Husker women still perfect after downing No. 12 Aggies
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By CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Texas A&M was refusing to go down like the previous three Top 25 teams this season had against the Nebraska women in the Devaney Sports Center.
The 12th-ranked Aggies were actually enjoying the fever pitch of the 10,889 on hand, and had the unbeaten Huskers within range — trailing by just five points with under three minutes to play.
But then senior guard Dominique Kelley ignited a two-possession flurry that led to a 71-60 outcome and left A&M in the same heap as the other three nationally ranked victims who’d been handed a double-digit loss.
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“I think it’s a good example of where we’ve come from and where we’re headed,” said Kelley, well aware that a year ago NU lost to the Aggies by 43 points.
Saturday, A&M was threatening to end the fourth-ranked Huskers’ 20-game winning streak until Kelley put matters into her hands.
First, with the shot clock winding down as she dribbled the ball from the left wing, she managed to skip a pass through the Aggies’ zone pressure to leave All-American candidate Kelsey Griffin with an uncontested layup.
“I don’t even know how,” Kelley said. “I saw four or five bodies running at me, and I just dished it off to her and she finished it.”
Kelley then rebounded a miss by Sydney Carter and six seconds later, courtesy of a power drive from the right side, hit a layup to leave the Huskers up 69-60 with 1:55 remaining.
A&M would wind up going 0-for-4 on its final four possessions, and after Griffin hit a jumper to cap a 21-point, 10-rebound performance, the Aggies were left with their first double-figure loss of the season.
“We were perfectly ready to come here and play,” A&M coach Gary Blair said.
But then he spilled the beans about the Huskers.
“This is a team that has a great chance of getting to that Final Four, Elite Eight, Sweet 16. They played with so much emotion.”
Nebraska trailed only at 2-0, then answered with a 12-0 run in which Vonnie Turner sandwiched three-point baskets around another by Cory Montgomery.
The Huskers then missed their next 14 from that range. But with Griffin and Montgomery finding numerous ways to solve a 3-2 zone en route to combining for 39 points, NU didn’t have to rely on the perimeter.
“Somebody asked me before the game, ‘What happens if you don’t shoot the three well?,’ and I said, ‘I think we have enough players to make plays,’” Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. “Today was a good example of that.”
In addition to the rugged work of Griffin and Montgomery, the Huskers got 11 points apiece from Turner and Kelley (who also had five rebounds and five assists) and eight points on 4-for-4 shooting by junior forward Catheryn Redmon.
“We’ve won in a lot of different ways this year. We’re not at the stage we are just because of three-point shooting,” Yori said. “This is the best-coached league in the country, and everybody’s going to try to take away what you do. Fortunately, we’ve got some versatility.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
NU women beat Texas A&M
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