Lincoln - Freshman Logan Nissley shot Nebraska to a 12-point first-half lead with four three-pointers, while fellow freshman Natalie Potts scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the third period as the Huskers rolled to a 75-50 women's basketball win over Northwestern on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Potts, a 6-2 freshman from O'Fallon, Mo., added 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Alexis Markowski added her 16th double-double of the season and 37th of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds in just over 20 minutes. Nissley also contributed a career-high six assists in 20 minutes of action while making her second career start to help the Huskers secure their fourth win in the last five games and improve to 18-9 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten. Northwestern slipped to 8-18 overall and 3-12 in the conference.

Senior Annika Stewart put four Huskers in double figures with a season-high-tying 13 points, including eight straight points in the fourth quarter. She added five rebounds, an assist and a season-high two steals in just over 15 minutes. Stewart was one of 11 Huskers to play double-figure minutes in the game.

Callin Hake added a solid showing with seven points off the bench, while Darian White added six. Jaz Shelley pitched in five points and six assists while playing just 28 minutes.

Nebraska finished the night with 44.4 percent (28-63) shooting from the field, including 9-of-24 (.375) three-pointers. The Huskers also connected on 10-of-13 free throws (.769), while controlling the boards, 47-33. The Big Red also won the turnover battle, 13-12.

The Huskers held Northwestern to just 29.8 percent (17-57) from the floor, including 5-of-14 threes (.357). The Wildcats connected on 11-of-16 free throws (.688). Maggie Pina led Northwestern with 12 points, including 3-of-5 three-pointers, while Hailey Weaver added 11 points off the bench.

Nebraska jumped out to a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter behind hot three-point shooting. After Pina started the scoring for Northwestern with a three-pointer in the opening minute, the Huskers got back-to-back threes from Nissley before back-to-back buckets inside for Markowski. 

The Big Red then got back-to-back threes from Hake and Stewart to cap a 16-0 run. Pina stopped the run with her second three-pointer, but White closed out the period with four straight points to send the Huskers to the second quarter with a 14-point lead.

Nebraska took its biggest lead of the half on Nissley's third three-pointer to make it 27-10 with 6:05 left, before she added her fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 30-14. Shelley kept the lead at 16 points with her only three-pointer of the half to make it 33-17, before Northwestern close the quarter on a 6-2 surge.

The Huskers led 35-23 at the break after hitting 41.4 percent (12-29) of their shots, including 7-of-15 threes (.467), while going 4-of-6 at the free throw line. Nebraska outworked Northwestern 26-17 on the boards, but lost the first-half turnover battle, 7-5. Nissley led the Huskers with 12 first-half points, while Markowski added eight points on nine rebounds.

Nebraska held Northwestern to 9-of-34 shooting (.265) in the half, including 3-of-7 threes. The Wildcats hit 2-of-3 free throws. Pina and Casey Harter led the Cats with eight first-half points.

The Huskers close out home regular-season action on Saturday when they play host to Minnesota on Senior Day. Tip-off with the Golden Gophers is set for 4 p.m. (CT) with tickets available now at Huskers.com. The game will be available to B1G+ subscribers, while free live audio will be available across the Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com and on the Huskers App.

HUSKERS OPEN BEACH VOLLEYBALL SEASON ON THURSDAY

The Nebraska beach volleyball team begins its season with three matches at home this week. Nebraska will face McKendree on Thursday at 3 p.m. and again on Friday at 8 a.m. The Huskers will also host Park at 4 p.m. on Friday. 

NU's home matches will be played at the Hawks Championship Center and will be streamed on the Huskers' YouTube page and on volleyball social media accounts. Nebraska's home matches are closed to the public because of space limitations inside the Hawks Championship Center. 

The Huskers will also host Ottawa on Feb. 26 at 10 a.m., Southwest Baptist on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. and Wayne State on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. 

Nebraska will play its first road tournament at the Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., from March 2-3. NU's opponents will be Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, North Alabama, LSU, Central Arkansas and Houston Christian.  

The Huskers will then travel to Hawaii for the annual Queen's Cup from March 7-9. Round-robin play includes matches against Hawaii, Pepperdine, Chaminade and St. Mary's. NU's stay in Hawaii will end with matches at Hawaii Hilo on March 11 and March 12.

After returning to the mainland, the Huskers will play three matches in San Diego on March 14 against Feather River, San Diego Mesa and Grossmont. 

NU will close out the season on March 15-16 at the Long Beach State Tournament. The Big Red will face Pepperdine, CSUN, Texas and Long Beach State. 

The Huskers are coming off a 15-5 record in last year's beach volleyball season, the most wins in program history since it was founded in 2013. 

HUSKERS DEFEAT BLUEJAYS FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT SWEEP

Lincoln, Neb. - Behind the doubles point and six-straight singles wins, the Nebraska women’s tennis team (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) clinched the match victory over Creighton (4-3, 0-0 Big East) 7-0 on Tuesday evening. This is the Huskers’ 32nd win over the Bluejays. 

During doubles play, on Court 3 Lucy Loy and Jillian Roa got their first doubles win as they defeated the Bluejays, 6-3. Raphaelle Lacasse and Maja Pietrowicz rallied for a set but ultimately lost on Court 1 to Malvika Shukla and Valeriein Negin, 6-2. No. 27 Ana Zamburek and Anfisa Danilchenko defeated Ana Paula Martinez and Siri Kongara 6-2 on Court 2 to secure the doubles point. 

With the 1-0 lead for the Huskers, singles play kicked off with NU winning all of the first sets. Loy finished 6-1, 6-0 on Court 6 over Allison Wilcox to push the Husker lead to 2-0. On Court 4, Zamburek also managed a win over Kongra in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. To clinch the overall victory, Pietrowicz notched another win in straight sets for NU with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Martinez on Court 3. After dropping the second set, Danilchenko bounced back with a 10-3 tiebreaker win over Negin on Court 2 (6-2, 3-6, 1-0). On Court 1, Lacasse also picked up a tiebreak victory over Shukla, 6-1, 5-7, 1-0. Rounding out the sweep for the Big Red, Maria Taranova won in straight sets over Annika Elvestrom on Court 5, 6-4, 7-5.

Up next, the Huskers will host South Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. (CT). The match will be streamed on Playsight, and live stats will be posted on huskers.com.

Tennis Match Results 
Creighton vs Nebraska
Feb 20, 2024
Lincoln, NE (Dillon Tennis Center)
Nebraska 7, Creighton 0

Singles competition

1. Raphaelle Lacasse (NEB) def. Malvika Shukla (CU) 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (10-2) 
2. Anfisa Danilchenko (NEB) def. Valerie Negin (CU) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3)
3. Maja Pietrowicz (NEB) def. Ana Paula Martinez (CU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ana Zamburek (NEB) def. Siri Kongara (CU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Maria Taranova (NEB) def. Annika Elvestrom (CU) 6-4, 7-5
6. Lucy Loy (NEB) def. Allison Wilcox (CU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. Malvika Shukla/Valerie Negin (CU) def. Raphaelle Lacasse/Maja Pietrowicz (NEB) 6-3
2. #27 Anfisa Danilchenko/Ana Zamburek (NEB) def. Ana Paula Martinez/Siri Kongara (CU) 6-2
3. Lucy Loy/Jillian Roa (NEB) def. Annika Elvestrom/Jeanne Gearity (CU) 6-2

Match Notes:

Creighton 4-3
Nebraska 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,4,3,2,1,5) A-93