Coming off an 80-46 trouncing at the hands of UCLA, Northwestern entered tonight's game at Nebraska looking for a better result. The Wildcats weren't able to get the job done on the road, but they did look more like a competitive team.
Ultimately, the 'Cats just couldn't hang with Nebraska's shooting ability -- early in the game especially -- and it cost them. The home team finished the night shooting the ball at a 53% clip to Northwestern's 45%.
Tayla Thomas led the way for the 'Cats, scoring 19 points and corralling eight rebounds. Grace Sullivan, as per usual, was also a contributor, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds.
Britt Prince was dominant for Nebraska, finishing the game with 28 points.
In the opening quarter, Northwestern's defense struggled a little, but it was more good Nebraska offense than bad Wildcat defense. The 'Huskers led 28-17 after the opening frame, finishing the period on a 6-0 scoring run. They also shot the ball at a rip-roaring 67% clip to Northwestern's 38%.
The good news for the 'Cats? Both Thomas and Sullivan were filling up the stat sheet in the post. Thomas got to the line three times in the first quarter, and the pair had 13 combined points.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Nebraska went on an 8-1 run, and then the 'Cats stormed back to cut the deficit to 14 with about five minutes remaining in the half.
Casey Harter and Xamiya Walton came alive in the second, each scoring five points and helping the 'Cats play an even quarter with the 'Huskers, finishing at 19 all. That meant the score was 47-36 entering the locker room.
Overall, the 'Cats played a solid half -- it was just Nebraska's elite shooting that kept it in front by a decent margin. The two teams were almost exactly even in both turnover margin and the rebounding battle heading into the third quarter.
In the second half, Nebraska's shooting numbers tailed off a little bit, but the damage had already been done. Northwestern continued to hang around through the third quarter, which it lost just 22-19, but it needed a better effort than that to make a true comeback.
In the third quarter, Logan Nissley got going for the 'Huskers. Her eight points helped extent their lead to 69-55 heading into the final frame. The 'Cats were on the brink of being out of the game at that point.
Unfortunately, things didn't turn around in the fourth quarter. Nebraska went on a 6-0 run to start, and, from there, the game was officially out of hand.
The 'Cats fought a lot harder in this one than they did against UCLA, but it was a tough road matchup, and it wasn't quite enough. They'll be back in action on Sunday, taking on Indiana on the road once again.