The No. 16 Nebraska women’s basketball team returns to Big Ten Conference road action on Sunday afternoon to take on Illinois in Champaign.

Tip-off between the Huskers (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten) and the Fighting Illini (7-8, 0-2 Big Ten) is set for 1 p.m. (CT) with live national television coverage by the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington and Patricia Babcock-McGraw on the call.

Nebraska had its five-game winning streak come to an end with a 70-57 loss to Michigan State on Thursday night in East Lansing. The Huskers, who suffered through their worst shooting night of the season (30.8 percent) opened the game hitting just 12-of-48 shots before heating up late in the game.

All-American Jordan Hooper led a talented and experienced starting five for the Big Red with 21 points and eight rebounds. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten forward from Alliance, Neb., ranks among the top three players in the Big Ten by averaging 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. She owns seven double-doubles this season and 33 in her career. Hooper heads to Illinois needing 32 points to become just the fourth player in Husker history with 2,000 career points. She needs just eight points to catch fellow Alliance, Neb., great Amy Stephens at No. 4 on the NU career scoring list with 1,978 points. Hooper is 32 points and 41 rebounds away from becoming just the third Husker and fifth Big Ten player in history to reach career milestones of 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Hooper, who is expected to make her 113th consecutive start, has been joined in Nebraska’s starting five by junior forwards Emily Cady (13.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Hailie Sample (6.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.8 apg) for each of the past 81 games. Cady notched her fifth double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the loss at Michigan State.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Derrick Walton Jr. scored the go-ahead layup with 21.8 seconds left and Nebraska missed two inside shots during a scramble before the buzzer, giving Michigan a 71-70 victory on Thursday night.

The Wolverines (11-4, 3-0 Big Ten) prevailed in a game that included 11 lead changes and 10 ties. The Cornhuskers (8-7, 0-3) lost for the first time in eight games at the new Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Glen Robinson III scored 19 points to lead five Michigan players in double figures. Jordan Morgan had 15 points, Nik Stauskas added 12 and Walton and Caris LeVert had 10 apiece.

Terran Petteway scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Huskers. Ray Gallegos and Deverell Biggs added 14 points and Walter Pitchford had 12.

East Lansing, Mich. – Cold-shooting Nebraska had its five-game winning streak snapped as Michigan State ran to a 70-57 women’s basketball win at the Breslin Center on Thursday night.

No. 16 Nebraska slipped to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, while Michigan State improved to 10-5 overall and 2-0 in the conference by notching its fourth consecutive victory.

The Spartans used a 19-3 surge over the final two minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half to build a 21-point lead, and Nebraska was unable to recover. MSU’s lead grew as large as 25 points, before eight straight points from Emily Cady in a 1:52 span pulled the Huskers back to 64-48 with 6:07 left.

Nebraska got the margin to 13 points at 67-54 with 1:51 left, but could get no closer.

Cady, a 6-2 junior forward from Seward, Neb., notched her fifth double-double of the season and 13th of her career with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Hooper added a game-high 21 points and eight boards for the Huskers. Sophomore guard Rachel Theriot added 11 points and eight assists for the Big Red.

The rest of the Huskers combined to score just nine points in 93 total minutes, as Nebraska hit just 20-of-65 shots (.308) from the field, including 6-of-17 (.353) three-pointers. NU also went 11-of-14 from the free throw line (.786).

Nebraska battled from start to finish and outrebounded MSU, 46-43 on the night. MSU won the turnover battle 15-12, and the Spartans finished 25-of-63 from the field (.397), including 8-of-19 (.421) from three-point range. MSU also became the first team this season to outscore Nebraska at the free throw line, going 12-of-18.

Aerial Powers led the Spartans with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Annalise Pickrel added a double-double of her own with 17 points and 10 boards. Becca Mills and Tori Jankoska each added 10 points for the Spartans in the win.

