LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Shavon Shields scored a career-high 35 points, 21 of them in the first half, to lead slow-starting Nebraska past Omaha 80-67 on Tuesday night.

Nebraska (3-1) trailed by as many as 16 early but opened up a double digit lead late in the first half.

Omaha (2-2, 0-0 Summit) cut the Nebraska lead to 47-43 on C.J. Carter’s layup with 13:15 left.

Shields then hit Nebraska’s first field goal of the second half and followed that with a 3-pointer to push the Husker lead back to 52-43 with 12:25 remaining. Nebraska went up 61-50 on Shields 3-pointer with 9 minutes left. Omaha didn’t get any closer down the stretch.

Omaha opened the game hot, hitting eight of its first nine shots, four of them 3-pointers, in the first five minutes to take a 23-7 lead.

The No. 15 Nebraska women’s basketball team will complete a three-game non-conference swing against Pac-12 competition when the Huskers head to Los Angeles to take on UCLA Friday afternoon.

Tip-off between the Big Red (4-0) and the Bruins (0-3) is set for 3 p.m. (central) at Pauley Pavilion. The game will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks with Jim Watson and Tammy Blackburn on the call.

Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch will call the action on the Husker Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard live in Lincoln on B107.3 FM and 93.3 FM in Omaha, along with free live audio on Huskers.com.

Nebraska will take aim at a sweep of its three Pac-12 foes, after running to a 66-43 win over Utah in a return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Sunday. Senior forward Emily Cady erupted for a career-high 25 points against the Utes, while adding nine rebounds. Junior Rachel Theriot added an outstanding all-around performance with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, as the two Husker stars combined for 45 points to outscore the Utes on their own.

Theriot, a 6-0 junior point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, who was named to the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy this week, added 14 points and four assists at Washington State last Wednesday. Cady contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the 82-61 win over the Cougars to begin NU’s Pac-12 journey.

Tear’a Laudermill, a 5-9 senior guard from Moreno Valley, Calif., led five Huskers in double figures against the Cougars. Laudermill, who played her high school basketball at Canyon Springs, has traditionally played well in her returns to Los Angeles. As a sophomore in 2012-13, Laudermill hit a go-ahead three-pointer as the shot clock expired with less than two minutes left to propel the Huskers to a win over the Trojans. Last season, in a pair of NCAA Tournament games at Pauley Pavilion, Laudermill averaged 17.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal for the Huskers.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 7.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 13.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 12.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 17.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Off the Bench
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 5.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 4.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 2.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg
2 – Kaylee Page – 6-2 – Fr. – F – 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – High School
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – High School
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986) 
13th Season at NU (245-142); 25th Season Overall (440-282)

UCLA Bruins (0-3, 0-0 Pac-12)
10 – Kacy Swain – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 4.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg
13 – Luiana Livulo – 6-3 – Sr. – C – 4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
2 – Kari Korver – 5-9 – So. – G – 9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
3 – Jordin Canada – 5-6 – Fr. – G – 10.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg
21 – Nirra Fields – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 22.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Off the Bench
11 – Lajahna Drummer – 6-1 – Fr. – F – 9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
25 – Monique Billings – 6-4 – Fr. – F – 7.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg
34 – Corinne Costa – 6-4 – Sr. – F/C – 4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
5 – Recee Caldwell – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg
24 – Paulina Hersler – 6-3 – RFr. – F – 1.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
23 – Kelli Hayes – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 0.7 ppg, 0.0 rpg
20 – Dominique Williams – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Head Coach: Cori Close (UC Santa Barbara, 1993)
4th Season at UCLA (53-45); 4th Season Overall (53-45)

Lincoln – The University of Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office announced Tuesday morning that a limited number of floor section seats are now available for the men’s basketball game on Friday against Tennessee-Martin.

The tickets, which are $20 apiece, are located in the upper portion of Section 112, and are available because of the Thanksgiving break on campus. Tickets can be purchased by visiting Huskers.com, calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office prior to tonight’s game against Omaha beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Tipoff time for the Huskers’ game with Tennessee-Martin is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, as well as on the Husker Sports Radio Network.

