WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Alexis Markowski dominated the fourth quarter on her way to a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to power Nebraska to a 71-64 come-from-behind Big Ten women's basketball win over Purdue at Mackey Arena on Wednesday.

Markowski, who scored 11 of her team-high 19 points and added six rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, fueled a 23-8 surge by the Big Red in the final period that helped Nebraska improve to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference. Purdue slipped to 12-6 overall and 3-5 in the league.

Maddie Krull, who did not start for the first time in the past 11 games because of illness, came off the bench to pour in 15 points while adding three rebounds and a pair of steals. Sam Haiby was consistent for Nebraska from start to finish, adding 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while playing a season-high 32 minutes.

The Huskers also got big contributions from freshman Callin Hake, who scored eight points and added three rebounds while making her first collegiate start in place of Krull. Kendall Moriarty added eight big points of her own, including a huge fourth-quarter three-pointer that put the Huskers in position to seal the game down the stretch. 

Nebraska's defense took center stage on the road as well, holding the Boilermakers to just one field goal in the final six minutes to turn a 60-55 deficit into a seven-point win. Moriarty's three cut the margin to 60-58, before back-to-back buckets by Markowski not only tied the game but gave the Huskers their first lead of the second half at 62-60 with 4:32 left. Moments later, Krull connected on another huge three-pointer to put NU up 65-61 with 2:47 left. 

Markowski then came through again at the rim to give Nebraska a 67-61 edge, before Jeanae Terry ended Purdue's field goal drought with a three-pointer with 38.6 seconds left. But the Huskers made the plays down the stretch and Jaz Shelley sealed the victory with four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds for her only points of the night.

Nebraska finished the game 24-of-60 from the floor (.400), including 6-of-22 threes (.273), while connecting on 17-of-21 free throws (.810). Purdue matched Nebraska from the field at 40 percent (20-50), but hit 9-of-23 threes (.391) on the night while connecting on 15-of-18 free throws. The Boilers won the rebounding battle 33-31, but Nebraska grabbed 13 offensive boards compared to just 11 by Purdue. The Huskers also won the turnover battle 17-11.

Abbey Ellis led Purdue with 20 points, including 17 in the first half, while Caitlyn Harper contributed 15 points. JaylaSmith added 11 points off the bench in the loss. Terry added eight points and eight rebounds.

In an evenly played first half, Purdue took a one-point lead to the locker room at 31-30 by outscoring the Huskers 10-5 in the final four minutes of the second quarter. Ellis scored five straight including one of her three first-half threes to spark Purdue.

Nebraska took a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter after following behind 11-3 in the opening minutes. Krull and Hake led NU's solid opening quarter by combining for 11 points in the period. Hake scored Nebraska's first three points on a three-pointer after making her first career start in place of Krull. Hake added a pair of free throws, before Krull scored six straight points to close the quarter.

Krull added a basket late in the second quarter to join Markowski in sharing the first-half scoring lead for the Huskers with eight points. 

Nebraska hit 11-of-31 first-half shots (.355) including 3-of-9 three-pointers (.333) while knocking down 5-of-6 free throws (.833).  The Huskers also won the first-half turnover battle 9-6, but got out-rebounded 19-17 in the half, despite getting seven offensive rebounds to Purdue's six.

Purdue hit 10-of-26 first-half shots (.385), including 5-of-11 threes (.455). Purdue also went 6-for-6 at the free throw line.

The Boilermakers created separation in the third quarter, outscoring the Huskers 25-18, including 8-5 at the free throw line. Harper scored eight points in the opening five minutes of the quarter to help the Boilers take their biggest lead at 45-36, before NU cut the lead back to 50-46 on an Isabelle Bourne three with 2:00 left.

The Huskers return to Big Ten home action on Sunday when they take on No. 11 Maryland.

Huskers Visit Hawkeyes on Friday

After two conference victories this past weekend, the Nebraska wrestling team (6-2, 2-0 Big Ten) will hit the road and face Iowa on Friday in Iowa City. Action is slated to begin at 8 p.m. and will air on BTN.
 
The Hawkeyes (10-0, 3-0 Big Ten) will be the fourth ranked opponent the Huskers have faced this season. Iowa is fresh off a 27-9 win over Northwestern on Jan. 13, a meet which saw the Hawkeyes win eight of ten bouts, including five of the seven matchups featuring top-25 rated wrestlers from both schools.
 
NU's dual against Iowa will potentially feature six matchups between ranked wrestlers. Six Huskers enter the weekend ranked in the top 25, including returning All-Americans No. 1 Peyton Robb (157) and No. 2 Mikey Labriola (174). The All-American duo boasts an undefeated dual meet record (16-0) and has scored 60 dual meet points for the Big Red this season.
 
Nebraska and Iowa meet for the 34th time in series history. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 25-7-1 and have won the last 13 matchups between the teams. The Big Red last defeated Iowa on Jan. 14, 2006 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, 24-13.

Last Time Out: Behind four major decisions, the Nebraska wrestling team claimed its second conference victory over the weekend, topping Northwestern 22-15 on Sunday afternoon.  

Up Next: The Huskers return home to face Wisconsin (6-4, 0-3 Big Ten) on Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. The meet will be streamed on B1G+.

