in Ann Arbor
 Shepard |  Havers |  Clark |
-----------------------------
1 2 total
Michigan 43 40 93
NEBRASKA 53 28 81
----------------------------- | ||
Shepard, who tied her career high with 35 points and ripped down a career-high 20 rebounds, scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds in the second half alone to carry the Big Red to their fifth straight win. Nebraska improved to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten. Michigan slipped to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
Shepard added two assists and two blocks, while going 13-for-22 from the field for the game, helping the Huskers to their third road win during Nebraska's five-game streak.
Shepard's front-court teammate Allie Havers also had a big game for the Big Red. The Mattawan, Mich., native scored 15 points, had eight rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists, while adding two blocks of her own.
While the Huskers dominated inside in the second half, it was the guards that shot Nebraska to a 53-43 halftime lead. Senior guard Kyndal Clark scored her Big Ten-best 15 points with five first-half three-pointers. Natalie Romeo added 12 points while staying on the court with Clark for the full 40 minutes.
Jasmine Cincore pitched in eight points and three assists while making her first career start in place of injured senior point guard Rachel Theriot. The Huskers also played without Esther Ramacieri, who started two Big Ten games earlier this month. Ramacieri did not make the trip to illness because of illness.
Nebraska hit 50 percent (34-68) of its shots from the floor, including 7-of-21 threes, despite going just 1-for-9 from long range in the second half. The Huskers added an 18-for-25 effort at the line. Nebraska outrebounded Michigan, 42-37, and matched Michigan with 13 turnovers.
Michigan, which was led by 24 points and six rebounds from freshman post Hallie Thome, also got 14 points from Katelynn Flaherty, who went just 5-of-17 from the floor. Siera Thompson managed 12 points, but the Huskers got outstanding defense from Romeo and Clark.
The Wolverines finished 41.7 percent (30-72) from the floor and 7-of-15 from three-point range, while hitting 14-of-16 free throws.
Clark and Romeo shot Nebraska to a 16-point lead in the game's first six minutes, as they combined to go 5-for-5 from three-point range, including four straight from Clark. Entering the game, Clark had hit just 2-of-17 three-point attempts in conference play.
Michigan, which scored just six points in the first 6:28, scored eight points in the next 29 seconds to trim the Husker lead to 22-14 with three minutes left. Nebraska responded down the stretch to take a 28-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Huskers pushed the lead back to 13 points at 35-22 after a three-point play from Havers with 7:44 left in the half, but the Wolverines responded. Eventually, back-to-back three-pointers from Thompson and Flaherty trimmed the NU margin to just 46-43.
But the Big Red closed the half with a 7-0 surge, including Clark's fifth three-pointer of the game with 30 seconds left to send Nebraska to the halftime locker room with a 53-43 lead.
Clark led all scorers with 15 points in the first half on 5-of-7 three-point shooting. She added a pair of assists and a steal. Shepard contributed 12 points, five rebounds and an assist, while Havers scored seven second-quarter points to finish the half with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Romeo pitched in seven points, while Cincore contributed four points and three assists in the first half. Rachel Blackburn added four points of her own, while fellow freshman Maddie Simon contributed two points and a rebound.
As a team, Nebraska hit 60 percent (21-35) of its shots from the field, including 6-of-12 threes. The Huskers also hit 5-of-7 free throws, while outrebounding Michigan, 19-15. The two teams both committed nine first-half turnovers.
Flaherty led Michigan with 12 in the half, while Thome added 10 points and Thompson eight. The Wolverines hit 17-of-36 first-half shots (.472), including 5-of-9 threes and all four of their free throw attempts.
The Huskers return home Wednesday to take on Wisconsin. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Badgers at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available now at Huskers.com.