Huskers Sweep Kansas with 49-46 Victory

Feb. 21, 2001

Lincoln --Stephanie Jones played one of her best games of the season, scoring a team-high 12 points, including six of Nebraska’s last seven points in the final 2:53 to help the Huskers to a 49-46 win and a season sweep of Kansas in front of 3,444 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Wednesday.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 4-10 in Big 12 Conference play and 12-15 overall after posting back-to-back wins for the first time since defeating East Carolina on Dec. 30 and Brigham on Jan. 2. Kansas fell to 4-10 in league play as well, while dipping to 10-15 overall.

With the game tied 42-42, Jones hit a jumper off an assist from Amanda Went with 2:53 left, but KU’s KC Hilgenkamp was fouled after making a driving layup and connected on the free throw to give Kansas a 45-44 lead with 2:34 to go.

After missed jumpers by Shahidrah Roberts and Shannon Howell, Jones stole the ball from Jayhawk guard Jennifer Jackson near halfcourt and raced for a layup to give NU a 46-45 lead with 1:47 left.

Hilgenkamp, a native of Arlington, Neb., who helped the Jayhawks with 12 points, found her way to the line again but hit just one of two free throws to tie the game at 46-46 with 1:33 to go. KU maintained possession but Jones rebounded the second of two missed free throws by Kristin Geoffroy and was fouled by Brooke Reves with 1:14 left.

Jones stepped to the line and knocked down both ends of her one-and-one free throw situation to give the Huskers a 48-46 lead. Howell, who finished as the only other Husker in double figures with 10 points, added Nebraska’s final point on a free throw with 39 seconds left to seal the victory for the Huskers.

“Steph Jones made some huge plays down the stretch for us. We really needed her tonight, and she came through,” Nebraska Coach Paul Sanderford said. “It was a very physical basketball game, but our kids got it done with guts and effort. It was a team win, and it was an ugly win, but we aren’t going to give it back.”

Jones added eight rebounds and a career-high four steals to her 12 points, marking only the fourth time this season that the sophomore from Omaha had managed double figures.

Along with the strong performances from Jones and Howell,Casey Leonhardt notched her fifth consecutive game with 10 or more rebounds, pulling down 10 boards to go along with eight points, snapping her streak of four straight double-doubles. It also marked the first time in Leonhardt’s Husker career that she grabbed 10 or more boards without scoring 10 or more points.

Roberts added nine points and six rebounds in another solid effort. Reves led the Jayhawks with a game-high 13 points and seven rebounds.

Nebraska outrebounded the Jayhawks, 45-34, including 17 offensive rebounds to help the Huskers outscore KU, 15-2, on second chance points. In the first meeting this season, NU enjoyed a 48-34 rebounding advantage.

The solid rebounding allowed NU to overcome poor shooting, as the Huskers hit just 33.3 percent (19-57) of their field goal attempts on the night, including a dismal 24.1 percent (7-29) in the first half. Nebraska shot just 18.8 percent (3-16) from three-point range, which included Nebraska missing its first nine shots from beyond the arc.

Kansas did not fair much better from the field, hitting just 33.9 percent (19-56) of its field goal attempts, while connecting on 30.8 percent (4-13) of its three-point tries.

Nebraska committed 20 turnovers but forced 19 Kansas turnovers. The Huskers also hit 8-of-12 free throws, while Kansas managed just 4-for-8 shooting from the line.

The win extended Nebraska’s winning streak in the series against Kansas to five games, while posting the second straight season sweep of the Jayhawks for the first time in school history. The victory also ended Nebraska’s five-game home losing streak, which was the longest in school history.

Nebraska concludes home regular-season action by playing host to No. 24 Baylor at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7:05 p.m. The Huskers will celebrate Senior Night against the Lady Bears, honoring Nebraska seniors Casey Leonhardt, Monique Whitfield and Amanda Went.

Source: University of Nebraska Sports Information