Talk about a big road win for the Nebraska women’s basketball team.
Coach Amy Williams and her team used a big fourth-quarter run to take down No. 23 Michigan State, 68-64, on the road Sunday afternoon. The win is Nebraska’s second against a top-25 team so far this season. The Huskers previously defeated No. 15 Northwestern on New Year’s Eve.
Isabelle Bourne led the Huskers with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sam Haiby added 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, marking her first career double-double.
The Huskers had a strong first half in East Lansing, heading to halftime up 39-30. That was due to a strong defensive effort and the team going 4-of-5 from the three point line. Nebraska also managed to hold Michigan State guard Nia Clouden—who was averaging 25 points per game heading into the matchup—to only three points in the first half. She finished with 14 points but fouled out in the final minute.
Michigan State bounced back early in the second half, building a 56-51 lead with eight minutes left in the game. Ruby Porter gave the Huskers life, knocking down her career-high third 3-pointer for the day and cutting the Spartans’ lead to two. Porter finished the day with nine points, another career high for the freshman.
After four minutes without a score from Michigan State, the Huskers went on a 9-0 run and led 63-58 with 3:30 remaining in the game. Nebraska ultimately went on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter and the Huskers proved to be too much for Michigan State to overcome.
It was also a strong defensive game from the Huskers, with Nebraska holding a high-powered Spartan offense to just 38.5% (26-65) shooting, including just 5-of-25 from 3.
Nebraska finished at 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field. That included 6-of-14 on 3s.
The Huskers are now 6-4 overall, and 4-3 in the Big Ten. They’ll return home on Saturday to face Ohio State at 4 p.m. CT.
Isabelle Bourne scored 18 points to help lead @HuskersWBB to a 68-64 win over Michigan State.
Highlights from the win: pic.twitter.com/up5dUl4285
— Nebraska On BTN (@NebraskaOnBTN) January 10, 2021
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
