Lincoln – Shavon Shields’ 15 points led four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska took control early for a 79-67 win over Arkansas StateSaturday afternoon.

Nebraska, which improved to 7-3 on the season, put its best 20 minutes of the season together in building a 50-27 halftime lead. The Huskers shot 53 percent from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, in the opening 20 minutes while holding Arkansas State (5-3) to 38 percent in the half.

Nebraska got off to a blistering start, using a 15-0 run to build an early lead behind the play of Pitchford and Ray Gallegos, who combined for 11 of NU’s first 15 points. Pitchford opened the run with two long jumpers before a pair of Gallegos 3-pointers pushed the margin to 13 just 3:40 into the contest.

Pitchford finished with his first career double-double, totaling 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Gallegos had 13 points and a career high four assists, as Nebraska totaled a season-high 19 assists on 29 baskets.

Arkansas State responded by cutting Nebraska’s lead to 17-9 after a Kirk Van Slyke basket, but Nebraska responded with another 8-0 to build a 25-9 lead just 9:39 minutes the contest. The Huskers led by as many as 24 points in the first half en route to scoring 50 first-half points for the first time since 2008.

In the second half, the Red Wolves opened the half with a 7-2 run to get within 52-35 after a Van Slyke jumper to force a Nebraska timeout, but Shields and the Huskers regrouped. The sophomore forward scored seven of his 16 points in an 11-0 run to extend the lead to 28, at 63-35, with14:42 remaining.

Arkansas State fought back, cutting the 28-point deficit to 11 in the final two minutes, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Van Slyke led Arkansas State with a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds, while Melvin Johnson II had 18 points and three rebounds.

The Huskers will be off for finals before returning to action next Saturday, Dec. 21, against The Citadel. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Husker Sports Radio Network and online on the Big Ten Digital Network.

Lincoln – No. 19 Nebraska held Creighton to just 11 second-half points to pull away for a 63-38 women’s basketball victory over the Bluejays at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.

The Huskers improved to 8-2 on the season, while holding Creighton to its lowest point total in the series since the 1975-76 Huskers surrendered just 31 on Dec. 5, 1975. No other Creighton team had scored fewer than 48 points against Nebraska since 1975, in a series that NU leads 28-11.

Creighton, which advanced to the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, jumped to a 10-7 lead in the game’s first four minutes following the second three-pointer of the game by Marissa Janning.  CU held a 12-11 lead with 14 minutes left before back-to-back layups by Emily Cady and Brandi Jeffery put the Huskers in front.

A three-pointer by CU’s Sarah Nelson tied the score at 19 with 8:39 left, before back-to-back layups by Cady and Hailie Sample gave the Huskers the lead for good at 23-19 with 7:51 left in the opening half.

Cady, Sample and Jeffery did the most damage throughout the day for the Huskers. Cady, a 6-2 junior forward from Seward, Neb., finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a strong all-around game.

Sample, a 6-1 junior forward from Flower Mound, Texas, added 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block despite battling illness during the week leading up to the game.

Jeffery, a 5-7 junior guard from Vacherie, La., added 11 big points off the bench to go along with a career-high-matching four assists – all in the first half. She added three rebounds and a pair of steals to lead strong contributions off the bench for the Big Red.

“I thought Brandi did a great job for us today,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “I thought she and Hailie Sample and Emily kind of took the game over for us late in the first half. Brandi has been playing really well off the bench for us, and we hope that will continue because we need her.”

Jeffery, Cady and Sample combined for Nebraska’s final 10 points of the first half, including three-point plays from Cady and Sample off assists from Jeffery to help the Huskers push their lead to 35-27 at halftime.

The Huskers pulled away early in the second half, as Cady, Sample and Tear’a Laudermill fueled a 10-0 run to open the half and push NU’s lead to 45-27 with 14:21 left. The Jays got no closer than 14 points the rest of the way, as the Huskers held CU to just 11 second-half points on 4-for-35 shooting.

After the two early threes from Janning – Creighton’s leading scorer – the Huskers allowed only two more for Janning the rest of the way. She finished with eight points after entering the contest averaging 17 per game.

Jordan Hooper also held CU’s second-leading scorer, Sarah Nelson, to just just six points on a pair of threes, while limiting Nelson to just four rebounds. Nelson held Hooper to just five points, but Hooper yanked down 15 defensive rebounds on the day.

Husker sophomore point guard Rachel Theriot added a solid effort with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal while helping Nebraska dictate the tempo and the attack throughout the contest.

Laudermill scored all seven of her points early in the second half during Nebraska’s decisive run. She added a rebound and two steals for the Huskers.

Freshman center Allie Havers added five points, a rebound and a block off the bench.

As a team, Nebraska hit 44 percent (22-50) of its shots for the game, including 2-of-8 three-pointers. The Huskers were a sparkling 17-of-19 at the free throw line, and outscored CU 17-1 at the stripe. Nebraska committed a season-low seven fouls and a season-low 10 turnovers. The Big Red also blocked a season-high six shots.

Creighton finished the game at 23.1 percent (15-65) from the field, including 4-for-35 in the second half (11.4 percent). Nebraska pushed CU away from the basket throughout the game, as the Jays went 7-for-31 from three-point range (22.6 percent). CU won the rebounding battled 41-39, including a 13-1 edge on the offensive glass. But NU won the turnover battle, 13-10.

