Nebraska women’s basketball beat Southern 76-51 on Sunday, extending its winning streak to five games.
The Huskers jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back. Alexis Markowski led with 21 points, while Jaz Shelley and Logan Nissley also scored in double-digits.
Ugly Second Half Shows Room For Growth
Nebraska won easily Sunday, as is expected against a 1-7 Southern team. The Jaguars assembled a tough schedule, losing six games against power conference foes, but still entered as a team the Huskers should be able to take care of.
They did so, and there were plenty of positives. Nebraska started strong defensively, allowing six points in the opening quarter as it opened up a 13-point lead. A 24-point second quarter from the Huskers doubled that advantage at the break.
There were plenty of flaws in that first half, but they mostly showed after halftime. Nebraska was outscored in the third and had a five-minute scoring drought. Southern used a full-court press throughout the contest and found ways to bother the Huskers, leading to 16 second-half turnovers and 23 total.
That output followed Nebraska’s 24 turnovers in its last game against Michigan State, which nearly came back from a big deficit late in the Husker win. The Jaguars were too overmatched to pull that off, but did enough to show that the home team still has big improvements to make.
“We did not close that game out the way we wanted to. Far too many turnovers is something we really wanted to try to focus on trying to get better and correct,” head coach Amy Williams said postgame. “… You do credit Southern’s defense.”
The turnover struggles were present last season as well, especially late in the year. Through the rest of the schedule, the team will hope to correct that.
Alexis Markowski Reaches 1,000 Career Points
A highlight of the second half was Alexis Markowski’s performance.
Nebraska’s first seven points of the fourth quarter came from the junior center. The second bucket, an and-one reverse finish, gave her 1,000 career points.
Markowski has already assembled a fantastic Husker career, and this season has been her best yet so far. Through 11 games, she’s averaging 17.2 points per game on 53% shooting along with 9.7 rebounds.
“It really means a lot,” Markowski said of the milestone. “Especially to do it in front of Husker nation with my teammates on our home court. It’s a really special moment and a cool milestone and it’s just a dream come true.”
Williams had praise for the star’s growth in her time with the program.
“Naturally from the day she stepped on our campus, she’s had that leadership that comes with kind of being the hype girl, the rah rah, the energy,” she said. ” But I think where she’s really grown in my mind as a leader is just the way she’s really become self-accountable. And then, you know, the way she holds herself accountable makes her have the option to hold her teammates accountable.”
Schedule Gets Tougher From Here
Nebraska has one more game left in nonconference play before fully entering the Big Ten schedule, and it will be a challenging one.
On Wednesday, the Huskers will travel to play Kansas, the team which eliminated them from the WNIT last season. They did beat the Jayhawks last December, emerging victorious in a triple-overtime thriller at home. The opposing roster has returned its key pieces and added a five-star freshman. Kansas is just 6-4 so far, but all of those losses came to teams currently ranked or receiving top 25 votes.
After that test, it’s all conference games, the next being a home matchup with a tough Maryland team. The Big Ten’s top tier might not appear quite as dangerous as it was a year ago, but Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana are ranked in the top-15 while the league may be deeper as a whole.
Penn State entered the top 25 for a short time, with one win coming against Kansas. Minnesota and Michigan State have also started their seasons very well. That trio of teams finished below the Huskers in the Big Ten last year, but may have made some progress. Even as 2023 tournament teams Illinois and Purdue have struggled early, they still can’t be taken lightly.
