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 Cady |  Theriot |  Sample |
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1 2 total
Bakersfield (NR) 24 21 45
NEBRASKA (12) 22 32 54
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With the victory Nebraska improved to 9-1 on the season, while notching its 11th consecutive home win. Bakersfield, the preseason pick to win the Western Athletic Conference, slipped to 6-3. The win marked the 250th victory of Coach Connie Yori's Nebraska career. The Huskers also improved to 20-0 against California teams under Yori, including wins over UCLA and Pepperdine this season.
Nebraska trailed 24-22 at halftime, despite scoring the final nine points of the half. The Huskers carried the run to the start of the second half, scoring the first nine points of the second stanza in the first 1:46 to cap an 18-0 surge over a five-minute stretch.
The Huskers jumped to a 31-24 lead, before Bakersfield rallied to tie it at 34 and 36. NU led 42-40 with 7:12 left before back-to-back three-pointers by Tear'a Laudermill and Brandi Jeffery created a 48-40 lead with 6:03 to play. Jeffery finished with eight points and nine rebounds in a solid effort for the Huskers, while Laudermill added six points on a pair of second-half threes, and pitched in six rebounds and three assists.
Bakersfield could get no closer than five points the rest of the way, as Rachel Theriot sealed a nine-point win with a pair of free throws with 1:03 left. Theriot scored all 11 of her points in the second half, while adding six rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Hailie Sample played another huge role for the Big Red, just missing a double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sample hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor for the game as the only Husker to hit more than 50 percent of her field goal attempts.
"Hailie Sample and Emily Cady are two of the toughest players I have ever coached," Yori said. "They just kept making play after play for us, even when shots weren't falling. They are not only physically tough, but their mental toughness sets them apart. They are the reasons we found a way to win today."
In a low-scoring first half, the cold-shooting Huskers scored nine straight points to end the half but still trailed 24-22 at the break. Sample and Cady combined for 17 first-half points on 7-of-15 shooting, but the rest of the Huskers managed just five points on 2-of-21 shooting.
NU hit just 25 percent (9-36) from the floor as a team in the first half, including just 16.7 percent (2-12) from three-point range. The Huskers were also 2-of-4 at the free throw line. NU outrebounded the 'Runners 27-21, including 8-1 on the offensive glass, but outscored CSUB just 4-0 on second-chance points.
Sample led NU with nine points and four rebounds in the first half, while Cady added eight points and eight boards in the opening period. Jeffery added a three-pointer, while freshman guard Emily Wood scored the first two points of her career with 4:56 left in the half to end a nearly eight-minute field goal drought for the Big Red.
Bakersfield also struggled from the floor, hitting just 11-of-31 shots (.355), including 2-of-10 threes, and did not attempt a free throw. The Roadrunners won the turnover battle, 9-8, in the first half. Alyssa Shannon led CSUB with seven first-half points, while Shaquita Smith produced six early points before being strapped with two early fouls.
Shannon finished with a game-high 14 points to go along with seven assists. The 5-2 point guard went 6-for-10 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. Smith added 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting, while Erika Williams added eight points off the bench, including Bakersfield's other two threes on the afternoon.
Nebraska held Bakersfield, which was playing without preseason WAC Player of the Year Tyonna Outland, to just 31.3 percent (20-64) from the floor, including 26.3 percent (5-19) from three-point range. The Roadrunners did not attempt a free throw, as Nebraska set a school record by committing just four personal fouls in the game. It marked the ninth time in the last 77 games that the Huskers have committed eight or fewer fouls in a contest.
Nebraska hit just 34.4 percent (21-61) of its shots from the floor, but did connect on 48 percent (12-25) in the second half, including 4-of-10 threes. For the game, NU went 6-of-22 from beyond the arc. The Huskers also went 6-of-11 at the free throw line.
Led by 15 rebounds from Cady, all five of NU's starters pulled down at least six rebounds in the contest, as the Huskers produced a 52-35 edge on the glass. Bakersfield won the turnover battle, 16-11.
The Huskers will take the week off from competition for Finals Week at the University of Nebraska before closing home non-conference play against High Point next Saturday. Tip-off between the Huskers and the defending Big South Conference champion Panthers is set for 3 p.m., and tickets are available now at Huskers.com.