 Hooper |  Cady |  Sample |
Ann Arbor, Mich. — No. 21 Nebraska got huge efforts from all five starters, including 23 points for Jordan Hooper to run to a 76-68 win over Michigan at Crisler Arena on Thursday night.
With their fifth consecutive Big Ten win, the Huskers improved to 18-5 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten, while Michigan slipped to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
Hooper, a 6-2 senior from Alliance, Neb., took over the No. 2 spot on Nebraska's career scoring list with her three-pointer with 6:38 left to pass Maurtice Ivy (1985-88), who scored 2,131 career points. Hooper finished the night with 2,134 points. Hooper just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, while going 3-for-3 from three-point range. She added one assist, while going 8-for-10 from the field overall.
Junior forward Emily Cady added 15 points and seven rebounds to go along with two assists. Cady went 4-for-8 from the field. Rachel Theriot pitched in 13 points, six assists and two steals while going 5-for-9 from the field and 1-for-2 from long range.
Junior forward Hailie Sample added 12 points on a perfect shooting night, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the line. She added four rebounds, two assists and a block.
Junior guard Tear'a Laudermill pitched in 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 2-of-5 threes, as all five Husker starters shot 50 percent or better from the field.
As a team, Nebraska shot a season-best 59.1 percent (26-44) from the field, 6-of-11 from three-point range (.545). The Huskers were also an exceptional 85.7 percent (16-21) from the free throw line.
The Huskers outrebounded Michigan, 27-26, but lost the turnover battle 14-10. Michigan hit 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field, including 5-of-13 three-pointers (.385). The Wolverines also knocked down 15-of-18 free throws.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten home action on Sunday, when the Huskers play host to Indiana. Tip-off between the Huskers and Hoosiers is set for Noon and tickets are available now at Huskers.com. The game will be Nebraska's Play4Kay game as part of the WBCA's initiative to promote cancer awareness.
The match will air live on BTN.com
Cyesha Goree played a tremendous game inside for Michigan with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead three Wolverines in double figures. Nicole Elmblad added 14 points, while Shannon Smith pitched in 12 points and six boards. Siera Thompson and Val Driscoll each managed eight points for the Wolverines.
Nebraska took a 37-34 lead to halftime thanks to four straight points from Sample in the final 45 seconds to turn a 34-33 deficit into a three-point lead. Sample scored eight points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting at the line to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
Michigan led by as many as five points on two occasions early in the game, the last time coming at 16-11 with 11:16 left in the half. The Huskers responded to keep it a one possession game for the rest of the half.
Theriot led the Huskers with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-2 from long range. However she was held to just one assist. Nebraska had just four assists on 14 made baskets, after having 27 assists on 32 makes in the Jan. 29 win over the Wolverines in Lincoln. Hooper and Laudermill added seven first-half points apiece, while Cady managed four points.
Goree led all scorers, rebounders and passers in the first half with 12 points, six boards and four assists. Elmblad and Ristovski each added six first-half points for Michigan.
Nebraska shot 66.7 percent (14-21) in the first half, including 50 percent (3-6) from three-point range while hitting all six of its free throws. Michigan answered with 44.8 percent (13-29) shooting, including 4-of-9 (.444) three-pointers. The Wolverines hit all four of their free throws and outrebounded NU, 11-10. Michigan also won the first-half turnover battle, 6-5.
In the second half, Nebraska set the tone hitting the Wolverines with a barrage of baskets, getting 12 points in the first 3:39 to push the lead to 49-40 on a Cady three-point play with 16:21 left. Hooper then scored eight straight points to push NU's lead to 12 points with a three-pointer at 14:13 left. The lead grew as large 14 on several occasions in the second half, before Michigan finally cut the margin back to single digits first the first time at 70-62 with 4:51 left. The lead slipped to six at 74-68 with just over 30 seconds left before Michigan native Allie Havers closed the scoring with 26 seconds to make the final margin.
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1st 2nd Total
Michigan 34 34 68
Nebraska (21) 37 39 76
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