Nebraska's Projected Lineup*:

*InterMat rankings used        
 
Iowa's (10-0, 3-0 Big Ten) Projected Lineup*: 

*InterMat rankings used 

Scouting the Hawkeyes:

• Iowa has won 13 consecutive duals dating back to the 2022-23 season.
• Senior Tony Cassioppi (285) is 14-0 this season with a career-high nine falls, all coming in the first period. Senior Spencer Lee (125) is currently on a 45-match winning streak dating back to the 2019 season.
• Last season, Iowa went 14-1 and 7-1 in conference place. At the NCAA Championships, the team finished third.
• Coached by Tom Brands (17th season at Iowa); Record: 260-24-1

Back Points
Quick Notes

• Nebraska won its fifth Cliff Keen Invitational team title in program history on Dec. 3.
• On Tuesday, Cronin claimed his first Big Ten and NCAA Wrestler of the Week honor of his career, when the conference and the NCAA announced its award winners.
• Labriola was named the NCAA Wrestler of the Week and the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week honor, when the award winners were announced last month.
• In this week's Intermat NCAA Wrestling Rankings, Husker junior Robb takes the top spot at 157 pounds. Senior Labriola and redshirt sophomore Hardy join Robb in the top five rankings as Labriola sits in second at 174 pounds and Hardy is in fifth at 141 pounds. Additionally, Cronin (125) is ranked #3, Pinto (184) is ranked #16 and Allred (197) is #22.
• Last month, the Big Red finalized its 2023 recruiting class. Weston Dalton, Ethan DeLeon, Cooper French, Tanner Frothinger, Hampton Kaye-Kuter, Alan Koehler, Kael Lauridsen, Camden McDanel, Matthew Moore, Griffin Ray, Ethan Stiles and Dominic Thebeau will be joining the team for the 2023-24 season.
• Team leaders by category among starters:
  • Dual Record: Robb/Labriola (8-0)
  • Dual Points: Robb/Labriola (30)
  • Dual Takedowns: Labriola (32)
  • Pins: Hardy (6)
  • Technical Falls: Robb (5)
  • Major Decisions: Hardy/Labriola/Pinto (6)
  • Quickest Pin: Cronin (0:30) 

Otterdahl Named B1G Athlete of the Week

Nebraska junior Maxwell Otterdahl was named Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Week on Wednesday. 

Otterdahl won the Graduate Classic men's weight throw last Friday with a throw of 73-2 1/2 (22.31m). It was a personal best that moved him up to No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 2 in the NCAA this season.

Otterdahl's mark was just one inch shy of Alex Talley's school record set last year. The Rosemount, Minn., native was the Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Outdoor Championships last year after sweeping the shot put and discus titles. 

Huskers Set for Northeast Classic

Lincoln, Neb. - Fresh off a third-place finish at the Stormin' Blue & White Vegas Classic, the Nebraska bowling team gears up for one of its biggest tournaments of the season at the Northeast Classic in Deptford, N.J. 

This weekend, New Jersey will host 34 of the nation's best bowling teams all battling for the title of Northeast Classic Champion. The 34 teams include 23 of the 25 NTCA nationally ranked teams in the country: No. 1 Mckendree, No. 2 North Carolina A&T, No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin, No. 6 Arkansas State, No. 7 Youngstown State and No. 8 Sam Houston State,  

No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore, No. 11 Maryville, No. 12 Duquesne, No. 13  Delaware State, No. 14 Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 15 Mount St. Mary's, No. 17 Tulane, No. 18 Mercyhurst, No. 19 Medaille, No. 20 Univ of Central Missouri, No. 21 Sacred Heart, No. 23 Univ of Wisconsin - Whitewater, No. 24 Morgan State, No. 25 Merrimack, Adelphi, Bryant, Chestnut Hill, Fairleigh Dickinson, Kutztown, LIU, Monmouth, Mount Aloysius College, NJCU, Saint Anselm, St Francis College Brooklyn, Wagner and Wilmington will also compete at the event.  

The Huskers will kick off the tournament Friday with five matches of five baker games, facing Monmouth, Morgan State, St Francis College Brooklyn, Chestnut Hill and Delaware State.  

On Saturday, each team will participate in five traditional matches starting at 9:25 a.m. (ET). The combined results will seed each team for Sunday's Championship bracket to conclude the tournament where each team will compete in three matches of best 4-of-7 baker games for final placements and awards.   

Stay up to date with the action by following the Nebraska Women's Bowling Twitter (@NEBowling), Instagram (@huskerbowling) and Facebook.  

Northeast Classic Teams Competing: 

No. 1 McKendree  
No. 2 North Carolina A&T  
No. 3 Vanderbilt   
No. 4 Nebraska  
No. 5 Stephen F. Austin  
No. 6 Arkansas State 
No. 7 Youngstown State 
No. 8 Sam Houston State 
No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore  
No. 11 Maryville  
No. 12 Duquesne 
No. 13  Delaware State 
No. 14 Fairleigh Dickinson 
No. 15 Mount St. Mary's  
No. 17 Tulane  
No. 18 Mercyhurst 
No. 19 Medaille 
No. 20 Univ of Central Missouri 
No. 21 Sacred Heart 
No. 23 Univ of Wisconsin - Whitewater 
No. 24 Morgan State 
No. 25 Merrimack 
Adelphi 
Bryant 
Chestnut Hill 
Fairleigh Dickinson 
Kutztown 
LIU 
Monmouth 
Mount Aloysius College 
NJCU 
Saint Anselm 
St Francis College Brooklyn 
Wagner