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No 'I' in Team: Nebraska’s Depth Outlasts Indiana in 78–73 Win

Indiana's Shay Ciezki put up 31 points against Nebraska Thursday night, but it wasn't enough to overcome nine total Huskers entering the scoring column in the five-point Husker win.
Spencer Schubert|
Nebraska forward Jessica Petrie poured in 18 points in Nebraska's 78-73 win over Indiana Thursday night.
Nebraska forward Jessica Petrie poured in 18 points in Nebraska's 78-73 win over Indiana Thursday night. | Nebraska Athletics

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Nebraska CornhuskersIndiana Hoosiers

The adage that there’s no “I” in team really rang true Thursday night in Lincoln.

The No. 25 Nebraska women’s basketball team had an absolute fight on its hands with an Indiana team that was led by star guard Shay Ciezki, who stayed on the floor for all 40 minutes of the game. She also made great use of her time, pouring in a game-high 31 points against the Huskers.

IU had only four other players to even score points in the game, while Nebraska countered with nine total players accounting for points. The end result – a 78-73 Nebraska win.

“She’s a special player, and she was feeling it,” Nebraska coach Amy Williams said of Ciezki in her postgame press conference. “We kind of mixed our defense, changed a little bit, tried to throw something different her way.”

“Yeah, she’s shifty,” Nebraska junior forward Jess Petrie added in her postgame press conference. “We’ve got a lot of respect for her. She just gets to awkward spots on the floor that she’s really effective at, and I think she just took advantage of our transition a little bit in the first half.”

The Huskers led 38-30 at the half, but IU clawed its way back into it in the second half, even taking the lead on NU on the strength of a 9-0 run in the third quarter. However, the Huskers didn’t fold. They stuck to the game plan and, thanks to Cieski’s night, made some adjustments as well.

By the fourth quarter, those adjustments paid off as Nebraska distanced itself just enough for a five-point win to spoil the big night from Ciezki.

“I think we did a better job in the second half, making her work for every single one of them, Petrie added. “I don’t think we did that early on in the first half. I think the key to us today was we didn’t let anyone else get hot.”

In contrast to Indiana’s five players who found the score column, nine total Huskers contributed in the win. They were led by three players in double figures, as Britt Prince poured in 20 points, Petrie added 18 and Logan Nissley tallied 11. Both Eliza Maupin and Amiah Hargrove added nine apiece in their 20 minutes on the floor.

The ability for Nebraska to spread it around proved to be the difference maker Thursday night, and frankly, it’s something NU prides itself on.

“We feel one of our superpowers is we’ve got some depth,” Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of players on this team that can find ways to contribute.”

“I think it was like 20 assists to seven turnovers or something like that,” Nissley said during the postgame press conference. “That’s Husker basketball. I think those two losses – that number was flipped, so just getting back to that, and we’ve talked about it the last couple weeks. Our superpower is our depth. When a player like that goes on a run like that, we kind of have to focus on that defensively, but I think it speaks to our offense as a superpower. We can have anybody go off on any given night, and we share the ball really well.”

The Huskers’ 20 assists nearly doubled up Indiana’s 12 on the night. Seven of the assists came from Prince, putting her just three shy of a double-double against the Hoosiers. Both Petrie and Nissley agreed Prince’s unselfish play is helping lead the team in the right direction this season.

In years past, a game like they experienced Thursday night would like most likely have been a loss. When things got tough, the Huskers struggled for an answer. This year, the answer has been not only Prince, like it was Thursday night, but also Prince’s ability to spread the wealth when the opportunities are there.

Nebraska guard Britt Prince drives against Indiana.
Nebraska guard Britt Prince led Nebraska with 20 points and seven assists in Thursday night's win over Indiana. | Nebraska Athletics

“I just kept saying in my head ‘ice in her veins,’” Nissley said of Prince’s performance. “Every time she shot it, it was going in, and I think that’s just her maturity of a game like that. It kind of gets down to the wire and her calmness and consistency on the floor. She’s going to make the right read, and you get to your spots, and if she’s not the one that’s open, she’ll find someone else that is.”

The sophomore out of Elkhorn has more than found her footing in Lincoln now in her second season, and she’s happy to see it resulting in wins despite some tight finishes along the way.

“It was super fun out there,” Prince said after the win. “I think we found a way to get stops at the end and get good shots for our team, and I think we did a really good job of moving the ball and getting good shots, especially in the fourth quarter. It was a super big win, and we also got a lot of rebounds down the stretch that helped seal the win.”

The #4 UCLA women's basketball team will be in Lincoln Sunday to take on the upset-minded Huskers.
The No. 4 UCLA women's basketball team will be in Lincoln Sunday to take on the upset-minded Huskers. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Next up for Nebraska is its biggest game of the year to this point – a showdown with No. 4 UCLA in Lincoln on Sunday. The Bruins will enter well-rested, having not played since a dominating 80-46 win over rival USC on January 3.

The 14-1 squad from California’s already built quite the resume with wins this season over No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 11 North Carolina and No. 14 Tennessee. However, all of those were either in California or Los Angeles, which means a tough road environment in the middle of the country could make an impact.

On the men’s side, No. 9 Michigan State found out how friendly Pinnacle Bank Arena can be this season, and you can bet the women’s team is hoping for the same turnout Sunday against UCLA.

“We were here for that game, and it was super fun,” Nissley said of the men’s team’s win over Michigan State. “I think the fans show up, but just to have a packed PBA like that, I think is really awesome. I think women’s sports (are) on the rise, and I think we’re a pretty fun team to watch. As many fans as we can get to help beat a top-five team – that’s what we’re looking for.”

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Spencer Schubert
SPENCER SCHUBERT

Spencer Schubert is a born-and-raised Nebraskan who now calls Hastings home. He grew up in Kearney idolizing the Huskers as every kid in Nebraska did in the 1990s, and he turned that passion into a career of covering the Big Red. Schubert graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009, and kickstarted what's now become a 17 year career in journalism. He's served in a variety of roles in broadcasting, including weekend sports anchor at KHGI-TV(NTV) in Kearney, Sports Director at WOAY-TV in West Virginia and Assistant News Director, Executive Producer and Evening News Anchor for KSNB-TV(Local4) in Hastings. Off the clock, you'll likely find Schubert with a golf club in his hand and spending time with his wife, 5-year-old daughter and dog Emmy.

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