Michigan State took control early. The Spartans never trailed, and after Mills scored her second basket of the half to make it 6-4, MSU did not relinquish the lead. The bucket sparked a 9-0 run by the Spartans, who pushed the lead to double-digits the first time at 20-9 on a Kiona Johnson layup with 11:29 left in the period.

Nebraska rallied to cut the MSU lead to five points on two occasions, the last on a Hooper three-pointer with 2:41 left made it 29-24. But Hooper picked up her second foul with two minutes left, as Pickrel converted a three-point play. That play ignited an 8-0 Spartan surge to end the half, which included a buzzer-beater putback by Powers.

The Huskers hit just 10-of-35 shots (.286) in the first half, including 2-of-7 threes and 2-of-2 free throws. NU outrebounded Michigan State, 24-22, but lost the first-half turnover battle, 8-6.

Michigan State outscored Nebraska 22-12 in the paint in the first half, including 12-3 on second-chance points. The Huskers lost that battle in the opening period, despite getting eight offensive rebounds compared to six by MSU. The Spartans hit 15-of-34 field goals (.441) and 3-of-8 three-pointers. MSU was also 4-of-6 at the line.

Hooper led all scorers with 11 first-half points, while Cady added six points and nine rebounds for the Big Red. Mills led MSU with eight points, while the Spartans got seven points each from Pickrel and Jankoska.

Nebraska continues its two-game Big Ten road swing by traveling to Illinois on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off between the Huskers and Fighting Illini at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill., is set for 1 p.m. with live national television coverage on the Big Ten Network.

The No. 16 Nebraska women’s basketball team hits the road for the first time in more than a month to face Michigan State in the Big Red’s Big Ten road opener on Thursday night.

Tip-off between the Huskers (11-2, 1-0 Big Ten) and the Spartans (9-5, 1-0 Big Ten) is set for 6 p.m. (CT) with live national television coverage by the Big Ten Network with Eric Collins and Mary Murphy on the call.

The game can be heard live on the Husker Sports Network, including flagships B107.3 FM in Lincoln and the Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha. Free live audio is available on Huskers.com.

Nebraska, which was the preseason pick of media and coaches to win the 2014 Big Ten title, opened conference play with a 66-65 come-from-behind win over Northwestern in the first-ever Big Ten game at Pinnacle Bank Arena. It was Nebraska’s fifth straight win.

Michigan State also notched a Big Ten-opening victory, crushing Minnesota 81-56 on the Gophers’ homecourt on Saturdayat the Barn. It was the third straight win overall for the Spartans, who carry a 6-1 home mark at the Breslin Center this season.

All-American Jordan Hooper leads a talented and experienced starting five for the Big Red. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten forward from Alliance, Neb., ranks among the top three players in the Big Ten by averaging 20.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She notched her seventh double-double with 14 points and 10 boards in last Thursday’s win over Northwestern. Hooper is 53 points and 49 rebounds away from becoming just third Husker and fifth Big Ten player in history to reach career milestones of 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Hooper, who is expected to make her 112th consecutive start, has been joined in Nebraska’s starting five by junior forwards Emily Cady (13.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Hailie Sample (6.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.7 apg) for each of the past 80 games.

The Nebraska basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time in 2014, as the Huskers host Michigan in the Big Ten home opener Thursday evening.  Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and the game will be carried nationally on ESPN2 with Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham on the call. The game is also available on the WatchESPN app and at WatchESPN.com.

A crowd of close to 15,000 is expected for Thursday’s game while a limited number of tickets are available in both the 100 ($30) and 300 Levels ($10). For ticket availability, call Huskers.com or call 800-8-BIGRED. In addition, UNL students can still reserve their tickets by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED by Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday’s game will also be carried across the state on the 27-station Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison calling all of the action, including flagship stations KLIN (1400 AM/94.5 FM) in Lincoln and KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha. The game can also be heard on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as Sirius and XM Radio.

