Nebraska women shoots poorly, still advances to semis

With 7:45 left to play in the second half Cory Montgomery squared up beyond the 3-point line and put up a shot.
The basket was good and as the ball made it's way through the net almost every Nebraska fan stood on his or her feet and cheered. 
The exuberant reaction wasn't because it gave the top seeded Cornhuskers the lead or ended a Kansas State run, but it was because Nebraska had finally made a 3-pointer after missing its previous 18 attempts beyond the arc. 
Montgomery's three came in the middle of a 14-2 Nebraska run and helped the Huskers pull away and secure a 63-46 victory against Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference tournament quarterfinals at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. 
Nebraska finished 1-21 from 3-point range and 36.5 percent from the field, but still moved to 30-0 on the season.
"Obviously this wasn't our best offensive game, but there are three facets to the game and I thought our defense was good and in the second half we did a good job of rebounding," NU coach Connie Yori said. 
Nebraska forced 23 Kansas State turnovers, including 15 in the first half. The Wildcats, who were the ninth seed in the tournament, converted their first three 3-pointers in their win against Texas Tech on Thursday. The Huskers pressured the ball throughout the game, and KSU missed their first three shots from beyond the arc.
"We were playing hard defense and we were happy about that," Kelsey Griffin said. "Usually it's kind of the reverse. Our offense is helping and our defense needs to get picked up."
Nebraska never trailed and the only tie came at 2-2. The first half was filled with sloppy play from both teams, with long scoring droughts and errant passes out of bounds. The Huskers led by only one at the half, 27-26, mostly because of NU's 0-for-12 mark from 3-point range.
"We knew we weren't hitting, so we had to go to the offensive glass and get the rebounds and get the extra possessions," Montgomery said. 
Montgomery finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds, four of which were offensive. Griffin also recorded a double-double for Nebraska, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The two senior forwards combined for NU's first 16 points in the second half.
Nebraska was outrebounded 24-17 in the first half, but was plus eight on the boards in the second half and recorded eight offensive rebounds.
The Huskers won't want to look at this game as an offensive template for the future. Nebraska had just eight assists on 23 baskets and scored just 63 points on the same number of field goal attempts. NU's 4.8 percent mark from beyond the arc is almost 20 percentage points worse than their previous low. 
Fortunately for Nebraska, Kansas State wasn't stellar on offense either. 
After shooting 42 percent from the field in the first half, the Wildcats dropped to 27 percent in the second. 
"I felt like we lost our heads and got out of the offense and that killed us in the long stretch," KSU's Brittany Chambers said.
Nebraska led 49-40 with 10:42 to play in the game. The Huskers then went on their 14-2 run with the Wildcat's only points coming from two Taelor Karr free throws. KSU didn't score a field goal until 2:22 was left in the game. 
"Five of their starters played 30 plus minutes (Thursday) so we knew that they were going to be worn out and a little bit fatigued." Dominique Kelley said. "We used that to our advantage."
Nebraska's victory tied the Big 12 record for consecutive wins at 30. The Huskers will play the winner of the Texas A&M-Texas game on Saturday in the tournament semifinals. It's unclear how Yori will approach tomorrow's game, but she recognized the importance of this game for Nebraska's seeding hopes in the NCAA tournament. 
"I think there is a good chance we will be a No. 1-seed based on what happened today and regardless of what happens tomorrow," Yori said.