No. 23 Huskers Fight but Fall at No. 17 Georgia Tech

Atlanta - No. 23 Nebraska fought to the finish after falling behind by double digits in the first half, but No. 17 Georgia Tech remained unbeaten with a 72-61 women's basketball win over the Huskers at McCamish Pavilion on Saturday evening.

With the loss, Nebraska slipped to 10-2 overall while Georgia Tech continued its best start in school history at 13-0.

All-America candidate Alexis Markowski led the Big Red on the road with her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Britt Prince added 11 points, a career-high eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Logan Nissley also contributed 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

The Huskers outscored the Yellow Jackets 42-40 in the second half and cut Georgia Tech's lead to eight points on multiple occasions in the fourth quarter, but the Yellow Jackets hit free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Freshman Dani Carnegie led Georgia Tech with 20 points, including four first-half three-pointers off the bench, while fellow freshman reserve Chazadi Wright pitched in 15 points, including two huge first-half threes.

Kara Dunn also played a big role for Georgia Tech with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, which helped the Yellow Jackets win the rebounding battle, 42-39.

For the game, Nebraska hit 23-of-67 shots from the floor (.343), including 6-of-23 threes (.261), while going 9-for-10 at the free throw line.  In the second half, the Huskers hit 15-of-36 shots, including 5-of-12 threes, but ice cold first-half shooting caused the Huskers to run up hill for the final three quarters.

In a half that was strikingly similar to last season's first half in an 80-72 win over Georgia Tech in Lincoln, the Huskers hit just 8-of-31 shots (.258), including just 1-of-12 threes (.083), falling behind 32-19 at halftime. Markowski was the only Husker to hit more than one shot in the half, going 4-for-8 from the field for eight points to go along with four rebounds.

Georgia Tech took its 13-point halftime advantage on the strength of 6-of-17 three-point shooting, including 4-of-8 threes by Carnegie off the bench and 2-of-2 threes from Wright. Carnegie led all first-half scorers with 12 points on those four threes.

Last season in Lincoln, the Huskers trailed the Yellow Jackets 32-22 after going just 10-for-32 from the floor, including 2-of-14 from three-point range.

This time around, Nebraska held the Yellow Jackets to 0-for-7 from long range after halftime, but the damage was done in the first 20 minutes. Georgia Tech finished 24-of-62 from the field (.387), including 6-of-24 (.250) from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets hit 18-of-21 free throws, including 11-of-13 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Nebraska will take time off for the Christmas holiday before returning to Big Ten play at No. 1 and unbeaten UCLA in Los Angeles on Dec. 29. Tip-off with the Bruins is set for 4 p.m. (CT) with a live video stream available from B1G+. The game can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network, including free live audio on Huskers.com.