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December 12, 2015
Huskers Fall in OT
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Romeo
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Theriot
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Havers
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             1   2   OT   total 
California  44  30  13    87 
NEBRASKA    38  36  6     80
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Berkeley, Calif. — Natalie Romeo scored 24 points and hit six three-pointers, while Rachel Theriot added her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 assists, but Nebraska fell 87-80 in overtime at No. 22 California on Saturday.

The Huskers, who slipped to 7-2 overall with their only other setback coming on the road at No. 1 UConn, trailed by as many as 10 points late in the first half before rallying to take leads of 72-70 and 74-72 in the final two minutes and heading to overtime tied at 74.

The Big Red never led in the overtime, but trailed by just one point at 81-80 after a layup by Rachel Blackburn with one minute left. Cal closed out the win with six free throws to improve to 7-2 on the season.

The Huskers, who were whistled for 23 fouls compared to just 12 for the Golden Bears, were outscored at the free throw line 16-8 in the game at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

In addition to the big games from Romeo, a Bay Area native, and Theriot, the Huskers got a career-high 18 points from Allie Havers off the bench. Havers, who added four rebounds and a block, played a career-high 37 minutes in support of starting freshman post players Jessica Shepard and Blackburn. The freshmen both played just 23 minutes before fouling out. Shepard finished with a season-low six points, while Blackburn managed eight points. Shepard had been called for just 13 fouls in the first eight games combined entering the contest.

Cal freshman post Kristine Anigwe led all scorers with 29 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes, but did commit eight turnovers in the contest. Anigwe went 10-of-16 from the field and 9-of-10 at the line.

Theriot
Photo Courtesy Stephanie Carpenter/Nebraska Communications
Rachel Theriot had 17 points and 15 assists for Nebraska at No. 22 Cal Saturday

Mikayla Cowling added 19 points, including Cal's final field goal with a three-pointer with 1:38 left to give the Golden Bears an 81-78 lead that the Big Red could not overcome. National Player-of-the-Year candidate Courtney Range added 19 points of her own, including four three-pointers, while Asha Thomas contributed 17 points and five assists while hitting three threes for the Golden Bears.

For the game, Nebraska hit 48.5 percent (32-66) of its shots from the floor, including 8-of-20 threes. The Huskers also went 8-of-11 at the line. But the Big Red lost the rebounding battle, 38-32, and the turnover battle, 21-19.

Cal shot 44.3 percent (31-70) from the floor, including 9-of-20 threes, and went 16-for-20 at the free throw line.

In a back-and-forth first half, Cal took a 7-5 lead in the first three minutes before Romeo caught fire to score 11 points in a 15-0 Nebraska run over the next three minutes to build a 20-7 lead. Anya Kalenta capped the run with her basket with 3:59 left in the half, before the Golden Bears answered with an 11-0 run of their own to trim NU's margin to 20-18 with 1:27 left in the quarter.

Nebraska regained some momentum with a layup by Shepard with six seconds left, before Theriot opened the second quarter with a pair of free throws to push the Husker margin back to 24-18 just 34 seconds into the quarter.

But the Golden Bears erupted for another 11-0 run that included eight points from Anigwe including a pair of traditional three-point plays to give Cal a 31-24 edge with seven minutes left in the half.

After NU trimmed the margin back to three at 31-28, the Bears took their biggest lead at 44-34 after five straight points from Thomas.

The Huskers again carried a little momentum out of the quarter with four consecutive points to end the half and head to the locker room with a 44-38 deficit.

Nebraska will return to Lincoln and take finals this week before taking on Northern Arizona Saturday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off between the Huskers and Lumberjacks is set for 4 p.m. Doors will open at 3 p.m., following the University's December commencement activities on Saturday morning.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.