NU women’s basketball defeats Jawhawks 67-58

It was a back-and-forth affair during the first half, but the second period belonged to the Cornhuskers in a 67-58 win over Kansas Wednesday night.

Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said this was a much-needed win and the Huskers’ defensive pressure was the difference in the game.

“We sustained pressure on them and I thought it wore them out a little bit,” Yori said. “They turned it over which led to some easy things for us ... If you pressure a team enough and they don’t have great depth it takes a toll on their defensive end too where they can’t get out and pressure as hard.”

The Huskers looked ready from tip-off, battling Kansas down low and hitting perimeter shots throughout the game. NU’s pressure defense led to 22 KU turnovers. Nebraska committed just ten.

NU Senior Tay Hester provided a spark early, driving to the basket and scoring at will. She started the game 3-for-5 from the field and drew attention every time she touched the ball.

Her performance in the first half was something the Huskers have been missing since the first part of the season.

Hester had hit just one field goal in her first three Big 12 contests. She ended up with 10 points and was NU’s most valuable player coming off the bench.

Junior Cory Montgomery and junior Yvonne Turner both had solid games. Montgomery had a team-high 18 points on seven of 17 shooting from the floor. Turner played very aggressive on offense and defense.

The Omaha native notched 17 points, but her three steals were equally impressive. It marked her fourth-straight game in conference with at least three steals.

“We never give up until the last second of the game,” Turner said. “Our whole team are fighters and we never give up no matter how far we’re down or how far we’re up.”

Nebraska choked out every Kansas push in the second half. Turner hit a deep 3-point shot around the six-minute mark, pushing the Husker lead back to double digits. Montgomery had a nice bucket after being fouled, again putting the lead at 11 points with under three minutes to go.

At times, Kansas dominated down low, but NU played the Jayhawks tough and used its offense to build big leads in the second half.

Forty-eight of KU’s 58 points came from two players: junior Danielle McCray and sophomore Krysten Boogaard.

McCray had a game-high 30 points and shot 12-for-18 from the field. Several of Boogaard’s 18 points came in the paint as she dominated the post. Yori said Nebraska’s game plan was to stop both KU starters, adding that she was surprised NU gave up so many points to both and still won the game.

“I feel like we need to hold teams in the fifties,” Yori said. “I feel like if teams get into the sixties on us or more our chances of winning are very slim.”

While the difference may have been Nebraska’s pressure, it didn’t hurt to start out the second period on an 11-0 run. NU sophomore Catheryn Redmon scored all four of her points during that stretch. Hester added four of her own, increasing the Husker’s lead to eight points after being down three at halftime.

Kansas Coach Bonnie Henrickson said she thought Nebraska played more physically in the second half. She also said her team defended the three poorly by letting Turner shoot at will.

Henrickson said when McCray got into foul trouble it let the Huskers get into a rhythm on offense.

Yori said any win in the conference this season is something to celebrate.

“The last three games we have really played hard,” Yori said. “Our kids have been really focused on what we need to do. Effort and energy is not our problem.”

jeffstraub@dailynebraskan.com