[ad_1]
Nebraska women’s basketball continued its incredible season Friday in Corvallis as the Huskers defeated Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
This is Nebraska’s first win in three NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Amy Williams. The eighth-year head coach had the Huskers in prime position to win this game as they were ranked sixth in the region, the highest they had been under her watch.
Nebraska started the game on a good note, going on an early 6-0 run. The Huskers were able to control the interior on defense and gave the Aggies problems. However, junior center Alexis Markowski picked up his second foul early in the first quarter, forcing Nebraska to bench one of its star players and best interior forces early on.
After Markowski’s departure, the Huskers had some struggles on offense. Nebraska didn’t advance from beyond the arc early and failed to hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter. The Huskers looked inside to score, but without Markowski they had some trouble. Point guard Jaz Shelley, the team’s second-leading scorer, also struggled to find a rhythm in the first quarter, scoring just two points and going 1 of 5 from the field.
On the other hand, Texas A&M felt comfortable from downtown going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers, but couldn’t get many quality interior looks, going 1-for-8 on two-point field goals in the period. Despite Nebraska’s offensive struggles and the Aggies stringing together a few buckets, the Huskers were still able to hold a 14-12 lead heading into the second period.
To open the second quarter, Nebraska found a spark. Freshman guard Logan Nissley opened the frame with a three-pointer to put the Huskers ahead from beyond the arc. Senior guard Darian White added another basket, and it wasn’t long until White found Nissley again for another 3-pointer.
The struggles for Texas A&M began to snowball when one of their team leaders, sophomore forward Janiah Barker, picked up her third foul, forcing one of their best offensive players to the bench. until the second half. Losing Barker was tough on the Aggies, as they did not score for the final four minutes.
Like Texas A&M, Nebraska also didn’t have much to do on the offensive end. Shelley’s offensive woes continued as he did not score in the second quarter. After their initial run in the period, the Huskers couldn’t find any rhythm, which also led to a scoring drought, however, they still led 27-20 going into the half.
Just like in the second quarter, Nissley opened the third with a pair of 3-pointers. Junior guard Kendall Moriarty also added a triple, making her the first Nebraska player outside of Nissley to hit a triple in the game and make it a 9-0 run for the Huskers.
The Aggies found some offense, but Nebraska was relentless in the third quarter. The Huskers had a balanced attack with six different players scoring in the period, which was vital for Nebraska to increase its lead to 17.
However, Texas A&M did not go down without a fight. The Aggies went on an 8-0 run late in the third quarter led by senior guard Aicha Coulibaly to close the gap; however, they were still down 48-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
Texas A&M continued to threaten in the fourth quarter, putting pressure on the Huskers on defense and letting Coulibaly dominate on offense. The Aggie run helped them chip away at the deficit and get it down to a single possession midway through the fourth quarter. They tied it with one minute left.
With less than a minute left, Markowski put Nebraska ahead 58-56 with a layup, however, Coulibaly continued his dominance and put Texas A&M ahead with an and-one. The Huskers responded when the Aggies committed an off-ball foul and gave Nissley two free throws which she made.
Texas A&M looked to take the lead, but the Huskers stopped a driving Barker and called a timeout. On the ensuing kickoff, the Aggies fouled Shelley, who made one of two free throws, giving Nebraska a two-point lead and Texas A&M the ball. The Aggies advanced the ball with a timeout and found an open look from beyond the arc, but were unable to convert, giving the Huskers a 61-59 victory.
This victory marks Williams’ first NCAA tournament victory at Nebraska. He returned many members of the 2021 tournament team this season and finally got the elusive tournament victory he had been searching for.
The Huskers are still dancing, as they will play No. 3 seed Oregon State, the regional host, on Sunday with a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2013.
[ad_2]
Source link