Nebraska women’s basketball ended the regular season with a loss, falling 74-73 on the road against Illinois.
The Huskers led by as much as seven points in the fourth quarter before Illinois came back to secure the victory. They dropped to fifth in the Big Ten standings with the loss. Jaz Shelley had 23 points and eight assists, while Makira Cook led Illinois with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
Huskers Go Cold in Final Five Minutes
Freshman forward Jessica Petrie gave Nebraska its largest lead of the game with a layup midway through the fourth quarter.
In the final five minutes, however, the Huskers didn’t make another shot from the field. Their only two points in that span came as Alexis Markowski was fouled trying to grab an offensive rebound with Nebraska in the bonus. She made both free throws to make it a five-point game with 2:32 to play.
That wasn’t enough to hold off the Illini. Gretchen Dolan responded with an and-one, and Genesis Bryant got to the line to tie the game with 1:19 left. Out of the ensuing timeout, the Huskers went to Markowski inside. She created a good look for herself, fading away in the paint, but her shot rimmed out. On the other end, Makira Cook looked to drive around the Husker center for a layup, earning a whistle when their legs met and she got tripped up.
She only made the second of the two free throws, giving Nebraska the ball back with 34 seconds and a chance to retake the lead. This time, the visitors looked to their best 3-point shooter, giving Logan Nissley a chance to hoist up a shot from the corner. The well-contested shot was missed, but Hake was there for the rebound. Illinois was called for a foul as her second-chance layup missed.
Replay suggested that Hake wasn’t touched, but she couldn’t take advantage of the break anyway, missing both free throws. Still, the Huskers retained possession as Natalie Potts and Kendall Bostic fought for a rebound that was ruled to be tipped out of bounds by the latter.
In the final 24 seconds, Nebraska seemed to try a bit harder to work the ball inside, but failed to do so. Nissley missed a better look from three, and Shelley’s last chance heave after another offensive board was off as well.
Overall, the Huskers missed their final nine shots, including three 3-pointers while needing just a point on the final possession. Hake’s two missed free throws were also crucial. They settled for some tough looks and perhaps more threes than desired, but missed all kinds of strong opportunities. Had any of those been converted, the result may have changed.
Illinois Leads for First Three Quarters
Nebraska having to climb out of a hole in the first place also certainly didn’t help.
In the first meeting between the teams, Illinois scored 48 points. This time, the Illini reached 42 in the first half alone.
Both sides started slow in the opening minutes, but the home team then got going, scoring 23 first-quarter points on 62.5% shooting. Camille Hobby started scoring off for Illinois by making just her third 3-pointer of the season. The Huskers struggled to keep up with the shifty Illini guards and forward Kendall Bostic also came up with eight points.
Nebraska made plenty of pushes, but Illinois always had a response. A 10-0 Husker run to start the second quarter was met by a 10-0 run. The seven-point lead the Illini took into the quarter held steady at halftime.
The Huskers tied the game in the third quarter before falling back down four points. They then took the lead with six straight points from Jaz Shelley, but conceded six consecutive points after that. A Callin Hake floater put Nebraska down two entering the fourth, still well within range but unable to break through.
The start of the fourth quarter provided plenty of hope for that breakthrough, with Nebraska tying the game within a minute and not trailing again until the final minute. Of course, that seven-point advantage still didn’t end up being enough of a cushion.
Postseason Implications
In the big picture, this is not necessarily a crushing loss for the team.
Illinois only improved to 14-14 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten play with the victory, but it is a team that is considered better than those marks show. The Illini came into the day with a top-50 NET ranking and having beaten a ranked Indiana team at home just a couple weeks ago. They’ve ended the season strong, never truly threatening for a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance but doing enough that they had a chance to sneak into bubble discussions.
A road loss in this situation won’t shake Nebraska’s status as a projected NCAA Tournament team. However, there are reasons to be disappointed beyond the fact that the Huskers blew a late lead.
Michigan State’s win over Wisconsin on Sunday coupled with this result means Nebraska will lose out on the fourth seed and double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. It also might limit the Huskers ceiling for seeding in the NCAA bracket. Coming into the day, they were a projected 8 seed by most major outlets. This probably moves them down a line or two, and likely prevents them from moving up to a 7 seed.
The good news is that Nebraska’s conference tournament path doesn’t get all that much harder. On day two, it’ll play the winner of the matchup between the 13-seed Northwestern and the to-be-determined 12 seed in the conference. No matter who it is, it’ll be a team the Huskers are expected to beat comfortably.
If they do take care of business there, they’ll take on Michigan State in the quarterfinals. The Spartans are a very strong squad, but Nebraska beat them on the road in their lone regular season meeting and they aren’t quite of the caliber of the league’s three nationally-ranked teams.
There will be no guarantees for the team’s Minneapolis trip, but the difficulty of a Big Ten Tournament semifinals appearance has only increased marginally.
