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Nov. 15, 2011
 
Huskers pound MVS in 99-53 win
 
Lincoln. — Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore both produced double-doubles as the Nebraska women's basketball team ran to an impressive 99-53 victory over Mississippi Valley State at the Devaney Center on Tuesday night.

With the victory, Nebraska improved to 2-0 on the season while scoring 90 or more points for the second straight game to open the season. The Devilettes slipped to 0-2, including a 69-61 road loss at Marquette to open the season on Saturday night.

Hooper, a 6-2 sophomore forward from Alliance, Neb., led four Huskers in double figures with 25 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth career double-double. Hooper hit 8-of-15 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 three-pointers.

Hooper's five threes led a Nebraska attack that hit 14-of-26 three-pointers on the night.The 14 threes marked the second-highest total in school history, trailing only the 17 threes the Huskers hit in the 2010-11 season opener against Vermont last season.

"I told the team I didn't want us to shoot 30 three-pointers tonight like we did in the opener," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "We only shot 26, but when you make 14 of them, it's OK to keep shooting. We started off the game by going inside and we had some really nice interior passes."

Moore, a 5-9 junior point guard from Covington, Wash., added her third career double-double with 18 points and a career-high matching 11 assists. Moore, who earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 accolades last season, produced a perfect shooting night by going 7-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range. She also hit both of her free throws and did not commit a turnover.

"Lindsey had a really impressive stat line tonight," Yori said. "Not only did she not miss a shot, but she had 11 assists and no turnovers. As long as I've been coaching, I don't think I've ever had a player get 11 assists and no turnovers."

Redshirt freshman Rebecca Woodberry added a career-high 12 points, including 3-of-5 three-point shooting to go along with six rebounds, after opening the season with 11 points and seven rebounds.

True freshman Brandi Jeffery added her first career double-figure scoring performance with 12 points and three rebounds off the bench.

All 11 Huskers scored in the game, including seven points from redshirt freshman Katie Simon and six points apiece from Adrianna Maurer and Kaitlyn Burke. Maurer, who went 3-for-3 from the field, has not missed a shot this season, going 9-for-9 including a three-pointer.

Overall, Nebraska hit 35-of-67 shots from the field (.522), including 14-of-26 threes (.538). The Huskers also connected on 15-of-22 free throws (.682), while outrebounding MVSU, 49-33. NU dished out 24 assists, while committing just 12 turnovers on the night. In fact, through the first 33 minutes, the Huskers had turned the ball over just seven times.

Nebraska held the Devilettes to just 31.7 percent (20-63) shooting from the field, including a 4-for-12 effort from long range. MVSU also hit 9-of-16 free throws. An experienced Devilette squad the featured four returning starters, including three seniors, committed just 17 turnovers against Nebraska's pressure, but managed just 10 assists.

"It's exciting because I don't think there's any doubt that we've gotten better each game from our two exhibitions through our first two regular-season games, we have gotten better really across the board," Yori said. "Obviously, we have a ton of things to work on, but it's exciting to see our players making progress every day in practice."

The Huskers led from start to finish as Burke and Hooper hit early threes to give NU a 6-2 lead in the first three minutes. The lead grew to 15-5 after Woodberry's first three of the night with 14:30 left in the opening half, before MVSU answered to cut the margin to 20-17 with 11:55 to play in the first.

Nebraska responded with an 11-2 surge to take a 31-19 lead on an Emily Cady basket with 9:15 left. The Devilettes trimmed the margin to 11 at 40-29 with four minutes left in the half, before the Huskers erupted for four straight three-pointers, including a pair from Hooper, to close the half on a 12-3 surge and take a 52-32 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Huskers put the game out of reach early in the second half, outscoring the Devilettes 14-4 in the first five minutes, including three more three-pointers as a team and a three-point play from Hooper. Laudermill's lone three of the night pushed NU's lead to 30 at 66-36 with 14:50 left and gave the Huskers their 13th three of the night.

Moore's final basket of the night pushed the lead past 40 for the first time at 80-39 with 9:54 left, before Laudermill extended the margin to 50 with just under seven minutes left at 92-42.

Nebraska continues its four-game season-opening home stand on Friday night, when the Huskers take on No. 23 USC at the Devaney Center. Tip-off between the Huskers and the 1-0 Trojans is set for 7:05 p.m.

"USC has some of the most talented players in the country," Yori said. "I think they might have more high school All-Americans on their roster right now than Nebraska has had in the history of the program. I've seen a number of the players compete for USA Basketball, so I know first-hand how talented they are.

"We could really use a good crowd to come out and support us. We think it is going to be a pretty high level of basketball being played, and we think we play a really fun and exciting style to watch."

Tickets are available now at Huskers.com, or during regular business hours from the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Free live audio for Friday's game will be available from the Husker Sports Network on Huskers.com.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.