Huskers Run to Win at Illinois

Champaign, Ill. – Jaz Shelley led four Huskers in double figures with 21 points and five three-pointers as Nebraska rolled to an 82-63 victory at Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the State Farm Center.

Nebraska improved to 18-6 overall and 7-6 in the Big Ten while notching its second conference road victory. Illinois slipped to 6-14 overall and 1-8 in the league.

In addition to Shelley’s 21 points, fellow Australian Isabelle Bourne contributed 17 points and seven rebounds, including 14 points in the first half to help the Huskers jump out to a 23-point first-half lead. 

Bella Cravens pitched in a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench to help the Huskers. Cravens, who hit 4-of-6 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throws, added three assists.

Sam Haiby also nearly notched a double-double of her own with 10 points, eight rebounds and a game-high five assists. Alexis Markowski produced a strong fourth quarter to help the Huskers hold off a late Illinois rally. The 6-3 freshman finished with nine points and seven rebounds, including seven points in the final period after Illinois cut the Nebraska lead to nine points midway through the fourth.

Nebraska finished 44.4 percent (28-63) from the field, including 27.3 percent (9-33) from three-point range. The Huskers also knocked down 17-of-20 free throws (.850). The Big Red won the battle of the boards, 43-31, and won the turnover department, 16-14.

Illinois hit 42.1 percent (24-57) from the floor, but just 2-of-13 threes (.154). The Fighting Illini sank 13-of-23 free throws (.565). Aaliyah Nye led the Illini with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Eva Rubin finished with 13 points. De’Myla Brown also pitched in 12 points.

Nebraska raced to a strong start behind the play of Bourne, who scored 10 of NU’s first 14 points to give the Big Red a 14-2 lead with 4:48 left in the first quarter and force an Illinois timeout. She added Nebraska’ next two points to finish the quarter with 12 as the Huskers took a 25-11 lead to the second quarter. 

The Huskers kept the pressure on early in the second quarter pushing the lead to 21 points at 34-13 after a Shelley basket with 6:10 left in the half. NU then took its biggest lead of the half at 41-18 after a Cravens bucket with 3:23 left. Cravens finished the half with nine big points in support of Bourne’s 14 points inside. Haiby and Shelley both added seven points in the opening 20 minutes.

Nebraska hit 54.5 percent (18-33) of its first-half shots, despite going just 4-for-15 from three-point range. The Huskers were also 5-for-5 at the free throw line. NU out-rebounded the Illini 23-10 in the half and won the first-half turnover battle, 8-7.

The Husker defense held Illinois to 35.7 percent (10-27), including 0-for-5 from three-point range. Illinois hit 6-of-10 free throws. Brown led Illinois with 10 points off the bench, including seven straight for Illinois after the Illini fell behind 14-2. Nye added six first-half points for Illinois.

In a foul-filled third quarter, Illinois pulled within 16 before Nebraska closed the period with an Ashley Scoggin three-pointer and a Cravens free throw to take a 64-44 lead to the final 10 minutes. The three-pointer by Scoggin was NU’s only field goal in the last 6:25 of the period, as the Huskers hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch in the quarter.

The stoppage in flow of play affected the Huskers at the start of the fourth, as Illinois opened with an 11-0 run that included six points from Rubin to cut NU’s lead to 64-55 with seven minutes left.

Shelley and Markowski responded with 11 straight points for NU, including a pair of threes from Shelley and five points from Markowski to put the Big Red back up 73-57.

Nebraska returns home to Lincoln to make another quick turnaround by playing host to No. 7 Indiana on Monday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Hoosiers at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 6 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com. Live television coverage will be provided by the Big Ten Network while free live audio will be available from the Huskers Radio Network on Huskers.com.