Hake, Petrie Post Career Highs in Husker Win

Lincoln - Callin Hake scored a career-high 17 points and Jessica Petrie pitched in a career-high 14 to lead five Huskers in double figures, as No. 21 Nebraska rolled to an 85-48 women's basketball win over North Alabama on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. 

With the victory, Nebraska improved to 5-0 while North Alabama slipped to 2-3. 

Hake, who hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor and all six of her free throw attempts, added five rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench for the Big Red.

Petrie also pitched in five boards and two of Nebraska's 10 blocked shots on the night against the Lions, who were coming off an 81-64 loss at Kansas on Sunday.

Husker freshman Britt Prince contributed 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting while dishing out a game-high six assists to go along with three rebounds, two steals and two blocks of her own from the point guard spot.

Senior Alberte Rimdal added 13 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting while contributing five rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

All-America candidate Alexis Markowski rounded out the five Huskers in double figures with 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Markowski was one of seven Huskers to grab five or more boards on the night, as the Big Red outworked the Lions on the glass, 48-32. North Alabama entered the game with a plus-5.0 rebound margin on the season, including a 35-32 edge at Kansas.

Kendall Moriarty continued her hot shooting with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting including a pair of threes off the bench to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals.

Nebraska got off to a slow offensive start but still took a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The four points scored by the Lions matched the fewest ever allowed by the Huskers in an opening quarter.

The Huskers, who closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run, stretched it to 14-0 early in the second. With Nebraska leading 22-11, sophomore Natalie Potts, who finished the night with two points and five rebounds in 10 minutes, was getting back in transition defense and went down to the floor on the block. The game was stopped and Potts was helped off the floor. Potts entered the game as Nebraska's leading scorer and rebounder at 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

Moriarty then sparked a 12-0 Nebraska run with back-to-back three-pointers, before Hake hit four straight free throws and Markowski capped the run with a bucket to extend Nebraska's margin to 34-11 with 2:20 left in the half. 

Nebraska took a 36-16 lead at the half. North Alabama hit a trio of three-pointers early in the third to cut the NU margin to 42-27, before the Big Red put the game out of reach by outscoring the Lions 22-10 over the rest of the quarter. The Huskers added a 21-11 edge in the final period to complete the 37-point victory.

Nebraska held North Alabama to just 28.8 percent (17-59) shooting. The Lions did hit 7-of-18 threes (.389) and 7-of-9 free throws. The Huskers hit 48.4 percent (31-64) from the field, including 8-of-21 threes (.381) and 15-of-19 free throws (.789).  

Jazzy Klinge led North Alabama with 11 points, while Charity Gallegos was the other Lion in double figures with 10.

Nebraska heads to Omaha to face in-state foe Creighton on Friday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena. The game will be streamed for subscribers of FloHoops, and audio coverage will be provided by the Huskers Radio Network.