Huskers Slip Down Stretch at Iowa

Iowa City – Nebraska led Iowa through three quarters but the Huskers saw too much of Caitlin Clark in the fourth, as Iowa rallied for an 83-75 women’s basketball win over the Big Red at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night.

Nebraska closed the regular season 11-11 and 9-10 in the Big Ten, while Iowa improved to 15-8 and 11-8 in the conference. The Huskers will take the No. 8 seed in the upcoming 13-team Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, and will play No. 9 seed Minnesota on Wednesday at 10 a.m. (CT) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Huskers took a 60-58 lead into the fourth quarter and maintained a 63-62 over the Hawkeyes early in the fourth, before Clark scored 10 of Iowa’s next 12 points. Clark, who scored 19 of her game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, staked the Hawkeyes to a 74-66 lead with five minutes left in the game, and Nebraska was not able to get closer than five points the rest of the way.

Ashley Scoggin led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points and four assists. Scoggin hit 3-of-4 threes and added three rebounds. Sam Haiby added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Isabelle Bourne contributed 13 points and four rebounds. Kate Cain pitched in 12 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Ruby Porter just missed double figures with nine points and four assists for NU.

Nebraska nearly matched Iowa shot-for-shot, going 30-of-61 from the field (.492), while hitting 10-of-21 threes (.476). Iowa went 29-of-54 (.537), including 11-of-21 from long range (.524). But the Hawkeyes found victory by going 14-of-15 (.933) at the free throw line, while the Huskers hit 5-of-6 at the stripe (.833). NU out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 29-28, but Iowa won the turnover battle, 13-12.

Nebraska took a 37-34 lead to the locker room at halftime by closing the second quarter on a 6-0 run. The Huskers got off to a slow start, as Iowa opened with a 10-2 lead before Nebraska responded by end the first quarter with an 18-8 surge to take a 20-18 advantage to the second quarter. 

The Huskers continued to surge to start the second, scoring the first five points of the period to take their biggest lead of the half at 25-18. Iowa answered with a 16-6 spurt of its own to reclaim a 34-31 edge before NU’s run to close the half.

Haiby led the Huskers with 10 first-half points, including a pair of three-pointers. Cain added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with five rebounds, two steals and one block in the first 20 minutes. Scoggin and Porter each pitched in six first-half points to help the Huskers, who hit 15-of-29 shots (.520). NU also hit 5-of-11 threes and both of its three-point attempts.

Nebraska’s defense held Iowa to 34 points on 13-of-31 shooting (.470). The Hawkeyes hit 7-of-15 threes and 1-of-2 free throws. Clark led Iowa with 10 points, while Gabby Marshall added nine points on a trio of three-pointers. Nebraska out-rebounded Iowa 18-15 in the half, while the Hawkeyes held an edge in the first-half turnover battle, 7-6.