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Nebraska Tops Rutgers to Open Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Play

The Huskers advance to the Big Ten Tournament second round Thursday against Illinois.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska center Alexis Markowski blocks a Rutgers shot in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on March 5, 2025.
Nebraska center Alexis Markowski blocks a Rutgers shot in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on March 5, 2025. / Nebraska Athletics
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Nebraska is moving on to the Big Ten Conference Tournament second round.

Husker women's hoops (10) beat Rutgers (15) in the first round of the league tournament in Indianapolis Wednesday, 84-60. The Huskers improve to 20-10 on the year as the Scarlet Knights see their season end at 11-19.

Nebraska took control early, building a 6-0 lead over the first couple minutes. That lead was at nine at the end of the first quarter, but went back to double digits immediately and never came back down.

Hot shooting was the key for the Big Red. The Huskers shot 55% from the field, including 13-of-31 on 3s. The Scarlet Knights shot 35.6% overall, making 5-of-17 from deep.

Alexis Markowski scored a team-high 19 points. She added a game-high 10 rebounds for her school-record 52nd career double-double.

Nebraska takes on the 7-seed Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament second round Thursday. Tip from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is set for 5:30 p.m. CST on Big Ten Network.

Elsewhere at the Big Ten Conference Tournament

Washington (12) beat Minnesota (13) in the opening game of the event, 79-65. The Huskies will take on 5-seed Michigan Thursday.

11-seed Iowa beat 14-seed Wisconsin 81-54 to advance to a Thursday matchup with 6-seed Michigan State.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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