At halftime Sunday, coach Lindsay Whalen said she felt pretty good.
Her Gophers women's basketball team, down 10 late in the second quarter, had pulled within seven points of Nebraska.
"And then," Whalen said, ''a buzz saw hit us."
The difference in the Gophers' 93-70 loss? A 15-3 Nebraska start to the second half, which turned a manageable game into a 19-point lead for the host Cornhuskers. A 30-13 third quarter in which Nebraska — playing amid some controversy in the program — sank 11 of 17 shots and turned five Gophers turnovers into 10 points, turning the game into a one-sided loss, the second in a row for Minnesota.
The Gophers (12-16, 5-11 Big Ten) scored 70 points, shot better than 44% and got to the free-throw line 22 times. And lost by 23 points.
Because Nebraska made 19 of 30 shots while scoring 52 second-half points. The Huskers shot 54.1% for the game, made 10 of 21 three-pointers and scored 44 points in the paint. Four players scored in double figures, led by Allison Weidner's career-high 23. The others: Isabelle Bourne (17), freshman center Alexis Markowski (15) and Sam Haiby (14).
For the Gophers, Sara Scalia again played with energy and grit. She scored 22 points, getting to double figures for the 18th consecutive time. She made two of five three-pointers — the only two threes the Gophers hit Sunday — but she was the only Gophers player in double figures until the fourth quarter. Kadi Sissoko scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Alexia Smith finished with 10 points.
Big Ten women's basketball standings
Nebraska (20-7, 9-7) was playing amid some controversy with the news that associate head coach Chuck Love had been suspended and starter Ashley Scoggin had been removed from the team.
Despite this, the Huskers were effective.
That 15-3 run to start the second half ended with back-to-back three-point plays by Markowski, a freshman center, the second of which came just 4 minutes, 2 seconds into the second half. The Gophers never got closer than 15 again.
"I felt like they got downhill in the paint, got points there when they wanted,'' Whalen said. "And Markowski had some big plays to start the second half. We worked on it, talked about it a lot going into this game.''
BOXSCORE: Nebraska 93, Gophers 70
Scalia, who has averaged 20 points a game over the past 18 games, carried the load for a while. She scored eight of Minnesota's 16 first-quarter points, eight of their 18 in the second. She had 20 points after three quarters and 22 by the time she fouled out with under three minutes left. But starter Gadiva Hubbard was held scoreless and Deja Winters didn't score until 1:09 remained in the game.
The Gophers have two more games left in the regular season. They host last-place Illinois on Thursday, then play Sunday at Penn State. The Big Ten tournament starts March 2.
"We have to keep working, keep playing, have to keep going," Whalen said. "We need to stay together. We have to respond this week."
The Star Tribune did not travel for this event. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the event.
