Despite committing a season-high 25 turnovers against No. 11 Oklahoma on Wednesday night, the Nebraska women's basketball team remains optimistic heading into Saturday's matchup against Iowa State (12-4, 1-2 Big 12 Conference.)
Despite the 80-72 loss to the the Sooners, NU has taken solace in the fact that it played the defending league champs close even with the high turnover rate.
"I think it does a lot for our confidence to know we can go on the road in a hostile environment and play as bad as we did," said NU forward/center Danielle Page, "and still be able to compete with one of the top teams in the nation."
Page said even though the team didn't play to its full potential in the loss, it proved that the Cornhuskers could come away with a victory several times during the game.
The Huskers run a 10-player rotation, a strategy that has helped propel the young squad to a 13-4 record (2-1 Big 12).
In the OU loss, Nebraska received major contributions from sophomore guards Yvonne Turner and Nichole Neals. Turner scored a career-high 18 points, despite being in early foul trouble.
Neals, who came off the bench, provided a much-needed spark with two crucial 3-pointers to end the first half and bring the Huskers within two points.
"I just think it speaks to how deep we are and how talented we are," Page said. "We know we can go 10 deep and not have that big a talent drop-off.
It really helps our confidence to know that if someone's not hitting, we can bring somebody in who can play at the same level."
But even as a young team with depth on the bench, NU Coach Connie Yori said the squad was a little awestruck against Oklahoma, a reaction she hopes the teams avoids in future conference road games.
"We just looked really young," Yori said during her postgame radio interview. "We looked a little bit like a 'deer-in-the-headlight' look."
Yori said the team needs to handle adversity better, but said effort wasn't an issue in the performance.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones look to rebound following a tough conference loss on the road to No. 24 Texas, 59-56 on Wednesday. Three days earlier, the Cyclones knocked off No. 23 Colorado 84-77 in double overtime.
Iowa State is led by junior forward Nicky Wieben, sophomore guard Alison Lacey and freshman guard Kelsey Bolte. All three are averaging double figures in points per game in league play, averaging 10.3, 15.7 and 21.3, respectively.
Against Texas, Wieben set a new ISU record for blocked shots in a career, 156, with two blocks.
Bolte had her second 20-point effort for ISU in the loss. Bolte scored 21 points in the double-overtime win against the Buffs.
Heading into Saturday's matchup, Page said the team is concentrating on the little things, such as stepping into passes and being more "secure with the dribble." She said if the team focuses on those areas of the game, the turnovers will fix themselves.
As the lone senior on the team, Page said the team isn't discouraged. She hasn't said much to boost it up following the loss because it's still in high spirits.
"One loss," Page said. "We're really not demoralized."
NICKFILIPOWSKI@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
is a member of the 
