Lady Huskers out-shoot Kansas State

The game was a battle of the defenses that Nebraska women's head coach Connie Yori called a "chess match type of game."

The Cornhuskers and Wildcats fought neck-and-neck into the last few minutes. That's where Yori said the Huskers stepped it up with contributions from a lot of players.

"In the last three minutes, we looked like we really wanted it," Yori said.

The Husker defense held the 20th ranked Wildcats to just one field goal from the 6:04 mark until the last nine seconds of the game. With under 41 seconds left, Dominique Kelley, Yvonne Turner, Tay Hester and Cory Montgomery sealed the deal for the Huskers by making seven of their last eight free throws, giving the Huskers a 52-45 win. With such a close game, Yori said they had to cash in on free throws especially down the stretch.

With Wednesday night's win, the Huskers ended up 1-1 against the Wildcats this season after losing on the road to Kansas State 51-40 on Jan. 27.

"It was great to get them on our court and have our fans back us up," Hester said.

The Huskers notched their third straight Big 12 Conference home victory to improve to 13-13 overall and 4-9 in the league. The win against Kansas State is the Huskers second win over an Associated Press Top 25 team this season, after an Arizona State win in December. Kansas State fell to 21-5 overall with the loss to Nebraska.

After a low-scoring first half, Kansas State led 22-21.

Junior Cory Montgomery came out of the locker room with determination, scoring just thirteen seconds into the half to gain the lead over the Wildcats and then nailing a three-pointer on Nebraska's next possession. Montgomery was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and was the leading scorer of the game with 21 points.

In an otherwise defense-dominated game, Montgomery helped the Huskers tack six three-pointers on the night.  With ten minutes left, the Huskers were down 40-39. Queen's "Under Pressure" was played during a timeout, and Turner responded with a 3-pointer, giving the Huskers a 42-39 lead.

The defense finished out the night, and the crowd of 2,424 was loud and on its feet during the end of the second half when the Huskers were on defense. NU forward Catheryn Redmon had a career-high seven blocked shots, which helped the Huskers win in a low-scoring game. Another key defensive player for the Huskers, Hester, had a season-high eleven rebounds. 

The Huskers also benefitted from Kansas State's Shalee Lehning, one of the best point guards in the nation, not being at full strength.  Lehning sat out the past three games due to illness and was only able to play 14 minutes against the Huskers. 

The Huskers will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. on Saturday.

"Every game is the biggest game of the year at this stage," Yori said. "We've done some good things here. There's plenty of season ahead of us. We just have to keep fighting."

BlairEuteneuer@dailynebraskan.com