No. 25 Nebraska Women’s Basketball (14-3, 3-3) was trounced by No. 4 UCLA on its home court in Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Bruins (15-1, 5-0) took it to the Huskers 83-61.
UCLA center Lauren Betts dominated as usual. She scored 18 points and captured 10 rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens posted 16 points and six assists. Six Bruins had double-digit points.
Nebraska was paced by forward Amiah Hargrove. She had 12 points and three rebounds. The sophomore was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Logan Nissley had 11 points and was 3-of-5. Jessica Petrie and Callin Hake added 10 points each.
The Bruins shot 48% from the field and 38% from three. They outrebounded Nebraska 43-28. Nebraska shot 38% from the field, 33% from three and 83% from the free-throw line.
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Bruins set the tone
Nebraska and UCLA struggled to score to start the game. However, the Bruins settled in for an 11-2 run to take a 17-9 lead. Kennadi Williams found Hargrove for a layup to end the first quarter trailing 17-11.
In the first quarter, the Huskers were 5-of-15 from the field and 1-of-6 from behind the arc. UCLA shot 57% from the field but was 0-of-4 from 3-point range.
Nissley opened the second quarter with her first bucket, a 3-pointer to make it 17-14. Britt Prince made a tough jumper in the paint, but Gianna Kneepkens responded with her third bucket for a 24-16 UCLA lead.
The Bruins’ offense cooled off a little in the second quarter, but they hit three triples, which helped boost them to a 37-25 lead at halftime. UCLA and Nebraska shot around 35% from the field in the second quarter.
UCLA dominated on the boards in the first half. They had 21 rebounds compared to Nebraska’s 16. NU had 4 rebounds late in the first half. The Bruins had five offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points.
UCLA defense stiffles Huskers
Nebraska continued its worst scoring performance of the season. UCLA’s shooters stayed hot. The Huskers were outscored 24-16 in the third quarter, their worst scoring margin in the four quarters.
After Eliza Maupin hit a 3-pointer with 7:47 left in the second, the Huskers didn’t make a field goal for over seven minutes. Petrie broke the drought with a layup with nine seconds left in the quarter. In the third, Nebraska had three field goals and was 9-of-12 from the free-throw line.
UCLA’s defense didn’t give Nebraska an inch. They suffocated what is usually a solid offense. The Huskers averaged 85.8 points per game before Sunday’s game.
The Bruins made it nearly impossible for Nebraska to get great looks. They shut down Nebraska’s best scorer, Prince. She had six points after averaging over 19 points per game before the game. Prince had 24 points in her last game vs. UCLA in a 85-74 loss in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.
The Blue and Gold’s offense was impressive, too. They went on an 11-0 run when Nebraska got within 20 points to go up 83-56 with 1:16 left.
Next, Nebraska travels to East Lansing, Mich. to face No. 15 Michigan State on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.