Huskers Shoot Past SLU

Lincoln - Natalie Potts led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points including a career-high four three-pointers, to help the No. 23 Nebraska women's basketball team fight its way to a 78-68 win over Southeastern Louisiana at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Potts went 6-for-9 from the field including 4-of-5 from three-point range while adding seven rebounds, a block and a steal, as Nebraska improved to 2-0 on the season. The 6-2 sophomore forward scored 14 points and hit all three of her threes in the second half to help the Huskers pull away from the Lady Lions (1-1) down the stretch.

As a team, Nebraska buried 14-of-29 three-pointers against a Lady Lion team that packed it in the paint to shut down senior All-America candidate Alexis Markowski. SLU held Markowski to nine points and five rebounds, but the 6-3 center got five points and three rebounds in the decisive fourth quarter to allow the Big Red to prevail.

Sophomore Logan Nissley added 14 points, including four three-pointers of her own, while contributing four assists off the bench, while senior transfer Alberte Rimdal pitched in 14 points and three assists. Rimdal, a 5-9 guard from Koge, Denmark, hit 3-of-6 threes on the day while making her first Husker start in place of Britt Prince. The freshman guard sat out Saturday's game after suffering a lower leg injury in practice on Wednesday.

Freshman Petra Bozan contributed to Nebraska's three-point barrage by contributing a pair of first-half threes. The 6-3 forward/center from Split, Croatia, is 4-for-4 from three-point range to open her career. She finished with 11 points and two rebounds.

Junior Callin Hake produced a terrific floor game to help the Huskers escape with the victory, as she finished with six points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Her previous career high was four assists, which she accomplished most recently in Nebraska's season-opening win over Omaha (Nov. 4).

Nebraska finished the game at 52 percent (26-50) from the field, including a sizzling 48.3 percent from long range, but the Huskers struggled to hit just 12-of-21 free throws (.571). 

Southeastern Louisiana, which won 19 games in 2023-24 and advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament out of the Southland Conference with 21 wins two seasons ago, was upset minded from the start, taking an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Lions extended their lead to 37-31 at halftime by hitting 14-of-19 two-point field goal attempts (.731) in the first half.

The Huskers were able to stay within striking distance by hitting 7-of-15 threes in the first 20 minutes, before going 7-for-14 from beyond the arc in the second half.

First-team All-Southland guard Alexius Horne led the Lady Lions with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Horne, who missed last season with an injury, also hit 5-of-6 free throws, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists.

Junior forward Lexi Alexander, a second-team All-Southland forward last season at Nicholls, added 14 points and seven rebounds of her own for SLU. Cheyanne Daniels pitched in nine points going head-to-head with Markowski, but had no rebounds.

Jalencia Pierre, the 2024 Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year, contributed six points, four rebounds, four assists and a game-high three steals for the Lady Lions.

Nebraska returns to action Tuesday, Nov. 12 against Southern at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers take on the Jaguars at 7 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed on B1G+ with audio coverage from the Huskers Radio Network.