The Huskers (8-6, 0-2 B1G) look to snap a three-game losing streak following an 84-53 loss at third-ranked Ohio State on Saturday. The Huskers trailed 33-30 with 2:28 left in the half, but the Buckeyes closed the half on a 7-0 run and pulled away during the final 20 minutes of action.

Despite the loss to the Buckeyes, the Huskers got a strong performance from junior Leslee Smith, who was moved into the starting lineup as Walter Pitchford was battling the flu Saturday morning. Smith, making his first start of the year, totaled 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year. The 6-foot-8 junior is averaging 7.9 points on 61 percent shooting and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game despite averaging just under 20 minutes of playing time. Smith is ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding and would rank fourth in shooting percentage but is just shy of the conference minimum.

If Nebraska is to extend its home win streak to 10 games, the Huskers will have to knock off a talented Michigan team which is 10-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference action. The Wolverines bring a four-game win streak to Lincoln following a 74-51 victory over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. UM features sophomores Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III. Stauskas leads the Wolverines with 17.8 points and 3.6 assists per game, while Robinson averages 13.4 points per game on 50 percent shooting and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Columbus – Despite Leslee Smith’s third double-double of the season, the Huskers fell at No. 3 Ohio State, 84-53, Saturday afternoon at Value City Arena.

Smith had 11 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season, but a 7-0 Buckeye run to end the first half proved costly, as Nebraska fell to 8-6 on the season and 0-2 in the Big Ten play.

Nebraska was within 33-30 after a Shavon Shields basket with 2:28 left in the half, but Aaron Craft’s 3-pointer started a 7-0 spurt to close the half to give Ohio State (15-0, 2-0 B1G) a 10-point halftime lead.

Craft finished with nine points, four assists and three steals, as the Buckeyes put five players in double figures and shot 54 percent in the win.  Amedeo Della Valle came off the bench to lead OSU with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Marc Loving added 13 off the bench for the Buckeyes.

Terran Petteway joined Smith in double figures with 13 points, but Nebraska shot 38 percent, including just 9-fo-28 after halftime as Ohio State pulled away late. OSU also forced 13 Husker turnovers, leading to 17 Buckeye points.

Nebraska went on an early 8-2 run behind the shooting of Ray Gallegos. The senior, who was held scoreless at Iowa, drained a pair of 3-pointers, the second gave the Huskers an 8-6 lead with 15:17 left in the half. With the score tied at 10, baskets from Shields and Petteway staked the Huskers a four-point lead at 14-10 with 12:55 left in the half.

Ohio State came right back, as two Sam Thompson jumpers started a 9-1 Buckeye run, as Della Valle’s 3-pointer gave the Buckeyes a four-point lead and forced a timeout. Nebraska evened the contest on baskets from Smith and Tai Webster, but a 3-point play from Marc Loving and a 3-pointer from LaQuinton Ross sparked an 8-0 Buckeye run as OSU took a 27-19 lead after a Craft steal and layup.

The Huskers would roar back, as Webster’s 3-pointer started 7-2 Husker spurt, as the visitors got to within 29-26 after a Petteway driving basket. Nebraska would stay close, as Shields’ basket with 2:28 made it 33-30, but that would be the Huskers’ final basket of the half.

Nebraska got off to a quick start offensively in the second half, scoring on three of its first four possessions, cutting the 10-point lead to 44-36 after a Petteway jumper, but on Ohio State’s next possession, Craft hit a long jumper to beat the shot clock to spark a 10-0 Buckeye run. Ross then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 54-36 and forced a Husker timeout.

Trailing 56-36, Biggs started the Huskers on a run, scoring six points as Nebraska cut the lead to 58-44 after a pair of Biggs jumpers, as he finished with nine points off the bench.

That would be as close as Nebraska would get, as a driving basket by Craft and a 3-pointer by Della Valle quickly pushed the lead back to 19 and Ohio State remained in control the rest of the night.

The Huskers return to action on Thursday night, hosting Michigan at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. and will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and televised on ESPN2.