Nebraska WBB Falls to No. 8 Michigan 88-76

The Huskers played 36 minutes of really excellent basketball. They had a very good game plan and executed it well. Unfortunately, the plan came apart for the final four minutes and the Wolverines capitalized to get the win. Nebraska’s record is now 16-7 (5-7 in the Big Ten).

Nebraska was led in scoring by Prince (16), Hargrove (16), and Bozan (12). Hargrove led in rebounds with eight. Williams and Hake had four assists each. The Huskers held their own in rebounding in the first half, but the Wolverines were all over the glass after that and ended the game with a 40-25 advantage.

First Quarter Notes

The Huskers matched the intensity of the Wolverines. Callin Hake was called for two fouls in the first two minutes and was replaced by Kennadi Williams. Eliza Muaupin had five early points for the Huskers as they held an 11-10 lead at 6:02. Michigan is good at forcing turnovers and Nebraska is not breaking that tendency with three in the early going. Amiah Hargrove picked up her second foul and the radio team was very critical of the call. Jess Petrie came in the game for Nebraska – her first minutes after missing two games due to illness. The Wolverines led 14-11 at the media timeout.

Both teams found pay dirt right out of the break (16-13 Mich). Amy Williams rolled the dice and brought Callin Hake back in the game because she needed a strong ball handler against the press. Nebraska handled the press well in two possessions as Logan Nissley hit a three and Britt Prince scored a three-point play the hard way (23-19 Neb). Michigan’s Holloway picked up her second foul and left th game. Another basket for each team ended the quarter.

Nebraska 25 Michigan 24

I take back my comment about turnovers. The Huskers won the quarter 7-3.

Second Quarter Notes

Petra Bozan picked up her second foul and Maupin replaced her 90 seconds into the quarter. The 27-26 Husker advantage held for over a minute as the offenses cooled. After the frenzied scoring to this point, it was strange to see the game slow down so much.

Scoring soon resumed and the Huskers briefly fell behind (28-27) before taking a lead (30-28) and then the game tied at 30. Petrie scored the first five Husker points of the quarter. The Huskers committed their fourth team foul with Nearly six minutes to go and the Wolverines were in the bonus the rest of the half. The lead changed a couple more times with Michigan leading 34-32 at the timeout and two Wolverine free throws pending.

According to the radio team, the lead has changed 13 times already. The Wolverines made one of the free throws and then followed with a three-pointer to take their biggest lead (38-32 Mich) before a three point play by Emily Fisher (38-35 Mich). Michigan’s Dudley picked up her second foul on the play. A strange play where Prince took a lot of contact but ultimately went down with a jump ball was reviewed. Prince appeared to kick a player and was ultimately called for a flagrant one foul after review. Dudley (Michigan) picked up her third foul (40-35 Mich).

Nebraska tied up the game at 42 with a Fisher free throw, and three pointers by Williams and Fisher. The Huskers had the ball to end the quarter with a foul drawn by Bozan. She made both.

Nebraska 44 Michigan 42

Husker scoring was very balanced with Bozan, Nissley and Fisher with six points each. Maupin, Prince, Petrie and Hargrove have five points. The Huskers are currently outrebounding one of the best rebounding teams in the country 11-10. Nebraska’s efficiency from the three point line is the difference in this one as they are 7-15 (47%) compared to 4-11 for Michigan.

Michigan’s point guard, Holloway, sat most of the first half with foul trouble. The Wolverines will be different with her back on the floor.

Third Quarter Notes

Nebraska scored two quick baskets to take a six point lead (a 12 point run) before Michigan found the basket (48-44 Neb). One of Husker scores was an easy steal and layup by Prince. Hargrove made one of two free throws after a hard foul but the Wolverines ran off seven straight to take the lead 51-49 because of Husker turnovers. Holloway picked up her third foul while pressuring Hake down the court. Nebraska regained the lead 52-51 with a Hargrove three but gave it up on the next Wolverine possessions. The score at the timeout was 55-52 Michigan with two Husker free throws pending (Maupin). The Wolverines have pulled ahead of Nebraska in fouls 14-13.

Maupin made both free throws and then Nebraska took back the lead with a Petrie basket (56-55 Neb). The lead changed on each of the next two possessions and then Nebraska blinked first and allowed two Wolverine baskets before tying the game at 62 with a Prince three-pointer. The game tied at 64 and and then the Wolverines scored twice. The final basket should not have happened; Claire Johnson didn’t pay attention to the time left, drove too early, missed her layup and the Husker defense lost track of a Wolverine shooter in the corner.

Michigan 69 Nebraska 64

Fourth Quarter

Both teams scored in the first 20 seconds and the Wolverines extended their lead to 73-66 until Dudley comitted her fourth foul and Bozan made both charity shots. She has all four Husker points in the quarter. The Wolverines are on a mission and threatening to bury Nebraska in the first two minutes (77-68 Mich). After a Husker turnover, Amy Williams used a timeout to remind her team of the game plan. There have been 21 lead changes and nine ties so far.

The Husker defense regrouped after the ‘pep’ talk but the offense was flat, turned the ball over, and did not score for over a minute.

A Prince layup broke the drought and, fortunately, the Wolverines were unable to hit layups. The margin was cut to five over multiple possessions before a Husker timeout (79-74) at 3:39. The Husker game plan was excellent and they executed it well until the final five minutes.

The rebounding margin turned drastically toward Michigan (+10) after a near-tie at halftime. That was a major reason for the Wolverine lead.

Ugh. Michigan scored out of the break and Nebraska did not (81-74 Mich). And then they scored again (83-74) with 2:19 left. As has been the case in recent games, the Huskers could not buy a basket in the late minutes. They had to start fouling and that resulted in the first double digit lead for Michigan (85-74). The Wolverine lead continued to grow.

Final. Michigan 88 Nebraska 76

Next Game

Nebraska hosts the #22 Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, February 7 at 1 pm (central).