Gophers Fall At Nebraska 74-50

LINCOLN, Neb. – (gophersports.com) Despite getting a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds from senior Shae Kelley, the University of Minnesota (22-7, 11-6) women’s basketball team fell at No. 23 Nebraska (20-8, 10-7), 74-50, Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The double-double for Kelley was her 12th of the season.

Kelley was joined in double figures by Amanda Zahui B., who tallied 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks for the Gophers. Shayne Mullaney and Mikayla Bailey each added six points, with Mullaney contributing four assists and four rebounds.

The Gophers had a cold shooting night both inside and outside, with the Huskers able to contain Zahui B. inside. The home team scored 36 points in the paint to just 14 for the Maroon and Gold, while Nebraska also shot .450 from three-point range compared to .192 for the visitors.

"The biggest thing for us was that we didn’t play with high enough energy and intensity," head coach Marlene Stollings said. "We were there on some of the shots, but not there with a purpose of disrupting and really bothering them. We gave them very good looks and they did a nice job of knocking down those shots."

Minnesota fell behind in the opening minutes of the contest, 10-2, with the Huskers’ Emily Cady scoring five early points for the home team. After falling down by 10 points, an 11-0 run, capped by a jumper by Kelley from Zahui in the paint, gave the Gophers their first lead of the game, 15-14, at 9:38.

Nebraska regained the lead on a jumper from Brandi Jeffery and would push its advantage to as many as 11 points, before Minnesota used an 8-1 run to cut the lead to four points, 32-28, just before halftime.

Kelley paced the Maroon and Gold with 11 first-half points, while Zahui added three blocks for the visitors.

The home team opened the second half on a 20-2 run to put Minnesota down by 22, 52-30, with 15:18 to play in the contest, before extending its lead on the Gophers to as many as 27 points around the four-minute mark. Minnesota could only close the gap to 24 points before time ran out.

The Gophers conclude regular-season play at No. 17/16 Iowa Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. You can hear that game on 1340 KROC AM beginning at 1:30 with the pre-game show.