Ignatius L Hoops
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Slumping Away From Bloomington
Nebraska (5-4) opened the B1G season with an apparent statement win over Iowa. It remains the Hawkeyes only blemish in conference play. Then things went a little sideways for the Huskers with an overtime loss at Michigan State. In the season’s third game, Nebraska looked back on track defeating Minnesota (2-7) in Lincoln 72-68.
Before the first match-up every Gopher fan anticipated the same problem: Kate Cain. And, indeed, Cain finished with a game high 19 points and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes. Her opposite, Taiye Bello, finished with 16 points and five rebounds before fouling out in 30 minutes of play. Close; but not close enough. Advantage Huskers.
With the Huskers visiting Williams Arena on Thursday night there’s some good news. Kate Cain is in a slump. Her last five games:
Team | Pts | Reb | A | Min | |||||
Rutgers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 25 | |||||
Maryland | 0 | 8 | 3 | 33 | |||||
Michigan | 8 | 6 | 0 | 30 | |||||
Purdue | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 | |||||
Wisconsin | 11 | 9 | 1 | 33 |
However, hard driving, contact seeking, 6’1” Sophomore forward Leigha Brown has picked up some of the slack. Coming off the bench, her aggressiveness gets her to the line in conference play far more than any other Husker. Brown is 38-50 (.760) from the stripe. Stats from her last five games:
Team | Pts | Reb | A | Min | |||||
Rutgers | 9 | 2 | 2 | 22 | |||||
Maryland | 19 | 2 | 0 | 24 | |||||
Michigan | 10 | 3 | 2 | 26 | |||||
Purdue | 10 | 2 | 3 | 29 | |||||
Wisconsin | 20 | 4 | 1 | 26 |
Naturally, we must not forget stat sheet filler Sam Haiby and the occasional instant offense provider Hannah Whitish. They were 8 of 13 from three in the victory over Minnesota and both hit late threes helping to douse a Gopher rally. (Nebraska was 10-19 from behind the arc while the Gophers were only 5-18). Minnesota had a terrible shooting day hitting only 23-73 (.315) from the field. Pitts, 12 points, and Hubbard 10 were the only Gophers joining Taiye Bello in double figures.
Road Woes
However, Nebraska have proven to be poor road warriors. The Huskers lost their first three road games to Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland before pulling out a 72-71 win at Wisconsin last Sunday. The struggling Huskers trailed the Badgers 59-49 with 9:00 minutes left before roaring back to take a 67-65 advantage with 2:38 remaining. Wisconsin’s Imani Lewis nailed a three with 1:29 left giving the Badgers a one point lead. But Ashtyn Veerbeek responded with a three :26 seconds later and Haiby closed out a Husker victory with a couple of free throws. Brown led Nebraska with 20 points while Cain, Haiby and Veerbeek each scored 11.
Harder than it Appears
Before the trip to Wisconsin, Nebraska surprisingly lost to Purdue in Lincoln. Sharon Versyp obviously decided to address Nebraska’s height by starting the 6’4” Fatou Diague in place of the 6’1” Ae’Rianna Harris. After a foul and a turnover, Diague was quickly replace by 6’4” Rickie Woltman. After a foul by Woltman, Harris was quickly subbed in at around the 6:00 minute mark of the first quarter. Then Ae’Rianna Harris took over the game. Harris led all scorers with 25 points going 10-12 from the field and grabbing 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Coaching is a wonderful thing and Purdue won 76-68. Diague played 12 minutes and Woltman 3. Who says you need to go big against Nebraska?
Of course, that’s not the whole story. With 5:18 remaining in the second quarter a Harris layup gave Purdue a 39-18 lead. It looked like a rout. But Nebraska, aided by a couple of three pointers, cut the margin to 39-29 at the half. The Huskers rally continued in the third quarter closing within four 54-50 entering the fourth. At the 4:30 mark of the fourth Nebraska took a 63-59 lead on a Nicea Eliely three pointer. Staying focused, Purdue led by Harris, Oden (14 points) and McLaughlin (19) took back control. Nebraska was led by Eliely 15 points, Veerbeek 13, Haiby 10 and Brown 10.
The First Half of the B1G Season Ended in Bloomington; the Second Half Begins in Minneapolis
In the Indiana post-game interview, Whalen was non-committal regarding her starting lineup for Nebraska. No matter who starts, I’m assuming Taiye Bello will see the ball early and often in the first quarter. It’s become our signature offense-such as it is. Can she conjure an Ae’Rianna Harris like performance? With the season dragging to a close, someone needs to step up and deliver an opening salvo, it may as well be Taiye. End the SLUMP!
B1G Wins: Iowa 78-69, Minnesota 72-68, Wisconsin 65-50, Michigan 74-71 and @ Wisconsin 72-71
B1G Losses: @ Michigan State 70-78 (OT), @ Rutgers 65-69, @ Maryland 69-87 and Purdue 68-76.
Probable Starters (B1G Stats):
HGT | POS | YR | PLAYER | MIN | AVG | REB |
5’9” | G | So | Sam Haiby | 27.2 | 12.0 | 4.8 |
6’1” | G | Sr | Nicea Eliely | 29.1 | 10.6 | 3.1 |
5’9” | G | Sr | Hannah Whitish | 30.8 | 10.3 | 2.9 |
6’5” | C | Jr | Kate Cain | 29.6 | 8.2 | 8.9 |
6’2” | F | So | Ashtyn Veerbeek | 23.4 | 7.7 | 3.3 |
Bench (B1G Stats):
HGT | POS | YR | PLAYER | MIN | AVG | REB |
6’1” | F | So | Leigha Brown | 26.4 | 12.3 | 3.3 |
6’2” | F | Fr | Isabelle Bourne | 17.4 | 6.3 | 5.0 |
5’11” | G | Fr | Trinity Braday | 8.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 |
5’5” | G | Sr | Kristian Hudson | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
6’3” | F | So | Kyla Merson | 7.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 |