Nebraska wasted no time putting Western Illinois away on Saturday, rolling to a 98-35 win at Pinnacle Bank Arena and opening the season 2-0. The 63-point margin landed as the seventh-largest victory in program history, and the Huskers never really gave the Leathernecks a chance to settle in.
The scoring started with a milestone. Alexis Prince needed just two points to reach 1,000 for her career, and she got there immediately by knocking down the opening jumper at 9:46 of the first quarter. She finished with 19 points, leading both teams in scoring.
Nebraska’s offense had plenty of help around her. Amiah Hargrove scored 17, freshman five-star Ashlyn Koupal added 16, and Allison Weidner and Emily Fisher each chipped in 10, with Fisher setting a career high.
Natalie Potts also made an impact in her first start in nearly two years, finishing with nine points. Every Husker who played scored, with Logan Nissley the only Nebraska player unavailable as she remains day-to-day and is expected back next week.
The 3-point shooting was a major step forward from the previous game. Amy Williams said before tipoff on Nebraska Sports Radio that she wasn’t worried about the team’s earlier struggles from deep, and the Huskers backed that up by shooting 42% from beyond the arc and hitting eight triples. Hargrove went 3-for-5 from long range, while Koupal finished 2-for-5.
Afterward, Weidner pointed to the way Nebraska moved the ball as a big reason the shots started falling. "We did a great job today of taking great team shots and I think we shared the ball really well today and I think that’s what led to us shooting at a better percentage."
Defense was the other side of the story, and Nebraska delivered exactly what Williams had asked for. She had said the Huskers needed to apply pressure, limit paint touches, and keep Western Illinois from getting comfortable, especially while managing standout fifth-year player Mia Nicastro without overcommitting to her.
That plan worked. Western Illinois finished with just 35 points, its lowest total in over 15 years. The Leathernecks managed only 20 points in the paint, never scored more than 10 in any quarter, and shot 31.8% from the field.
The turnover numbers were even more suffocating. Nebraska forced 33 giveaways, two more than in its previous game, and the pressure was there from the start. After Prince’s opening basket, Weidner picked off a pass and scored, and on the third possession of the game Nebraska forced another turnover.
There was no relaxation from the Huskers as the game went on. Unlike the San Jose State game, Western Illinois never mounted a run, and Nebraska’s intensity held steady from the starters through the bench. That kind of consistency is going to matter as the season moves along.
In Other News...
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Nebraska Keeps Outgaining Teams But Now Faces A Bigger Football Problem
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