Lincoln - Sam Haiby scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half to help Nebraska withstand a fourth-quarter Creighton rally, as the Huskers secured a 67-62 women's basketball win over the Bluejays on Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Haiby added two rebounds, three assists and two steals in the second half to help Nebraska build a 16-point second-half lead before hanging on for the five-point victory to snap Creighton's five-game winning streak in the series and improve to 4-0 on the young season. Creighton slipped to 1-2 with a pair of narrow road losses.

Haiby's final two points came at the free throw line with 5.4 seconds left to seal the win, as the All-Big Ten guard scored seven of Nebraska's 14 points in the final period.

Nebraska held on despite going just 2-for-14 from the field and 10-of-17 from the line in the final period.

For the game, Nebraska hit 32.3 percent (20-62) of its shots from the field, including 5-of-20 threes, while connecting on 22-of-31 free throws. The Big Red played outstanding defense throughout, holding Creighton to 32.8 percent shooting (21-64) including 5-of-19 from long range. The Huskers, who led from nearly start-to-finish, outscored Creighton 22-15 at the free throw line and won the turnover battle against the Jays, 17-11, despite full-court pressure from CU for much of the second half.

True freshman Alexis Markowski, the 2021 Nebraska High School Player of the Year, fueled a first-half Husker surge that allowed the Big Red to take a 33-20 lead to halftime. Nebraska outscored the Jays 22-10 in the second quarter with six big points coming from Markowski. The 6-3 center added four rebounds and a blocked shot in just over 12 meaningful minutes in the game off the bench.

Creighton came out of the locker room with a 6-0 run to start the third quarter to cut the lead to 33-26, but Markowski answered with five straight points in a 44-second span to quickly put the Big Red back up by double digits at 38-26. Moments later, freshman Kendall Coley pushed the Husker margin to 41-26 with a three-pointer. Although Coley finished with three points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal, she wreaked havoc on the defensive end throughout the night to help Nebraska quiet the Jays. 

Nebraska maintained its double-figure edge throughout the rest of the third quarter, claiming its biggest margin on a Haiby shot late in the quarter to make it 53-37. 

In a rough and tumble fourth quarter, the two teams combined to hit just 9-of-34 field goal attempts. Creighton finished the night with 27 fouls, while Nebraska was called for 23 in the game.
 
Ashley Scoggin contributed nine points on a trio of three-pointers, while Bella Cravens pitched in nine more for the Huskers. Isabelle Bourne managed five points and seven rebounds, while Ruby Porter, Allison Weidner and Jaz Shelley each contributed four points. Shelley also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds from her point guard spot while dishing out three assists. Freshman Kendall Moriarty rounded out Nebraska's scoring with a key three-pointer in the first half to help the Huskers take control of the game.

Carly Bachelor led Creighton with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. Morgan Maly added 16 points with a trio of three-pointers off the bench for CU, while Tatum Rembao contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. Emma Ronsiek put up nine points and eight rebounds inside, while Molly Mogensen rounded out the CU scorers with eight points and six rebounds.
 
Nebraska caps off its five-game season-opening home stand on Saturday when the Huskers host North Carolina Central. Tip-off between the Big Red and Eagles is set for noon at Pinnacle Bank Arena, with tickets on sale now at Huskers.com. Tickets are also available the day of the game at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Box Office. 

Mertz making strides during No. 19 Wisconsin's win streak

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin owes its six-game winning streak largely to its top-ranked defense’s knack for producing big plays and running back Braelon Allen.

The Badgers also are getting more production from a passing game that delivered more turnovers than touchdowns for much of the season. Graham Mertz went 11 of 16 for 240 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception a 52-3 blowout at Rutgers. He followed that up by going 18 of 23 for 216 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception in a 35-7 triumph over Northwestern.  

The Badgers face Nebraska this weekend.

Huskers Overpower Tar Heels 27-6

LINCOLN – The No. 9 Nebraska wrestling team dominated No. 15 North Carolina allowing only six points and recording three-straight bonus point victories to defeat the Tar Heels (2-2, 0-0 ACC) 27-6 at the Devaney Center on Wednesday night. 
 
