Huskers Sink Ducks in Overtime
Huskers.com
Lincoln -
Alexis Markowski erupted for a career-high 35 points and added a season-high 15 rebounds for her 50th career double-double to power Nebraska to a 94-90 overtime win over Oregon on Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
With the victory, Nebraska improved to 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten, while dropping Oregon to the identical records on the season.
Markowski, a three-time All-Big Ten center and a finalist for the Lisa Leslie award, was spectacular from start-to-finish, hitting 13-of-24 shots against Oregon's 6-8 center Phillipina Kyei. Markowski tied her career high with six three-pointers on 6-of-9 shooting, while going 7-for-15 inside against Kyei and the Duck posts.
Markowski opened Nebraska's scoring with back-to-back threes after the Huskers fell behind 10-0. The Huskers recovered to take a 40-39 halftime lead thanks to 11 first-half points from Markowski.
In the second half, the Huskers fell behind by 14 with just under two minutes left in the third, before Markowski rallied the Big Red. NU entered the fourth quarter trailing 67-57, before a pair of free throws by
Alberte Rimdal, who finished with 15 points off the bench.
Markowski then buried back-to-back threes before getting a layup and a traditional three-point play to score 11 straight for the Big Red to tie the game at 70 with 5:57 left.
She added five more points including a game-tying three-pointer with 30 seconds left to send the game to overtime tied at 81. Markowski scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone on her way to 24 points after halftime.
In overtime, Rimdal shot the Huskers to a quick 84-81 lead with a three-pointer before Nani Falatea answered with her sixth three-pointer of the night to tie it at 84.
Markowski then sank her sixth triple of the game to put the Huskers back in front, before
Callin Hake drained a pair of huge three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for the Big Red to give NU a 93-88 lead with 36 seconds left. Hake finished with a career-high-tying 17 points while also tying her career high with seven assists on a night that Nebraska played without starting point guard
Britt Prince because of injury.
Markowski finished the night with a free throw with 16 seconds left to close the scoring.
In addition to the double-figure scoring games from Markowski, Hake and Rimdal,
Logan Nissley pumped in 16 points on a career-high five three-pointers, while tying a career high with seven rebounds. She also contributed five assists and two steals.
Jessica Petrie pitched in three points, six rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots - all after halftime to help the Huskers find enough defensive stops to outlast Oregon.
In an entertaining first half, Nissley and Markowski led Nebraska back from a 10-0 deficit to start the game on its way to a 40-39 halftime lead. Nissley scored 12 points on four first-half three-pointers, while adding two assists and two steals.
Markowski added 11 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes, including a pair of threes to open the scoring for the Huskers after they fell behind 10-0 in the first two minutes.
Hake added seven first-half points for a Nebraska team that outworked the Ducks on the boards, 25-14, in the half while also winning the turnover battle, 8-5. However, the Huskers hit just 16-of-42 shots from the field, including 7-of-17 three-pointers.
Oregon stayed within striking distance by hitting 56 percent of its shots (14-25), including 7-of-12 three-pointers. Elisa Mevius and Peyton Scott each scored nine points to lead the Ducks, while Deja Kelly contributed eight first-half points.
Kelly finished with 22 points and six assists to lead Oregon on the night, while Falatea added 20 points. Kyei finished with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Peyton Scott contributed 13 points off the bench with a trio of three-pointers. Elisa Mevius rounded out five Ducks in double figures with 11 points.
The two teams combined for 27 made threes, including 15-of-29 by the Huskers and 12-of-27 from the Ducks. Nebraska hit 34-of-75 shots (.453) overall from the field, while Oregon went 34-of-69 (.493). NU went 11-of-14 (.786) at the free throw line, while Oregon was 10-for-15 (.667). Nebraska dominated the glass, 49-32, but lost the turnover battle, 17-12.
The Huskers close their home regular-season schedule by playing host to Washington on Sunday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Huskies on Senior Day at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at Huskers.com, while a live video stream will be available to B1G+ subscribers. Free live audio from the Huskers Radio Network will be provided by Huskers.com.
