No. 24 Huskers top Jacks

Wednesday, December 21

Lincoln, Neb.

7:05 PM

South Dakota State University

Nebraska

12/21/2011 10:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Nebraska duo of Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore combined for 57 points and 24th-ranked Cornhuskers held off a late South Dakota State rally in an 80-71 victory Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Cornhuskers improved to 11-1 overall, while SDSU dropped to 7-6.

After Nebraska scored the first four points of the game, the Jackrabbits responded with a 12-2 run to lead in the first four minutes of the game. Ashley Eide and Jennie Sunnarborg sparked the early run, combining for 14 of SDSU's first 16 points.

Nebraska regained the lead at 16-15, but the Jackrabbits knotted the game at 27-all on a Sunnarborg putback with 6 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in the half. SDSU, which shot 54 percent (13-of-24) in each half, took a momentary 32-30 lead on a Sunnarborg steal and layup.

Lindsey Moore scored the final six points of the half for Nebraska, putting the Cornhuskers up 36-34 at intermission.

Most of the second half belonged to the Cornhuskers, who opened the stanza with an 11-4 run to take a 47-38 lead. Nebraska continued to inch ahead, taking its largest lead of the night at 59-43 with 9:54 remaining.

The Jackrabbits chipped away at the deficit with free throws and pair of baskets by Eide to get back to within nine at 66-57. SDSU had an opportunity to make it a two-possession game, but Steph Paluch's missed a free throw attempt on the back end of a would-be traditional three-point play that could have trimmed the deficit to six with under two minutes to play.

Nebraska made all six free throw attempts in the final 69 seconds to seal the victory. Hooper recorded game highs of 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Moore added 27 points and six assists.

SDSU finished the game 26-of-48 from the field, including 7-of-15 from three-point range.

Nebraska was able to overcome SDSU's best shooting performance of the season by dominating the turnover, rebounding and free throw categories. The Jackrabbits turned the ball over 20 times, compared to 12 by Nebraska. The Cornhuskers also held a 39-31 advantage, including a 16-5 margin on the offensive end.

Moore led the Cornhuskers at the free throw line, making 13-of-14 attempts. As a team, Nebraska made 30-of-37 attempts, 81.1 percent, while the Jackrabbits were 12-fo-21, 57.1 percent.

Eide paced SDSU offensively with 21 points, going 3-for-3 from three-point range and 9-of-14 overall from the field. Sunnarborg added 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Sunnarborg and Leah Dietel each grabbed seven rebounds for the Jackrabbits.

SDSU resumes Summit League play Dec. 29, hosting Oakland at Frost Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

NOTES: Nebraska leads the all-time series 2-1 ... SDSU dropped to 2-12 against ranked Division I opponents, losing for the sixth consecutive time against top-25 teams ... the Jackrabbits evened their record against Big Ten opponents to 6-6 since moving to the D-I ranks at the start of the 2004-05 season ... Eide scored in double figures for the third consecutive game and reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season ... with one three-pointer on the evening, Jill Young moved to within one of the SDSU career three-point mark of 250 currently held by Brenda Davis (2001-04) and Kristin Rotert (2008-11) ... Sunnarborg upped her career point total to 907 ... SDSU was out-rebounded for only the third time this season ... the Jackrabbits held a 15-6 advantage in bench points ... SDSU lost for the first time this season when scoring more than 60 points ... attendance was 3,245