Huskers.com
College Park, Md. – Nebraska put together its most complete game of the season to knock off No. 17 Maryland, 91-71, at the Xfinity Center on Thursday night.
The Huskers, who notched their second win of the season over a top-25 team, snapped a three-game losing streak by dominating the second, third and fourth quarters after the home-standing Terps built a 14-point first-quarter lead. Nebraska outscored the Terps by 42 points over the next 28 minutes to secure a huge road win.
The win helped the Huskers improve to 17-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terps slipped to 19-6 overall and 9-5 in the Big Ten. The win marked Nebraska’s fourth in the last five games against the Terps and NU’s second straight win at the Xfinity Center.
It was Nebraska’s first true road win over a top-25 team since the Huskers defeated No. 23 Michigan State, 68-64, on Jan. 10, 2021. The Terps were the highest ranked team the Huskers have defeated in a true road game since knocking off No. 9 Texas A&M in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Alexis Markowski led a balanced and explosive Big Red effort with her ninth double-double of the season, producing 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Markowski led six Huskers in double figures, including 15 points from Alberte Rimdal, who was 5-for-7 from the floor including 2-for-3 from three-point range. Rimdal’s last bucket with seven minutes left in the game gave the Huskers their first 20-point lead at 81-61.
Britt Prince scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half to help the Huskers pull away. Prince, who went 6-for-10 from the field while adding a career-high eight assists, knocked down Nebraska’s 12th three-pointer of the night to give the Big Red its biggest lead at 91-63 with 3:23 left in the game.
Logan Nissley added 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while contributing five rebounds and five assists. Fellow sophomore Jessica Petrie also pitched in 11 points and six rebounds, while Callin Hake rounded out the six Huskers in double figures, including a pair of threes.
Hake scored eight of her 10 points in the second half to help Nebraska outscore the Terps 46-26 in the second half.
For the game, Nebraska finished 50.7 percent (34-67), including 12-of-21 threes (.571), while connecting on 11-of-16 free throws. The Huskers dominated the boards against one of the nation’s best rebounding teams, controlling the glass, 42-25. Nebraska won the first-quarter rebounding battle 13-10, then allowed the Terps just six total rebounds over the second and third quarters combined to take a 36-16 edge on the glass and a 14-point lead to the fourth quarter.
Shyanne Sellers led Maryland with 23 points, but she was the only Terp in double figures. She added three rebounds and four assists. Five other Terps had eight or more points, but only Christina Dalce managed five rebounds for Maryland. The Terrapins went 12-for-19 from the field in the first quarter, but just 12-for-39 the rest of the way as the Huskers dominated the final 30 minutes.
In a high-scoring first half, Maryland jumped out to an early 14-point lead in the first quarter behind the hot shooting of Sellers, who scored 12 straight points to put the Terps up 15-6. The Terps took their biggest lead at 29-15 after back-to-back buckets by Allie Kubek with 25 seconds left in the quarter.
Nissley scored Nebraska’s final six points of the opening quarter on a pair of three-pointers to give the Huskers some momentum, despite trailing 29-18.
The Terps maintained a 12-point lead at 34-22 before Rimdal converted a traditional three-point play and Kendall Coley followed with a three-pointer to cut the margin to 34-28 with 6:33 left in the half.
Dalce slowed NU’s momentum briefly before Petrie scored six straight pointers, including a three-pointer with 3:33 left to pull the Big Red within 36-34. Rimdal added to the Husker run with a transition three-pointer to give Nebraska its first lead of the half at 37-36 with 3:10 left.
Markowski capped an 11-0 run with a pair of free throws on NU’s next possession, before Maryland slowed the streak with an Emily Fischer free throw. But the Huskers got two free throws from Rimdal and a layup from Hake to give Nebraska a six-point lead at 43-37 with 1:21 left. The two teams traded buckets before Maryland scored the final six points of the half to send the teams to the locker room tied at 45.
Rimdal led Nebraska with 10 first-half points on perfect shooting from the field and the line, while Markowski and Nissley each added eight points. Petrie and Kendall Moriarty both pitched in six first-half points, as the Huskers connected on 17-of-38 shots (.447) including 5-of-11 three-pointers (.455). NU also hit 6-of-7 free throws.
Nebraska outworked Maryland on the glass, 22-13, in the half, including 13-3 in the second quarter. The Terps won the first-half turnover battle, 5-4.
Sellers led Maryland with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Kaylene Smikle and Fischer each contributed six first-half points.
Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Sunday when the Huskers travel to Illinois. Tip-off with the Fighting Illini is set for 4 p.m. (CT) with live television coverage from the Big Ten Network. The game can also be heard live across the Huskers Radio Network including Huskers.com.