After a tough overtime loss at Rhode Island, the Nebraska basketball team needs to bounce back as it takes on the University of Nebraska-Omaha Tuesday evening at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

A limited number of tickets for Tuesday’s contest are available, beginning at $7, by visiting Huskers.com, calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIG RED or visiting the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Tipoff for this intrastate matchup is set for 7:02 p.m. (central) and will be available on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app with Shawn Kenney and Rich Zvosac on the call. For more information on WatchESPN and ESPN3, visit (espn.go.com/watchespn/index). Tuesday’s game will be one of four ESPN3 broadcasts during non-conference play.

The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio.

The Huskers, who fell out of the rankings on Monday, look to rebound after suffering its first setback of the season on Saturday night, falling 66-62 at Rhode Island. The game was tightly contested, as neither team led by more than five points in regulation and the game saw 14 ties and 14 lead changes. Nebraska held URI to 34 percent shooting, but were doomed by shooting just 37 percent from the field and committing 16 turnovers.

The loss overshadowed a strong performance by junior Shavon Shields, who had a team-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting and nine rebounds against the Rams. Shields, who is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring and sixth in rebounding, is second on the Huskers in scoring (19.7 ppg) and leads NU in rebounding (8.0) and assists (2.3 apg). He combines with junior Terran Petteway to give Nebraska two of the top five scorers in the Big Ten.

The Huskers will face another offensive challenge Tuesday night as the Mavericks are coming off thier biggest win as a Division I program, knocking off Big East power Marquette, 97-89, Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks are averaging 90.3 points per game and are led by CJ Carter’s 21.3 points per game. UNO has three players averaging double figures and six players averaging at least 8.7 points per game.

Tuesday’s game is the first of two against the state’s other Division I programs, as the Huskers host Creighton on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Numbers 2 Know

96-Saturday’s overtime loss to Rhode Island marked the Huskers’ first OT game in 96 games dating back to a double overtime win at USC on  Nov. 14, 2014.

.800-Under Tim Miles, the Huskers are 24-6 when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting. NU has held all three opponents to under 40 percent in 2014-15.

21-Shavon Shields needs 21 points to move into 60th place on Nebraska’s career scoring list. Shields now has 708 career points after his 25-point effort on Saturday. NU is 4-2 in games where Shields scores at last 20 points.

Scouting Omaha

Omaha comes to town with a 2-1 record and are coming off their biggest win since moving to Division I, a 97-89 win at Marquette on Saturday. The Mavericks became the first non-power conference team to win at Marquette since current Nebraska coach Tim Miles led North Dakota State to a win there in 2006.  UNO, which went 17-15 and played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), is coached by Derrin Hansen, who is in his 10th season at the school and has guided the program from the Division II ranks.  UNO is in its final year of transition and will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament and NIT beginning next season.  The Mavericks downed Central Arkansas (100-75) in their home opener before falling at Seattle (74-98) to start this current three-game road trip.

UNO has been impressive offensively, averaging 90.3 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. This year, Omaha returned four starters, including senior guard CJ Carter, who averages 21.3 points per game, while Mike Rostampour is averaging 10.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.  Devin Patterson has been solid running the point, averaging 17.3 points and 6.0 assists per contest. UNO has outrebounded opponents by 10.0 boards per game and averages 16.0 offensive rebounds per game. Nebraska is one of several high-profile opponents on the non-conference slate, including games at Kansas State and Marquette before opening Summit League action.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 3-0, posting victories in 1987-88 (96-67), 2006-07 (76-62) and 2012-13 (75-62). Only the most recent meeting was when both programs were at the Division I level.

Last meeting vs. UNO: Dylan Talley scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures, as the Huskers fought off UNO, 75-62, at the Devaney Center. Talley joined with Andre Almeida in keying Nebraska’s decisive 14-4 run which allowed the Huskers to seize control from the Mavericks. Almeida finished with a season-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and matched his career best with seven rebounds.

