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Rosalie’s Reaction: Huskers prevail over Spartans . . 71-67

By Rosalie Suggs

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On a wind-driven snowy night, the Nebraska women’s basketball team battled a focused Michigan State Spartans squad down to the last seconds to garner a “MUST” conference victory 71 -67. The Huskers sorely needed this road win and Sparty desperately wanted to avoid a fourth straight defeat.

Mar 22, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Emily Cady (23) dribbles the ball around Fresno State Bulldogs forward Alex Sheedy (10) in the second half of a women

#19/#18 Nebraska (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten) and Michigan State (8 -7, 0-4 Big Ten) find themselves near the bottom of the conference standings. The Huskers, who are the defending 2014 Big Ten tournament champs, had NEVER won a game in the Breslin Center in E. Lansing. The Spartans, the 2014 defending co-champions of the Big Ten, were stung by three consecutive conference losses and needed a victory over Nebraska to maintain bragging rights. Both teams have been hampered by injury and illness over the past month. Nebraska found itself playing with just six scholarship players for a time while Michigan State competed with eight.

When the teams took the floor last night, the arena was sparsely populated and eerily quiet. From the opening tip the two squads were off and running. The play was fast and furious with Nebraska grabbing the momentum.  Coming off the bench, Natalie Romeo scored two 3-point shots within the first seven minutes of the game. Balanced scoring from the Huskers five starters, plus Romeo and Havers off the bench allowed Nebraska to control the first half of the game. The Spartans, anchored by junior Cara Miller and RS sophomore Aerial Powers, kept pace with the Huskers via their 3-point shooting. A 7-0 run by Michigan State gave them the lead by one to end the entertaining first half with a score of MSU 32-NU 30. First half play was some of the most spirited and cleanest I have seen in the women’s game in quite awhile. The two teams combined turned the ball over only 9 times.  Nebraska committed just two fouls while Michigan State committed three.

The second half was streaky for both teams. The 2-3 zone run by Michigan State hampered the perimeter game of the Nebraska offense while man-to-man play of the Husker defense kept the Spartans out of the lanes. The result was the Cornhuskers could only manage two point goals while Spartan’s Miller and Powers drained shots from the 3- point line.  You could just feel the momentum swinging to Michigan State.

As the game clock wound down, the Husker offense was sputtering which gave me the feeling that Nebraska was about to sustain another road loss. We needed an answer and a spark. With three minutes left in the game, Husker senior Emily Cady came up BIG. Her determination and FIGHT led her to score seven of Nebraska’s last 11 points, erasing the six-point Nebraska deficit at 66 – 60 to a comeback victory at 71-67. The closing seconds of the game saw the Husker defense, led by Hailie Sample, stand tall to sink the last ditch comeback effort by the Spartans.  Emily Cady led the Husker scoring with 16 points while Hailie Sample and Rachel Theriot each had 13 points.

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In her post game interview, the usually laid-back Coach Yori was ecstatic.  “We needed this win so bad,” she said. “It was desperate for us and for them.  Emily was big down the stretch for us.  This was a BIG win!” Coach Yori just could not contain her excitement and neither could I. In fact, I am certain there was rejoicing in front of many television sets across Husker Nation.

The Cornhuskers continue their road trip when they visit the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois on Sunday afternoon Jan. 11 to take on the Lady Illini. Tip off is scheduled for 2pm (CST) when the Huskers will be looking to make it two in a row! As always, stay tuned and GO BIG RED!!  

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