Creighton won the first quarter by two points. Then Nebraska won the second quarter by three points. Neither team was shooting well and it looked like the fans at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha were heading for a tight finish. Then a third-quarter onslaught from Creighton blew the game open and Nebraska never recovered, falling 74-65 for the fifth loss in the first seven games to begin this season.
Creighton, now 2-4 on the season, won that third 21-12 and it looked as dominant a quarter as one could have. The Jays hit 50 percent from the field (8-of-16) and held Nebraska to 3-of-12. Creighton out-rebounded the Huskers 13-6 and committed just two turnovers to the Huskers’ five.
Still, Nebraska was within striking distance late. A bucket inside from senior forward Maddie Simon with 3:20 remaining cut what was at one time a 13-point CU lead down to just five.
Guard Sam Haiby was instrumental in keeping Nebraska in things late — with eight of her team-leading 17 points in the fourth quarter and 15 in the second half — but after Simon’s bucket, Creighton responded with five quick points in a span of 15 seconds and the Huskers never got closer.
Haiby, a 5-9 freshman from Moorhead, Minnesota, led the Huskers in scoring for the fourth time in seven games by shooting 4-of-11 from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore center Kate Cain added 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting as the only other Husker in double figures, while junior wing Nicea Eliely contributed nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for Nebraska.
Creighton senior Audrey Faber led the way on both ends for the Jays with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Tatum Rembao added 18 points of her own and a team-high six assists while guard Olivia Elger, who scored all 16 of her points in the second half, hit more 3s by herself (three) than the Huskers did as a team (two) on a quarter of the attempts. Nebraska went 2-for-22 beyond the arc, its worst shooting performance of the season.
For the game, Nebraska shot just 36 percent from the floor while allowing a 44 percent clip on the other end.
The Huskers were road warriors a season ago, going 9-2 in true road contests during the regular season. That just hasn’t been the case this season. The loss drops Nebraska to 0-4 in road games to begin things. Should be some relief then that four of the next five are at home, starting on Wednesday when Nebraska hosts Kansas at 7 p.m. CT.
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
