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Past Penn State
 Romeo |  Havers |  Jeffery |
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1 2 total
Penn State (NR) 22 23 45
NEBRASKA (17) 38 35 73
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Romeo, who owned previous career bests of eight points and two three-pointers, added three rebounds and three assists in a career-high 26 minutes. The 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., helped Nebraska improve to 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten while helping the Huskers to their third straight conference win.
Penn State slipped to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in the Big Ten.
Romeo, who hit 3-of-4 threes in the first half, connected on 3-of-4 threes to open the second half, including three straight in a span of just 2:50. Her outside shooting allowed Nebraska to finish with a season-high 11 threes on 29 attempts against the Lady Lions.
In addition to Romeo's game-high 18 points, the Huskers got 12 points, five rebounds and a season-high five steals from fellow California guard Tear'a Laudermill.
Sophomore Allie Havers, a 6-5 center, added a season-high 11 points to go along with five rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal off the bench.
Senior guard Brandi Jeffery added her sixth double-figure scoring effort of the year with 10 points - all in the first half - including a pair of three-pointers.
After starting the conference season Dec. 29 at Minnesota with just six healthy scholarship players available, the Huskers had all of their players in uniform and available for the first time all season on Thursday night. All 11 of NU's scholarship players saw action in the game.
Anya Kalenta returned from injury to score five points on 2-of-3 shooting, while Jasmine Cincore added two points and a steal. Chandler Smith also competed for just the second time this season, playing a career-high nine minutes.
Senior forward Emily Cady played a solid all-around game with six points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks, while junior point guard Rachel Theriot contributed nine points and two assists. Theriot played a Big Ten-low 32 minutes, marking the first minutes she has not been on the court in conference action.
Senior forward Hailie Sample did not score and only had one rebound, but dished out five assists and grabbed one steal in just 16 minutes off the bench. It marked the first time in Sample's career that she did not start a game, snapping a streak of 115 straight starts.
She and Theriot were not scheduled to start in the game because of a violation of team policies, however an administrative mistake before the game forced Theriot into the starting lineup instead of Jeffery.
For the game, Nebraska hit 45.2 percent (28-62) of its shots from the floor, including 37.9 percent (11-29) of its three-pointers. The Huskers hit a season-low 40 percent (6-15) of their free throws and were outrebounded, 43-33, by the Lady Lions. However, NU was plus-14 in the turnover department (24-10) and turned Penn State's turnovers into 28 points - the victory margin in the game.
Nebraska held Penn State to just 34 percent (18-53) shooting, inlcuding just 2-of-9 from three-point range. The Lady Lions went 7-of-13 at the line.
Candice Agee was the only Lady Lion to produce double figures, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Spann started but only played 19 minutes while battling illness. She did not score in the game.
Jeffery and Romeo led the Huskers in the first half by combining for 19 points and five three-pointers. Jeffery scored eight of her 10 first-half points in the final 7:30, including back-to-back threes to open the stretch. She also capped NU's first-half scoring with a 17-foot jumper from the key as time expired to send the Huskers to the locker room with a 38-22 lead.
Romeo added a then-career-high nine points in the first half alone, including a then-career-high three three-pointers.
Havers added seven points off the bench in the first half, while Laudermill pitched in five points while playing outstanding first half defense.
As a team, Nebraska hit 15-of-31 shots in the half, including 6-of-14 three-pointers. The Huskers won the first-half turnover battle, 16-7, scoring 22 of their 38 points off PSU's miscues. NU was outrebounded, 21-13.
The Big Red held Penn State to just 8-of-24 shooting, including 1-of-4 threes. Agee led PSU with eight points.
Nebraska closes its two-game home stand on Monday night when the Big Red take on Purdue. Tip-off between the Huskers and the Boilermakers is set for 6 p.m., with tickets available now on Huskers.com. The game also will be televised live nationally by the Big Ten Network.