#17 Liam Cronin (125) started the night off strong for the Huskers with a takedown and an escape in route to a defeat of Spencer Moore by decision, 3-1. North Carolina then scored its only points of the dual as #30 Alex Thomsen (133) and #5 Chad Red Jr. (141) kept their matches close but lost by decision, and North Carolina took a 6-3 lead before Nebraska won the remaining seven bouts.
 
At 149, #14 Ridge Lovett continued his early season success as he upset No. 6 Zach Sherman by decision 4-3. Lovett is now 3-0 on the season.
 
The night's most exciting match took place at 157 as #16 Peyton Robb followed suit and defeated defending national champion #2 Austin O'Connor, holding him to only two points in a 5-2 win by decision. Robb now holds an impressive 33-13 career record. 
 
Action continued as Bubba Wilson (165) battled Sonny Santiago recording an escape and a takedown on his way to a 3-2 win by decision. Returning three-time All-American #3 Mikey Labriola (174) made his season debut in an impressive fashion as he tallied a 3-2 win over #22 Clay Lautt, and the Huskers took a 15-6 lead with three bouts to go. 
 
The final three matches of the night saw the Big Red rack up its first bonus points. Two-time All-American #10 Taylor Venz (184) recorded six points in the first period on his way to a major decision victory over Hunter Queen. Fellow All-American #12 Eric Schultz (197) recorded his second win of the season with a dominating 16-3 win by major decision over Mark Chaid before #13 Christian Lance closed out the dual using a seven-point second period to earn a major decision over Brandon Whitman. 
 
NU (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will return to action this Sunday at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. before the team travels to the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. on December 3.     
 
#9 Nebraska 27, #15 North Carolina 6
125: #17 Liam Cronin (NEB) dec. Spencer Moore (UNC) 3-1 (NEB 3, UNC 0)
133: #10 Jaime Hernandez (UNC) dec. #30 Alex Thomsen (NEB) 10-4 (NEB 3, UNC 3)
141: #13 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) dec. #5 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) 3-1 (UNC 6, NEB 3)
149: #14  Ridge Lovett (NEB) dec. #6 Zachary Sherman (UNC) 4-3 (NEB 6, UNC 6)
157: #16 Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. #2 Austin O'Connor (UNC) 5-2 (NEB 9, UNC 6)
165: Bubba Wilson (NEB) dec. Sonny Santiago (UNC) 3-2 (NEB 12, UNC 6)
174: #3 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #22 Clay Lautt (UNC) 3-2 (NEB 15, UNC 6)
184: #10 Taylor Venz (NEB) maj. dec. Hunter Queen (UNC) 15-2 (NEB 19, UNC 6)
197: #12 Eric Schultz (NEB) maj. dec. Mark Chaid (UNC) 16-3 (NEB 23, UNC 6)
HWT: #13 Christian Lance (NEB) maj. dec. Brandon Whitman (UNC) 17-6 (NEB 27, UNC 6)

Huskers Ready for Weekend Slate With Penn State, Rutgers

The No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team (19-6, 13-3 Big Ten) plays its final two home matches of the regular season this weekend, welcoming No. 15 Penn State (19-7, 12-4) and Rutgers (8-19, 0-16) to the Devaney Center. First serve against the Nittany Lions on Friday, Nov. 19 is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on BTN and streamed via its digital extension on the FOX Sports app. Larry Punteney will handle play-by-play duties, and Audrey Flaugh will provide color commentary.
 
On Saturday, Nov. 20, the Huskers' play host to the Scarlet Knights on Senior Night at 7 p.m. The match will be televised in a statewide broadcast on Nebraska Public Media and streamed on B1G+ with Punteney on play-by-play alongside color analyst Kathi Wieskamp.
 
This week's action will be carried on Huskers Radio Network with the NU radio team of John Baylor and Lauren Cook West. Baylor is in his 28th season handling play-by-play duties for the Husker volleyball program, and West, a former All-America setter at NU, will provide color commentary for the sixth straight year.
 
Huskers Radio Network will carry the matches on HRN radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be available at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. Inside the Devaney Center, fans can access the direct radio call of the match at 87.7 FM.
 
