Huskers Fall Late to Fighting Illini

Lincoln – Sam Haiby scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome a 20-0 Illinois run in the second half of Nebraska’s 72-64 women’s basketball loss to the Fighting Illini on Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Haiby finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Alexis Markowski added her 12th double-double of the season, including her fourth straight, with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Huskers. Jaz Shelley contributed 12 points and eight boards, while Isabelle Bourne pitched in 11 points and five rebounds, but Nebraska slipped to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten.

Makira Cook led Illinois (19-6, 9-5 Big Ten) with a game-high 22 points and four assists, while Kendall Bostic produced a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Adalia McKenzie added 16 points and seven boards, while Jayla Oden stepped up off the bench with 12 points and six rebounds after starter Genesis Bryant suffered a left foot injury midway through the first half.

Nebraska worked its way to a 37-29 halftime behind big efforts inside from Markowski and Bourne. Markowski led the Big Red with 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half, while Bourne added 11 points, two boards and two steals. Bourne and Markowski combined for a trio of threes while also putting Illini starting posts Bostic and Brynn Shoup-Hill in foul trouble.

The Huskers hit 44.4 percent (12-27) of their first-half shots, including 4-of-11 three-pointers. The Big Red also outscored the Illini 9-2 at the free throw line, while winning the battle of the boards, 22-16. Markowski (5-7) and Bourne (4-6) were a combined 9-for-13 from the floor in the half. 

Illinois stayed within striking distance by winning the turnover war 6-3 and outscoring Nebraska 8-1 in points off turnovers. But the Huskers held Illinois to just 13-for-35 shooting (.371), including just 1-of-7 threes. Cook led Illinois with 12 first-half points, including 10 in the second quarter, while Bostic and McKenzie each pitched in six points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Huskers went back to work inside in the second half by getting their first two points from Markowski with eight minutes left, after Illinois opened the half with four straight points. But it was the lone field goal of the half for Nebraska’s inside duo of Markowski and Bourne, who combined to go 1-for-12 against the Illini defense after halftime.

After the teams exchanged free throws, Maddie Krull knocked down Nebraska’s only three-pointer of the second half to push Nebraska’s lead to 43-34. Minutes later, Shelley scored four straight points to give NU its largest lead of the second half at 47-36 with just over four minutes left.

Nebraska got just one field goal the rest of the quarter – a layup from Krull – before Illinois closed the quarter with an 8-0 run that included five straight from Bostic and a three-point play from Oden. The Huskers headed to the fourth quarter with a 51-49 lead.

Oden then scored seven of the Illini’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter to cap a 20-0 run and claim a 61-51 lead with 5:15 left.  Illinois claimed its biggest margin at 68-57 on a Jada Peebles three-point with just over three minutes left, before the Huskers quickly cut the lead to 68-64 on a Haiby layup with 1:34 left. Nebraska did nearly all of its scoring at the line in the fourth quarter, as Haiby (7), Shelley (2) and Krull (2) combined for 11-of-12 free throw shooting in the final five minutes. Haiby’s layup was NU’s lone field goal of the quarter.

Nebraska hit just 5-of-25 shots from the field in the second half, including 1-of-10 three-pointers to close the game at 32.7 percent (17-52) from the field overall and 5-of-21 (.238) from long range. The Huskers did knock down 25-of-34 free throws, including 16-of-21 in the second half. Nebraska outworked Illinois on the boards, 41-37, but lost the turnover battle, 14-9.

Illinois sizzled in the second half, hitting 16-of-31 shots to finish at 43.9 percent (29-66) for the game. The Illini connected on 3-of-10 second-half three-pointers to finish at 23.5 percent (4-17) for the game, and they went 10-for-11 at the free throw line in the contest. 

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action at No. 13 Michigan on Sunday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Wolverines is set for Noon (CT) with a live video stream for subscribers of B1G+. The game also can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network station, on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.