Last Time Out

Shavon Shields had 25 points and nine rebounds, but Jared Terrell scored six of his 12 points in overtime, lifting the Rams to a 66-62 win over No. 21 Nebraska Saturdaynight.

Shields turned in a strong performance in a losing effort, scoring 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds in a career high 43 minutes. Terran Petteway joined Shields in double figures with 15 points, but the Huskers shot just 37 percent from the field.

Terrell, who was just 2-of-12 in regulation, took advantage of a scramble and got loose in the corner for a 3-pointer to give URI a three-point lead on the first possession of overtime. On the next possession, Terrell gave the hosts a four-point lead, hitting a tough 3-pointer in the corner over Shields to push the lead to 59-55.

Nebraska continued to fight, cutting a seven-point deficit to 63-60 after a pair of Petteway free throws with 50.4 seconds left. After a timeout, the Huskers forced an errant shot, but could not get the rebound as E.C. Matthews hit a foul shot to push the lead back to four. Petteway’s basket with four seconds left cut the deficit to 64-62, but Matthews was fouled and clinched the win with a pair of free throws. Matthews led Rhode Island (3-0) with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Terrell finished with 12 for the winners.

Notes from Saturday’s Loss

*-Nebraska was held to a season-low 62 points after averaging 81 points per game in the first two contests.

*-David Rivers made his first shot attempt, but missed his second field goal attempt, ending a streak of 10 consecutive field goals dating back to last year’s NCAA Tournament.

*-The overtime game was NU’s first since the 2011-12 season and first OT loss since Feb. 26, 2010.

*-The Huskers fall to 11-4 (.733) in games decided by five points or less under Tim Miles.

*-Shavon Shields’ 25 points marked his sixth career 20-point game. Shields has been in double figures in each of the last eight games dating back to last season. That is the longest streak of his career.

*-Nebraska fell to 1-1 all-time against Rhode Island and 9-11 all-time against the A-10.

*-Terran Petteway was held to a season-low 15 points, but set a career high with four blocked shots. It was the most blocked shots since Andre Almeida had four against Creighton on Dec. 6, 2012.

*-Freshman Tarin Smith tied for team-high honors with three assists and also hit the first 3-pointer of his career.

*-Moses Abraham grabbed seven rebounds in 15 minutes of work and now has 13 rebounds in his last two games.

Petteway and Shields Carry Husker Attack

Nebraska features two of the Big Ten’s most dynamic wing players in juniors Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Although we are just three games into the season, the pair has been a prolific scoring duo, combining for more than 40 points per game. In Nebraska’s 119-year history, only five duos have combined to average more than 36 points per game.

Defense Keys Husker Turnaround

Nebraska’s turnaround last year was keyed by an emphasis on the defensive end of the court.

The Huskers entered Big Ten play last in field goal defense and eighth in scoring defense, but dramatically improved during conference action.  Over the final 16 games of the 2013-14, NU held 10 opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field, including eight straight foes in one stretch.  The eight consecutive foes under 40 percent was the longest streak by a Husker defense in at least four decades.  The Huskers finished Big Ten play second in conference games in field goal percentage (.415) and third in scoring defense (63.4).

In 2014-15, the Huskers have continued to shine on the defensive end, holding its first three opponents to a combined 35 percent shooting and 61 points per game.

*-Nebraska has been stout at home over the last two seasons, as only three teams have shot over 45 percent against the Huskers, while 11 of 18 opponents have been held to under 40 percent shooting. Northern Kentucky shot just 36 percent while Central Arkansas was held to 33 percent.

*-Nebraska is 24-6 over the past three seasons when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.

*-Nebraska climbed from 102nd in defensive efficiency to 25th in 2013-14 and is currently 21st entering Tuesday’s game with Omaha.

