 "Photo: Alonzo Adams | The Associated Press")
It was one and done for the Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s basketball team at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Kansas stormed past NU in the final five minutes of the game to win 61-56 and move on to the second round of the tournament.
Junior Cory Montgomery did her best to keep Nebraska in the tourney by pouring in 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
NU coach Connie Yori had no complaints about the game as a whole.
“There is no shame in losing this game, we worked really hard,” she said. “We tried. I thought we did a lot of the right things. Kansas played well.”
The Huskers jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the Jayhawks stormed back and led 11-5 with more than 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
NU sophomores Jessica Periago and Catheryn Redmon each blocked a shot early on to help the Huskers stay close. Redmon was a force down low, rejecting three shots in the game.
Nebraska began to heat up offensively midway through the first half.
Junior Yvonne Turner had several drives to the hoop and had an impressive reverse lay-up, cutting KU’s lead to 12-11.
A deluge of Husker 3-pointers then began to fall as NU tied the game 20-20 with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Nebraska’s defense was solid, frustrating the Jayhawk guards and forcing them into four shot clock violations in the game.
Turner tallied 13 points and six steals on the afternoon. Many of her points came off fast-break lay-ups after swiping the ball away from the KU guards.
Turner said the team showed toughness even though Kansas had bigger players.
“It’s hard for us,” she said. “We’ve been experiencing a size advantage this year. And when you play against bigger guards that are bigger than us, then it’s tougher for our little guards, including myself, to help off their guards.”
Montgomery closed out the first half by hitting three straight shots in the final three minutes to give Nebraska a 32-28 halftime lead.
Senior Tay Hester got to the line early in the second half and made one of two free throws before Redmon ripped down an offensive rebound and was fouled. She made both shots to give Nebraska a nine-point lead.
Redmon’s effort on the glass was indicative of the Huskers’ overall effort. Fifteen of NU’s 37 boards were offensive.
KU junior Danielle McCray was held in check during the first period but found her rhythm in the second half. She completed a three-point play and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to bring the Jayhawks within six at the 15-minute mark.
McCray continued to torture Nebraska as she nailed a 3-pointer with about eight minutes to go to tie the game. She drove to the hoop shortly after and scored while getting fouled to trim NU’s lead to one.
Nebraska saw its 55-54 lead disappear after McCray swished another perimeter shot with five minutes to go. McCray managed 22 points – 17 of which came in the final 20 minutes.
The Huskers only shot 37.5 percent from the field while Kansas made 52 percent of its attempts.
Turner is optimistic about Nebraska’s postseason continuing in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, but Yori was quick to point out one thing.
“The way that we look at it is like our season isn’t over yet, and we can go into the WNIT and come out and be successful and win a few games and try and win the whole entire thing,” Turner said.
“Might want to get a bid first,” Yori added.
jeffstraub@dailynebraskan.com
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