Quick Hits
• Nebraska is tied with Wisconsin for the lead in the Big Ten standings at 13-3.
• The Huskers stayed at No. 11 in the AVCA national poll this week. NU is No. 13 in the latest NCAA RPI report.
• Nebraska will play on back-to-back nights this weekend (Nov. 19-20) and next weekend (Nov. 26-27) to close out the Big Ten slate. The Huskers have previously had at least one day between all other conference matches this fall. Their last time playing on consecutive nights was the Ameritas Players Challenge (Sept. 3-4).
• All five Husker seniors -- Kayla Caffey, Nicklin Hames, Callie Schwarzenbach, Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun -- will be honored with Senior Night festivities following Saturday's match.
• NU's final four matches of the regular season include three top-15 opponents: No. 15 Penn State (Nov. 19), No. 5 Wisconsin (Nov. 26) and No. 6 Purdue (Nov. 27).
• Across all matches this season, the Huskers have held their opponents to .150 hitting, the 10th-lowest mark in the country.
• Nebraska was the last unbeaten team in Big Ten play. Its 10-0 start was their second-best since joining the conference in 2011.
 
Scouting the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State is 19-7 (12-4 Big Ten) and carries a four-match win streak after a 3-1 road win over Michigan State last Saturday. Adanna Rollins reached 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs in the match, finishing with a double-double (16 kills/10 digs). Kaitlyn Hord added 14 kills and five blocks, and Allie Holland had 10 kills. Gabby Blossom and Jenna Hampton each had 18 digs, and Blossom totaled 53 assists for another double-double.
 
Hord leads the Big Ten with a .470 hitting percentage in conference matches, and Holland is fourth (.393). Hampton also leads the way with 4.81 digs per set in conference play. As a team, PSU leads the league with a .272 attack percentage, 14.89 kills per set and 13.78 assists per set.
 
Russ Rose is in his 43rd season at Penn State with a career record of 1,328-225.
 
The Nittany Lions have gone 8-3 since their first meeting with Nebraska this season on Oct. 8.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Penn State
The Huskers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Penn State. They lead 24-11 in the all-time series, including 15-6 in the John Cook era and 11-5 in Big Ten matches. NU has an 18-3 advantage over the Nittany Lions in Lincoln, including 6-1 at the Devaney Center.
 
The last NU-PSU meeting at Devaney was Nov. 2, 2019, which the Huskers won 3-2.
 
Scouting the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers, which visits No. 9 Minnesota Friday night, enters the weekend at 8-19 (0-16 Big Ten) and looks to snap a 17-match skid. The Scarlet Knights suffered a 3-0 loss at Michigan last Saturday, and Kamila Cieslik finished with a team-leading five kills.
 
Caitlin Schweihofer is in her second year at Rutgers with a record of 14-33 and a career mark of 87-141 over eight seasons as a head coach.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Rutgers
The Huskers lead the all-time series with Rutgers 11-1 and have triumphed in 11 straight against the Scarlet Knights. All 11 of those matches were as members of the Big Ten, and all but one were sweeps. NU is 6-0 when facing Rutgers at home, all at the Devaney Center.
 
Up Next
Nebraska brings the regular season to a close next weekend, starting with a visit to Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 26. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at UW Field House in Madison, Wis. The match will be televised on BTN and streamed via its digital extension on the FOX Sports app. John Baylor and Lauren Cook West will also have the radio call on Huskers Radio Network.

Trey McGowens Undergoes Surgery

Lincoln – University of Nebraska guard Trey McGowens underwent surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a broken 5th metatarsal in his right foot. The injury occurred during the first half of Nebraska's game against Creighton on Tuesday.

According to Nebraska Men's Basketball Athletic Trainer R.J. Pietig, the injury will sideline McGowens for between six and eight weeks, and McGowens is expected to have a full recovery.

McGowens, who had started all 30 games since transferring to Nebraska prior to last season, is averaging 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.  He ranked second on the team in both scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg) in 2020-21.

The Huskers return to action on Friday night against Idaho State. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. and the game will be carried on B1G+ and on select Husker Radio Network affiliates.