In a sweep of vengeance, the Nebraska women’s basketball team said its Big-12-Conference-goodbye to Missouri on Tuesday night in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Avenging a previous loss in Columbia, the Cornhuskers dealt the Tigers their worst loss of the conference season, 76-34. The loss was the second straight for the Tigers and brings their record to 12-15 overall and 4-9 in the Big 12.
Nebraska controlled all aspects of the game from the moment it started. The Cornhuskers notched the game’s first seven points and dominated the rest of the first half to take a 39-15 lead into halftime.
That margin widened continuously throughout the rest of the game. Behind a mix of strong shooting and defense, Nebraska made use of all its resources en route to a 42-point victory.
Nebraska put itself in a position to win in style by shutting down the heart of the Tigers. Senior guard RaeShara Brown entered the game averaging more than 17 points a contest but was held to one of her lowest point totals of the season. Brown led the Tigers in scoring again, but this time with just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Sophomore guard Trenee Thornton also scored nine points and junior forward Christine Flores chipped in with eight.
The low scoring outputs were a reflection of one of the worst shooting performances Missouri has had all season. The Tigers connected on just 10-of-55 shots — just an 18 percent clip.
The opposite was the case for Nebraska, who matched Missouri’s shooting woes with a fine shooting display of its own. Whereas the Tigers scored just 10 baskets for the game, the Cornhuskers scored 10 three-pointers and shot just short of 50 percent from the field for the game.
The 42-point margin of defeat was a rarity for a rebuilding Tigers squad as it was the first time in 10 games the Tigers had lost by 20 points or more. It was also the first loss by 20 points or more to a team that is in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings.
Despite back-to-back losses, Missouri coach Robin Pingeton has to continue to like the fight her young Tigers have given in what was widely expected to be a challenging year of rebuilding. The Tigers have already doubled last year’s conference total with four conference victories and have matched last year’s win total of 12, despite playing one of the more difficult schedules in the country.
Although the regular season has hit the home stretch, the challenging road is far from over for the Tigers. The Tigers look to avenge an earlier loss to Colorado tomorrow but will finish the season at No. 3 Baylor on Mar. 2 and home against No. 24 Iowa State on Mar. 5 before the Big 12 Tournament kicks off.