Huskers Pull Away from Lions, 69-48

Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics

Lincoln - Britt Prince scored 14 points to lead four Huskers in double figures as No. 25 Nebraska outscored Lindenwood 42-18 in the second half to pull away for a 69-48 women's basketball win at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday night.

Prince, a freshman from Omaha, scored 11 points in the second half to help the Huskers improve to 7-1 on the season, while Lindenwood slipped to 4-3.

Alexis Markowski, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter, added her third consecutive double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Huskers, while Callin Hake contributed 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. 

Freshman Petra Bozan rounded out the four Huskers in double figures with 10 points and three rebounds in strong effort that included eight points in the first half to keep the Huskers within striking distance. Logan Nissley added a solid effort of her own with nine points, while Allison Weidner and Jessica Petrie both pitched in four points in a low-scoring affair. 

Nebraska prevailed despite going 1-for-10 from three-point range in the first half, while Lindenwood connected on 6-of-13 first-half threes. The hot shooting by the Lions allowed them to take a 30-27 lead to halftime, after the Huskers led 15-14 at the end of the opening quarter.

Hake, Prince and Nissley set the tone for Nebraska at the start of the third quarter, combining for 12 points to shoot the Huskers to a 39-36 lead at the first media timeout in the second half. Prince added a three-pointer in the closing minute of the quarter to send the Big Red to the fourth with a 46-41 edge.

The fourth quarter was all Huskers, as another Prince triple pushed the margin to double digits for the first time at 58-48 with 4:40 left. Prince's three was part of a 16-0 Nebraska run to close the game that included a three-pointer by Kendall Coley, who made her first career start in 113 games as a Husker.

For the game, Nebraska finished at 45.3 percent (29-64) shooting, including 6-of-22 from three-point range after going 5-for-12 in the second half. The Big Red won the battle of the boards, 43-35, while also finishing with a plus-six turnover margin (19-13).

The Huskers held Lindenwood to 1-for-12 from long range in the second half with the long make coming on a bank shot from the deep right wing - the second deep bank shot of the night for the Lions. After going 11-for-26 overall from the field in the first half, Lindenwood was held to just 6-for-29 shooting in the second half by the Huskers to finish the night at 30.9 percent (17-55). 

Ellie Bruggemann led Lindenwood with nine points and six rebounds, while Bellevue East graduate Mya Skoff and Gracie Kelsey each added seven points off the bench. Justis Odom, Gracy Wernli and Alyssa Nielsen each pitched in five points for the Lions.

Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference action at home on Sunday by taking on unbeaten Minnesota. Tip-off between the No. 25 Huskers and 10-0 Golden Gophers is set for 1 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com. The game will be televised live by the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network, including Huskers.com.