Huskers Come Up Short to No. 4 UCLA

Indianapolis - Britt Prince tied her career high with 24 points, but it was not enough to prevent No. 4 UCLA from running to an 85-74 win over Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the TIAA Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night.

The Huskers, who ended their tournament run with a 2-1 record that included wins over Illinois and Rutgers, ended the regular season with a 21-11 overall record that included a 10-8 conference mark. The Big Red will now wait to hear its name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on March 16 at 7 p.m. (CT).

The second-seeded Bruins improved to 28-2 overall with the victory in their first-ever Big Ten Tournament game. UCLA went 16-2 during Big Ten regular-season play with both losses to conference regular-season champion USC.

Prince, a true freshman from Omaha, hit 9-of-15 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 three-pointers, while adding a team-high six assists. The Big Ten All-Freshman selection produced double-figure points in all three tournament games, averaging 17.0 points and 5.3 assists per game.

Four-time All-Big Ten selection Alexis Markowski added 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks in her final conference tournament game. In 11 career tournament contests, Markowski totaled 150 points and a school-record 103 rebounds, while leading Nebraska to seven victories.

Fellow senior Alberte Rimdal added 10 points and six assists for the Huskers in her third straight strong performance in her first Big Ten Tournament. Sophomore Jessica Petrie added eight points and four boards against the Bruins, while fellow sophomore Logan Nissley pitched in seven points and a pair of steals. Callin Hake and Amiah Hargrove both contributed five points in a balanced Big Red effort.

Nebraska hit 48.4 percent (30-62) of its shots against one of the Big Ten's best defenses, including 7-of-18 threes (.389) and 7-of-8 free throws (.875). 

UCLA All-American center Lauren Betts led all scorers and rebounders with 28 points and 13 rebounds, while adding five assists. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year also contributed seven blocks and three steals.

Gabriela Jaquez added 23 points and nine rebounds, while All-Big Ten guard Kiki Rice contributed 14 points and a game-high nine assists.

As a team, UCLA hit 30-of-68 shots (.441), including 6-of-29 threes (.207), while connecting on 19-of-23 free throws (.826). The Bruins also won the battle of the boards, 39-27, and finished plus-four (15-11) in the turnover department against the Huskers.

Nebraska fought hard against the Bruins in the first half, battling back from a 27-15 deficit late in the first quarter to take a 39-38 lead on a Prince three-pointer with 1:05 left in the half. Prince scored eight second-quarter points to help fuel Nebraska's rally.

Markowski led Nebraska with nine first-half points and three rebounds, while Rimdal pitched in eight first-quarter points off the bench for the Big Red. Hargrove also helped the Huskers in the second period with five straight points.

Nebraska hit 15-of-32 first-half shots (.469), including 4-of-9 threes (.444) while connecting on 5-of-6 free throws. The Huskers also won the first-half turnover battle, 9-8.

UCLA countered with 14 points and five rebounds from Jaquez and 13 points and six rebounds from Betts in the half. The Bruins hit 13-of-29 shots (.448), including 3-of-13 threes (.231), while hitting 12-of-14 free throws (.857). UCLA also won the battle of the boards, 18-13. 

The Huskers trailed just 41-39 at the half, before Hake tied the game at 47 with a layup just two-and-half minutes into the third quarter. UCLA responded with a 13-2 surge to reclaim a double-digit lead at 60-49 with 2:28 left.

Nebraska refused to surrender, as Prince got a traditional three-point play with two minutes left, before draining a three-pointer with 15 seconds left in the period to send the Huskers to the fourth trailing 62-55.

Prince opened the final period with another traditional three-point play to cut the margin to 62-58. A Rimdal bucket with 8:30 left kept Nebraska within four points, before a quick 7-0 run from UCLA pushed the margin back to double figures at 71-60 with 5:30 remaining. 

Nissley responded seven seconds later with a three-pointer, but a Betts three-point play returned the lead to 11, and Nebraska was never able to cut the Bruin margin to single digits over the final five minutes.