Huskers Come Up Short at No. 14 Iowa

Iowa City - Britt Prince scored a game-high 27 points, but the No. 20 Nebraska women's basketball team got outscored 16-6 in the final 5:30 to fall 86-76 at No. 14 Iowa on New Year's Day.

The Huskers (12-2, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped their second straight game to a top-20 Big Ten team, despite shooting 50 percent from the field (29-58) and outrebounding Iowa, 31-30, on the day.

Iowa improved to 12-2 and 3-0 in the conference by hitting 49.1 percent of its shots, including 7-of-20 three-pointers and sinking 23-of-28 free throws. The Hawkeyes outscored Nebraska 23-12 at the line in the game, attempting 13 more free throws than the Huskers in the contest. 

Jessica Petrie added 17 points, while senior Eliza Maupin notched her first double-double as a Husker with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes while making her first start in a Nebraska uniform.

Maupin played an increased role with the absence of sophomore forward Amiah Hargrove - Nebraska's second-leading scorer and top rebounder on the season - who missed with a minor injury sustained in Monday's loss to No. 17 USC.

Chit-Chat Wright led Iowa with 24 points, including eight in the final 2:45 to close out the victory for the Hawkeyes. Hannah Stuelke added a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Ava Heiden put three Hawkeyes in double digits with 18 points.

In a tightly contested first half, Nebraska took a 45-44 lead to halftime after a second quarter that featured nine ties and six lead changes. 

Prince poured in 11 points in the second quarter on her way to 17 in the first half, while Petrie contributed seven in the period to finish the half with 13 points.

Petrie, who opened the game with a three-pointer on NU's first possession to help ignite a 12-2 game-opening run by the Huskers, added a three-pointer midway through the first period before knocking down her third three of the half with 1:21 left in the half.

Maupin added five points in Nebraska's 12-2 game-opening run while making the first start of her Husker career, but was straddled with two early fouls. Petra Bozan contributed four points off the bench in the second quarter to help Nebraska. 

Callin Hake also had four points in the half, while Claire Johnson gave the Big Red good minutes off the bench late in the second quarter to help the Huskers claim the halftime lead.

Wright led Iowa with 12 points in the half, while Stuelke pitched in 11 points. Heiden put three Hawkeyes in double figures in the half with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Taylor Stremlow also contributed six points on a pair of first-half threes.

As a team, Nebraska hit a sizzling 20-of-33 shots from the field (.615), including 5-of-10 threes, but did not shoot a free throw as Iowa was whistled for just two fouls in the half. NU outrebounded the Hawks, 13-12, and won the first-half turnover battle, 9-7.

Iowa hit 16-of-28 shots (.571), including 5-of-12 threes, and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.

The Hawkeyes took the lead early in the third, surging 8-2 out of the locker room to claim a 52-47 lead. The Huskers outscored Iowa the rest of the way in the third quarter and trailed Iowa 64-61 heading to the fourth.

The teams traded baskets until Fisher finished a three-point play to tie the score at 70 with 5:44 remaining. Fisher finished with five points.

But the Huskers went cold from the field and committed several turnovers to spark a 10-0 Iowa run over the next four minutes.

Turnovers were a key in the second half, as Nebraska committed an uncharacteristic 11 miscues in the final 20 minutes, while forcing just five by Iowa.  The Hawkeyes outscored the Huskers 22-16 in points off turnovers in the game, and won second-chance points 15-11.

The Huskers return to Lincoln to open a three-game home stand on Sunday when they square off with Purdue. Tip-off between the Big Red and Boilermakers is set for 2 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com. Free live audio coverage from the Huskers Radio Network will be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App. The game will be televised statewide by Nebraska Public Media and streamed to subscribers of B1G+.