----------------------------- 
             1   2   total 
Penn State  34  44    78 
NEBRASKA    45  38    83
----------------------------- 

University Park, Pa. — Natalie Romeo knocked down a school-record eight three-pointers on her way to a career-high 32 points, shooting Nebraska to its first road win of the year with an 83-78 victory at Penn State on Wednesday night.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play with its second straight victory, while Penn State slipped to 6-10 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Romeo, a sophomore guard from Martinez, Calif., carried the Huskers with hot shooting in the first half on her way to a career performance. She hit 8-of-16 threes in the game, including 6-of-11 in the first half, while connecting on 12-of-21 shots from the floor overall. She also dished out three assists in the game.

Freshman Jessica Shepard added another huge performance as well, pouring in 29 points for the second straight game while adding 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year and third in Big Ten play. Shepard hit 10-of-12 shots from the field and 9-of-10 free throws, including four clutch shots in the fourth quarter. Shepard added a pair of assists and a block on the night.

After jumping to a 20-point lead early in the second quarter, the Huskers saw the lead whittled to two points midway in the fourth quarter. Leading 66-64 with just over five minutes left, Shepard stepped to the line and drained a pair of free throws to push NU's lead back to four.

Forty seconds later, Nebraska led 68-66 before Allie Havers knocked down a big short-corner jumper to push NU's edge back to four at 70-66. Havers finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four assists for the Big Red.

With 3:35 left, NU's lead was again at two, before Shepard scored to put the Huskers back up 72-68. Then Romeo made arguably the game's biggest defensive play, stealing an inbounds pass in the backcourt after the basket for the second time in the game.

Seconds later, Kyndal Clark was fouled going to the basket and made both free throws to put the Huskers up 74-68 with 3:30 left. They were Clark's first points of the night, but they would not be her last.

After a stop with Shepard's 10th defensive rebound of the game, the Huskers found Romeo for her school-record eighth three-pointer to put the Big Red up 77-68 with 2:47 left.

Clark then sealed the win by hitting six more free throws in the final 47 seconds. As a team, Nebraska went 12-for-12 from the line in the fourth quarter to finish a season-best 19-for-21 at the line for the game.

Freshman Teniya Page led five Lady Lions in double figures with 19 points, while Brianna Banks pitched in 15 points in the loss.

As a team, Nebraska hit 50.9 percent (28-55) of its shots for the game, including 8-of-23 threes (.348). The Huskers matched Penn State on the boards but lost the turnover battle, 17-10.

Penn State hit 40.5 percent (32-79) of its shots, including 5-of-15 threes, while sinking 9-of-11 free throws.

The Huskers used the hot shooting of Romeo and the inside presence of Shepard to fly to a 33-13 lead with 8:30 left in the second quarter, before heading to halftime with a 45-34 lead.

Romeo hit six first-half threes and poured in 24 first-half points to lead the Huskers. She hit 9-of-15 shots from the floor, including 6-of-11 threes in the half while adding two assists, one rebound and one steal.

Shepard scored her 13 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, while adding 3-of-4 free throws. She also grabbed eight defensive rebounds, two assists and a block in the half. The only other Huskers to score in the half were Havers and Rachel Blackburn, who both pitched in four points and two rebounds.

Esther Ramacieri, who made her second career start (also Penn State last season), posted career highs with three assists and four rebounds in the first half.

In the first half, Nebraska hit 53.1 percent (17-32) of its shots from the field, including 6-of-15 threes. The Huskers also hit 5-of-7 free throws, while outrebounding Penn State, 22-19. The Huskers lost the turnover battle though, 8-7.

Penn State hit 38.5 percent (15-39) of its shots, including 3-of-7 threes, but hit just 1-of-2 free throws.

Nebraska returns home Saturday to take on Rutgers. Tip-off between the Huskers and Scarlet Knights at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 5:30 p.m., with tickets available now at Huskers.com. Rutgers, which has earned trips to 15 of the past 20 NCAA tournaments under Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer, will be making its first-ever appearance in Lincoln.