Nebraska Women's Basketball upsets No. 4 Michigan State 73-61, advances to Big Ten semifinals
Nebraska Women’s Basketball (21-10, 11-7) knocks off No. 4 Michigan State (22-7, 12-6) 73-61 to advance to the semifinal of the TIAA Big Ten Tournament.
The No. 5 seed Huskers will play No. 8 Maryland (19-12, 9-9), who upset No. 1 Ohio State 82-61, on March 9 at 1:00 p.m. The tournament is at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. and can be watched on the Big Ten Network.
The Huskers were outscored 14-6 in the paint in the first quarter. But Alexis Markowski, with assists from Jaz Shelley, gave NU a lead they didn’t relinquish. Nebraska outscored the Spartans 41-20 in the second and third quarters. They won the rebound battle 44-30.
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Markowski led NU with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Shelley had 17 points and five assists. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Natalie Potts had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Logan Nissley added 11 points with three three-pointers in the third quarter.
First-Team All-Big Ten selection Julia Ayrault was the only Spartan to score in double-digits. She had 25 points and a team-high five rebounds.
A first-half battle inside
Nebraska’s mid/long-range game started off strong. Markowski and Shelley both made difficult mid-range shots and then Shelley rattled home a three-pointer to take a 7-6 lead.
Michigan State went on a tear for a 6-0 scoring run, capped off by a three from Hagemann. After the middle-quarter media timeout, Shelley bounced in another three-pointer.
But the Huskers didn’t score for another 2:30 as MSU dominated the paint, making shots difficult for Markowski. Sophomore Callin Hake, who went 3-for-6 from three against Purdue, drilled a three to close the Spartans lead to 16-13.
While NU struggled to score low, Michigan State had no problems. They had six layups in the first quarter. Hallock had back-to-back layups and took advantage of a wide-open lane on the first. The Spartans outscored the Huskers 14-6 in the first quarter.
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Potts made two straight layups to break the seal for Nebraska. Markowski capitalized on a missed shot from White and put it back up for two.
The Huskers’ eight-point surge within the last two minutes of the first quarter cut MSU’s lead to 22-21.
Markowski stayed hot and started the second with another layup to go up 23-22. The Spartans took it back quickly with yet another layup.
After Potts went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, Shelley found Markowski underneath for back-to-back layups. After a timeout from Michigan State, the first-team All-Big Ten selection added a bucket in the paint. Of course, Shelley was on the assist.
The junior center had a 6-0 run herself. After an Ayrault layup, Markowski and the shots near the hoop kept coming. Potts get in on the fun as well.
Nebraska made seven buckets in the second quarter. Shelley assisted five. The senior was a huge reason why NU got up to a 36-28 lead with 1:45 left in the first half.
Nebraska had five turnovers, all on offensive fouls, in the last four minutes of the half. But MSU didn’t score for the final 2:39 minutes. The Huskers led 36-29 at halftime.
Second-half scoring explosion
Michigan State left Potts wide open at the top of the key and she swished the three to kick off the third quarter for NU.
Moira Joiner nailed back-to-back three points after not scoring in the first half. Shelley made her own three on the next trip down the court. Aryault joined the three-point party as well to make it 48-40.
NU had five different players score in the first five minutes of the third quarter to jump up to a 50-40 lead.
Shelley and then Markowski were called for their third fouls within the first five minutes of the second half.
After the media break, Nissley rattled in back-to-back three-pointers, with one of the fastbreak. She helped NU to an 8-0 scoring run and a 56-40 lead. The Spartans called a timeout after the second dagger.
Nebraska Women’s Basketball went on a 13-3 scoring run to pull away even more in the third quarter. NU led 62-42 after a huge third quarter. The Huskers outscored MSU 26-13.
NU’s foul trouble continued as Markowski was called for her fourth foul with over eight minutes left in the game. Meanwhile, the Spartans scored the first five points of the fourth quarter. They went on an 8-2 run to cut NU’s lead to 64-49.
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Shelley was the first to score in the fourth after sinking two free throws. The first field goal was a layup by Potts with six minutes remaining.
Michigan State went on a 7-0 scoring run after the media timeout. Markowski came back in and battled for two points in the post. She made another with three minutes remaining to go up 70-58.
Ayrault, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, had a great fourth quarter. She scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
Shelley ended the Spartans’ 9-2 run with a layup, assisted by Markowski. She was the last Husker to score in the final 2:24 of the game.
Nebraska Women’s Basketball hung on despite a 19-point fourth-quarter surge from Michigan State. They advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals against Maryland.
Markowski, Shelley take over despite foul trouble
Nebraska’s All-Big Ten selections did exactly what the Huskers needed. After limited points inside in the first quarter, Markowski sparked NU with six layups in the second quarter. Potts was the only other Husker to score in the second and she also had a layup. Shelley had an assist on five of the seven buckets in the quarter.
Shelley started off hot by making three of Nebraska’s first four buckets. Markowski had the first.
Both were faced with foul trouble throughout the game. Markowski ended with four fouls and Shelley had three. NU missed Markowski in the fourth. As soon as she reentered the game, she scored back-to-back buckets.
In the first quarter, Markowski missed three shots under the basket. She kept getting her rebound but couldn’t get the ball in. She said she decided then that was the last time she would miss.
“It’s pretty fun for us as a coaching staff over there,” Husker Head Coach Amy Williams said. “I did tell her while she was on the court that she got all her misses out on one possession. We knew that we would keep going right back to her. To be honest, I thought our guards did a better job of zipping passes into her in the second quarter instead of kind of floating them into her, allowing her to keep her positioning a little bit deeper and making things a little easier for her. But she just did a fantastic job of continuing to command the ball on the low block and being dominant.”
Nebraska will need all of their players to step up against Maryland, a historically great Big Ten team.
A clear path to the Big Ten Championship
No. 8 Maryland upset No. 1 Ohio State, the Big Ten regular season champions, 82-61 in the quarterfinals.
Shyanne Sellers had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Brinae Alexander and Jakia Brown-Turner added 19 points. Faith Masonius recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Huskers took down Maryland 87-81 on Dec. 31 in Lincoln. Lavender Briggs had 25 points against NU.
“Maryland is just as physical, they can shoot the ball really well,” Shelley said after the game. “They have a lot of key pieces that you have to keep in front of you. So it’s gonna be an exciting game. It’s been a really long time. So we’re gonna have to go and look at the scout. A big win for them today so they’re on a high right now. So we need to really lock in and know the scout.”
Williams said Maryland’s fantastic transition defense and versatile offense and players make them “incredibly dangerous.”
“Their experience and their belief that they should win in this tournament is what is really carried them,” Williams said. “I think that coupled with the fact that they really dominated the boards. So two strong rebounding teams right now, we’re going to be going at it tomorrow and we’ve got just a little bit of time to try to figure it out.”
