Redbirds Fall On The Road To No. 24 Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. – Fighting snow and frigid temperatures to find its way to Lincoln, Illinois State had another tough task ahead of it on Sunday against No. 24 Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers (11-0) showed why they have yet to suffer a defeat, as they picked up an 85-44 win over the Redbirds (5-6) thanks to shooting 53 percent from the field in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    Nebraska jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the contest, before Addison Martin connected on a jumper with six minutes left in the first quarter to trim the deficit to 8-2. The Cornhuskers would finish the quarter on a 13-0 run to make the score 21-2 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
•    Martin scored four early points in the second quarter to get things going for the Redbirds, but Nebraska would extend the lead to 20 points at 28-8 at the second quarter media timeout following a pair of free throws by Grace Nelson for ISU.
•    Coming out of the break, Bella Finnegan drilled the first three-pointer of the game for the Redbirds and Kya Hurt converted on a three-point play with under four minutes before halftime.
•    Trista Fayta later connected on a three-point play with under two minutes to play before half to trim the Nebraska lead to 36-17 and Hurt drilled a jumper with a minute to play to cut the deficit to 38-19. Fayta would then make a layup with 34 seconds to play but Nebraska would add a bucket at the buzzer to make it 41-20 at halftime.
•    Midway through the third quarter, Hurt scored four-straight points to trim the Nebraska lead back to 19 points at 48-29, before the Huskers went on a 12-0 run before the media timeout with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
•    Hurt connected on a jumper out of the break and then hit a pair of free throws to score four-straight point and Martin would score on a jumper with 30 seconds left in the quarter to send things to the fourth with Nebraska leading 62-35.
•    Nebraska went on a run to start the fourth quarter, but it was Hurt once again that came up with a big bucket for the Birds as she scored her 18th point of the game to establish a new career high with 3:27 left in the contest.
•    A late bucket by Madison Austin with under a minute to play would be the final basket for the Redbirds, as the Huskers pulled away for the win to remain undefeated on the year.

HIGHLIGHTS 
•    Hurt set a new career high with 18 points, topping her previous high of 16 points set earlier this season against Saint Louis. 
•    Martin scored in double figures for the 11th straight game to start the season, with 12 points thanks to a 4-for-4 effort from the charity stripe and five rebounds against the Huskers.
•    Despite being held scoreless in the contest, Doneelah Washington recorded nine rebounds and five blocks for the Redbirds

UP NEXT 
The Redbirds return home on Friday, when they host Oakland in their final non-conference matchup with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. at CEFCU Arena.

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