesaw 40
Red Cloud 35, Silver Lake 32
Subdistrict D2-9=
Mullen 58, McPherson County 18
Sandhills/Thedford 41, Anselmo-Merna 30
