Columbus, Ohio – Nebraska opened the game 0-for-16 from three-point range on the road and was unable to recover in a 65-52 womens basketball loss at Ohio State on Wednesday night at Value City Arena.
With the loss, Nebraska slipped to 16-11 overall and 6-10 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State notched its sixth straight win to improve to 17-9 overall and 10-5 in the conference.
Kate Cain led the Huskers with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while Sam Haiby added 12 points. Leigha Brown contributed nine points, including NUs first three of the game to open the fourth quarter. Trailing 53-33 at the end of three quarters, Brown helped spark a 12-3 Nebraska surge that included a three-pointer from Haiby that cut OSUs lead to 56-45 with six minutes left. The Huskers had multiple possessions to trim the Buckeye lead to single digits by holding Ohio State scoreless for more than five minutes in the fourth period.
But led by 16 points and 16 rebounds from Dorka Juhasz for the game, the Buckeyes maintained a double-digit lead for the second half. Braxtin Miller added 13 points for the Buckeyes, while Aaliyah Patty pitched in 11 points and seven boards.
Nebraska hit just 34.4 percent (21-61) from the field, including 2-for-20 from three-point range, while hitting 8-of-9 free throws. Ohio State connected on 40.9 percent (27-66) of its shots, including 8-of-21 threes. OSU out-rebounded NU 44-38 and won the turnover battle 16-14.
In a possession game early, the two defenses dominated to send the teams to the second quarter tied at 12. The Huskers got back-to-back buckets from Haiby and Cain to take a 16-14 lead with 8:14 left, before Juhasz took over on offense and the Ohio State defense silenced Nebraska for five minutes. The Buckeyes took full advantage with a 14-0 run fueled by by nine points from Juhasz during the surge.
Trailing 28-16, Nebraska stopped the run with a jumper from the elbow by Hannah Whitish as the shot clock expired. The Huskers then cut the margin to 28-20 after a jumper by Haiby, but the Buckeyes scored the final five points of the half to take their biggest lead at 33-20.
Juhasz led the Buckeyes with 12 points, all in the second quarter, 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal in the half. Rebeka Mikulasikova and Kierstan Bell each had five points off the bench in the half to help OSU, which hit 38.9 percent (14-36) of its first-half shots including 60 percent (9-15) in the second quarter. Ohio State out-rebounded Nebraska 26-23 in the half and won the turnover battle, 7-5, in the first 20 minutes.
Nebraska shot hit just 28.6 percent (10-35) of its first-half shots, including 0-of-13 three-pointers. The Huskers also did not shoot a free throw. Cain led Nebraska with four points, six rebounds and a block in the half, while Brown and Haiby each contributed four points.
The Huskers return to Pinnacle Bank Arena to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off against Illinois is set for 2 p.m.