Petteway Leads Husker Returnees

Junior wing Terran Petteway comes into 2014-15 as one of the nation’s premier players. The 6-foot-6 junior wing has been featured on several lists of top players in college basketball and was chosen second-team preseason All-American by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com.

As a sophomore, he led the Big Ten in scoring at 18.1 points per game while adding 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest, while starting all 32 contests. Not only did he lead the Huskers in scoring, but also was second on the team in rebounding and third in assists.

Early on, Petteway has been a force for the Huskers, ranking third in the Big Ten in scoring at 21.0 points per game, along with 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. In addition to scoring, he is third in 3-pointers per game and fourth in blocked shots.

He opened the season with the best long-distance shooting of his career, hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range on his way to scoring a game-high 25 points against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 15. He followed up with a 23-point effort in Tuesday’s win over Central Arkansas and had 15 points and four blocked shots in the overtime loss to Rhode Island.

*-Petteway has been in double figures in 14 consecutive games dating back to last year and 33 of 35 career games at Nebraska.

*-He has a pair of 20-point games, including a season-high 25 points against Northern Kentucky, and has 14 career games at NU with 20 or more points.

*-Petteway looks to become the first player since Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10) to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons. Over the last 30 years, only three players – Turner, Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (1993-94) and Michigan’s Glen Rice (1988-89) – have accomplished the feat.

*-On Nov. 16, he was chosen for the Wooden Award Men’s Preseason Top 50.  Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor. Petteway is the first Husker on the list since Aleks Maric in the 2007-08 season.

Nebraska has had eight All-Americans in program history, most recently Carl McPipe during the 1977-78 season.

Last season, Petteway became the first player to earn unanimous first-team all-conference honors since Venson Hamilton in 1999, and also earned first-team all-district honors by the NABC (coaches) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (writers). Petteway finished Big Ten play as the conference scoring leader, averaging 18.6 points per game. He became the fifth Husker in the last century to lead a conference in scoring in conference games and first since former Big Eight Player of the Year Andre Smith in 1980-81.  He also led the conference at 18.1 points per game in all games and became the first Husker since 1950 (first year the Big Seven Conference kept records) to ever lead the league in scoring for all games.

Shields Keys Husker Attack

While Petteway has become one of the best players in the Big Ten last season, the emergence of junior Shavon Shields may be one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten. The 6-foot-7 wing started all 32 games and averaged 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game to earn honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media.

This season, Shields has continued his emergence, averaging 19.7 points on 64 percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds per game. He also averages a team-high 2.3 assists per game.  He comes off a season-high 25 points and nine rebounds in the overtime loss to Rhode Island on Saturday. Shields enters the week fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounds and 12th in field goal percentage.

*-Over his last eight games dating back to last year, Shields is averaging 18.9 points per game on 55 percent shooting along with 7.0 rebounds per game.

*-Collected his fourth career double-double against Central Arkansas with 16 points – all in the first half – and 11 rebounds while matching his career best with four assists.

*-Scored 18 points on just four field goal attempts, hitting all four shots from the floor while going 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. It was the third time in his career he has gone 10-of-10 or better from the foul line in a game.

*-Shields is one of four returnees to rank in the top 15 in both scoring and rebounding in Big Ten play last year, joining Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), Rayvonte Rice (Illinois) and Aaron White (Iowa).

*-Has started a team-high 55 consecutive games dating back to his freshman year.

Last season, Shields played some of his best basketball since moving to his natural wing position in February, averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 49 percent from the field over NU’s last 12 contests. The Huskers went 8-4 over that stretch.

Shields earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for his efforts during the last week of the season, averaging 21.5 points per game in wins over Indiana and Wisconsin, as he had 26 points against the ninth-ranked Badgers and 17 points and eight rebounds in the win at Indiana.   His best offensive effort came against Illinois on Feb. 12, when he scored a career-high 33 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and all 15 of his free throws. Shields tied Nebraska’s single-game record for free throws without a miss and became only the 11th Big Ten player to hit at least 15 free throws without a miss and the first since 1997.