The ladies’ conference record now stands at 1-2 after back to back losses. This was a close game for three and a half quarters, but the final five minutes was rough to watch. The Huskers shooting went
cold and the Hawkeyes took advantage. Britt Prince led Nebraska with 27 points, followed by Jess Petrie with 17 and Eliza Maupin with 12. Maupin notched a double-double in her first Husker start with 11 rebounds. It wasn’t a great day for passing as the ladies only had 11 assists, but did outrebound Iowa 31-30.
First Quarter Notes
Eliza Maupin made the start in place of Petra Bozan and Logan Nissley started in place of Hailey Weaver. Amiah Hargrove was held out because of a couple hits she took to the head in the USC game. Hake, Petrie and Maupin opened scoring to put the Huskers up 8-0 in the first two minutes. The Hawkeye defense kept close tabs on Britt Prince, guarding her full court. Nebraska’s lead grew to 12-2 before they turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions and the Hawkeyes capitalized (12-9 Neb).
Eliza Maupin picked up her second foul out of the mid-quarter timeout and went to the bench. Every time Nebraska put a little daylight between them and the Hawkeyes, Iowa responded (17-12 Neb). The game was physical with the refs not calling much contact. The Hawkeyes closed within one (19-18 Neb) before a Husker basket to end the quarter.
Nebraska 21 Iowa 18
Second Quarter Notes
The Huskers opened the quarter with a turnover and shot clock violation, while the Hawkeyes tied the game and then took their first lead (23-21 Iowa). The game went back and forth for a few possessions until a Prince three-pointer regained the lead for Nebraska (28-27). Prince is already up to 11 points. Before I could finish typing that, she was up to 15 points and the game was tied at 34 at the media timeout.
Petra Bozan found some room to work and scored four quick points out of the break. For several minutes it was a shootout with both teams scoring at will. The game was tied at 40 with two minutes left. Things slowed down, but just a bit with the Hawkeyes putting in a buzzer beater.
Nebraska 45 Iowa 44
Britt Prince has 17 points and Jess Petrie 13. Iowa has been to the free throw line seven times (making all seven) while the Huskers have yet to get to the stripe.
Third Quarter Notes
Maupin picked up her third foul seconds into the half but stayed in the game for a bit and then was replaced by Bozan. I do appreciate that the Hawkeyes are not doing that incredulous “who me?” act whenever they are called for a foul. That had gotten old the past few years. It took over a minute for either team to score and the Hawkeyes took the lead on a three-point play by McCabe (47-45 Iowa). The slow start out of half continued for the second game in a row as the Huskers did not score until nearly three minutes in (a Petrie steal and score). Iowa grew their lead to five (52-47). Iowa’s center Heiden picked up her third foul and sat down for a couple minutes.
The Hawkeyes grew their lead to six at the mid-quarter timeout (56-50 Iowa). Petrie picked up her third foul and went to the bench. Eliza Maupin is doing some work on both offense and defense. She is deceptively quick for someone so long and lean. With Hargrove out and foul trouble for Maupin and Petrie, Emily Fischer is playing more minutes than normal. Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke picked up her third foul. Nebraska cut into the Hawkeye lead as the quarter wound down.
Iowa 64 Nebraska 61
Fourth Quarter Notes
Scoring slowed for both teams and the three-point margin held up for three minutes (68-65 Iowa). Unfortunately, Petrie picked up her fourth foul shortly after that and was replaced by Fisher. A couple of Husker turnovers gave Iowa some life, but they could not capitalize. Fisher made a three-point play to tie the game at 70. On that play, Iowa’s Heiden picked up her fourth foul but stayed in the game. Maupin picked up her fourth foul and the Hawkeyes opened the lead back up to four (74-70 Iowa). Britt Prince has cooled off in this quarter.
The Huskers have given up about three steals this game due to Hawkeyes hustling for the ball while Huskers were casual passing it to head up court under the Iowa basket. A particularly bad sequence led to an eight point lead for Iowa (78-70). Stuelke picked up her fourth foul with 2 1/2 minutes left. Nebraska is missing their shots and Iowa is not. The Hawkeye lead continued to grow as time wound down.
Final. Iowa 86 Nebraska 76
Next Game
The Huskers will host Purdue on Sunday, January 4. Tipoff is at 2 pm (central).
