I was worried about a slow start by the Huskers and in my mind, that meant a slow first quarter. Instead, it was sluggishness coming out of halftime that doomed the Huskers. Nebraska was nails from the free throw line (19-21), but got outworked on the glass 38-25. USC’s excellent defense caused issues for Nebraska and despite a fourth quarter surge, the Huskers couldn’t overcome the deficit.
Britt Prince led the Huskers with 18 points; Eliza Maupin and Logan Nissley scored 10 each. There was no standout
rebounder for Nebraska but Prince, Maupin and Amiah Hargrove grabbed four each to lead the team. Prince also dished out seven assists.
The Huskers shot 40% (21-52) from the field, which is better than most USC opponents (35%), but not up to their season average (over 50%). USC is very good at turning over teams, but the Huskers managed to win that battle 19-16. Unfortunately, the Trojans were better at turning those into points 27-18.
First Quarter Notes
Petra Bozan set the tone early with a blocked shot and by turning an offensive rebound into two free throws for Nebraska’s first points. The game went back and forth for the first five minutes. The Trojans committed five team fouls in that stretch putting the Huskers in the bonus very early. The Huskers are 6-6 from the free throw line. Midway through the quarter, the Huskers led 8-7 and have not committed a foul of their own.
A run by Nebraska grew the lead to eight (15-7 Neb). Scoring is very balanced for Huskers at this point, but it should be noted that Amiah Hargrove continues to be a spark plug off the bench for Nebraska. She really should be starting, but the Huskers have so much depth at post, it is hard to say who should lose their starting spot to make that happen. Nebraska maintained the eight point margin through the rest of the quarter.
Nebraska 20 USC 12
Second Quarter Notes
USC took control early in this frame to tie up the game at 22 with 7:13 left. The Trojans continued to rack up fouls, with multiple starters committing two fouls. Britt Prince is leading the Huskers in scoring, but multiple players are making solid plays, including senior Callin Hake. Jess Petrie also continues to show the impressive strides she has made since Natalie Potts went down with a knee injury last season. She has always been a good defender, but is much more polished on the offensive side of the ball as a junior.
USC’s freshman star Jazzy Davidson is doing some work for the Trojans. She is almost singlehandedly keeping this one close as Nebraska tried to cling to a lead. You can see why the Trojan defense has the reputation they do – they are taking away the Huskers preferred shots and forcing them to go to Plan B or C on each possession.
Nebraska 38 USC 36
Third Quarter Notes
The Trojans picked up right where they left off while the Huskers looked like they had a nap in the locker room. In the first three minutes, USC raced out to a nine-point lead (49-40). The Huskers managed to stop the bleeding for a bit as they kept the margin in single digits with some good defense. At the five-minute mark, the score stood at 51-44 USC.
However, the Trojans weren’t done yet as they increased their lead to 14 (58-44). There is a lot of foul trouble for USC but Nebraska is not able to capitalize. Britt Prince is having a solid game, as is Amiah Hargrove, but there is no flow to the offense. Nebraska is getting some shots but is having to fight for every basket. It doesn’t help that the Trojans continued to increase their advantage in the rebounding column.
The deficit for the Huskers grew to 16 (65-49 USC) with one minute left. Some free throws from Prince and Hailey Weaver ended the quarter.
USC 65 Nebraska 52
Fourth Quarter Notes
The Huskers got an early basket to cut the lead to 11 (65-54 USC). After that, both teams found points hard to come by until the Trojans finally got their first basket three minutes in (67-64 USC). After that, the Huskers used baskets by Hake, Maupin, Nissley and Prince to close within four (69-65 USC) with 2:42 left. Eliza Maupin made key hustle plays left and right during that surge.
Alas, that is pretty much all the Huskers had left in the tank as they only managed one free throw the rest of the way. The Trojans made just enough of their free throws (after having a rather poor day at the line) down the stretch to get the win.
The ladies lose their first game of the season to the ranked USC Trojans.
Final. USC 74 Nebraska 66
Next Game
The Huskers travel to Iowa for a New Year’s Day game against the #14 ranked Hawkeyes. Tipoff is at 1 pm (central).