Nebraska will take the week off from competition for Finals Week, while preparing for a Saturday afternoon clash with South Dakota. Tip-off between the Huskers and Coyotes (6-5) at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 2:30 p.m. South Dakota is coached by former Husker Amy (Gusso) Williams. Tickets are available now at Huskers.com.

Official Basketball Box Score

Official Basketball Box Score

Creighton vs Nebraska

12/14/13 11:06 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)

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VISITORS: Creighton 4-5

TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS

## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN

42 NELSON, Sarah……. f  2-9    2-7    0-0    1  3  4   2   6  0  1  1  0  31

55 KAMPHAUS, Alyssa…. c  4-8    0-0    0-0    3  4  7   2   8  0  4  0  0  15

11 FUJAN, McKenzie….. g  2-13   1-8    0-0    0  3  3   4   5  2  1  0  1  30

23 JANNING, Marissa…. g  3-13   2-8    0-0    0  6  6   4   8  2  5  1  0  33

32 GARRISON, Jordan…. g  0-3    0-2    0-0    0  3  3   2   0  1  0  0  1  16

05 JENSEN, Sammy…….    2-4    2-4    0-0    0  0  0   2   6  0  0  0  1  22

12 WORKS, Lauren…….    0-3    0-2    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  1  0  0  0  17

20 LEYTEM, Tessa…….    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2

45 AKIN-OTIKO, Alexis..    1-6    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   1   2  1  1  1  1  18

50 ROLLERSON, Brianna..    1-6    0-0    1-2    4  2  6   2   3  1  1  1  0  16

TEAM…………….                         3  2  5

Totals…………..   15-65   7-31   1-2   13 28 41  19  38  8 13  4  4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-30 36.7%   2nd Half:  4-35 11.4%   Game: 23.1%  DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-14 35.7%   2nd Half:  2-17 11.8%   Game: 22.6%   REBS

F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  1-2  50.0%   Game: 50.0%    0

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HOME TEAM: Nebraska 8-2

TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS

## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN

03 Sample, Hailie…… f  5-10   0-0    3-3    1  3  4   1  13  2  1  1  0  32

23 Cady, Emily……… f  6-12   0-1    2-2    0  7  7   1  14  4  1  3  1  34

35 Hooper, Jordan…… f  1-7    0-3    3-4    0 15 15   2   5  0  1  1  0  33

01 Laudermill, Tear’a.. g  2-6    1-2    2-2    0  1  1   1   7  0  0  0  2  18

33 Theriot, Rachel….. g  3-7    0-0    2-2    0  5  5   0   8  4  2  0  1  38

10 Tvrdy, Hannah…….    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2

11 Ramacieri, Esther…    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2

13 Jeffery, Brandi…..    4-4    1-1    2-2    0  3  3   1  11  4  3  0  2  22

21 Murren, Sadie…….    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   8

22 Havers, Allie…….    1-2    0-0    3-4    0  1  1   1   5  0  0  1  0  11

TEAM…………….                            1  1             2

Totals…………..   22-50   2-8   17-19   1 38 39   7  63 14 10  6  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-28 53.6%   2nd Half:  7-22 31.8%   Game: 44.0%  DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-3   0.0%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 25.0%   REBS

F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half: 12-13 92.3%   Game: 89.5%    1

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Officials: Bob Trammell, Lisa Mattingly, Brian Hall

Technical fouls: Creighton-TEAM. Nebraska-None.

Attendance: 5233

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total

Creighton…………………   27   11  –   38

Nebraska………………….   35   28  –   63

The Nebraska basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday, Dec. 14, as the Huskers take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Tipoff for Saturday’s tilt is set for 3:01 p.m. and will be carried nationally on the Big Ten Network (Ch. 610 on DirecTV, Chs. 439 and 9500 on Dish; Chs. 2, 1333 on Time Warner Cable) with Kevin Kugler and Gregory Kelser on the call.

The game with the Red Wolves 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 (complete list of affiliates is on page five of the game notes). The game can also be heard for free on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as Sirius and XM Radio.

A limited number of tickets are available for Saturday’s game in the 200 and 300 Level sections with prices ranging from $7-$15. Visit Huskers.com or call 800-8-BIGRED for more information.

Saturday is a busy day for Husker fans, as the Husker women host Creighton at Pinnacle Bank Arena at 11 a.m. before the men’s nationally televised game with Arkansas State. In addition, the Husker volleyball team is hosting an NCAA regional atthe Devaney Center on both Friday and Saturday. Because of the quick turnaround between events, Pinnacle Bank Arena doors will not open until 2 p.m. for the men’s contest with Arkansas State.

The Huskers are 6-3 on the season and look to bounce back from a disappointing 82-67 loss to Creighton on Dec. 8, snapping Nebraska’s three-game win streak. The Huskers fell behind early and dug too deep of a hole in the team’s first road game of the year. The performances of sophomores Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway were highlights in the loss to the Bluejays. Shields broke out of a mini slump with 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Petteway had 21 points and six rebounds.

Arkansas State is 5-2 on the season and riding a three-game win streak following an 86-61 win over Niagara on Dec. 2. The Red Wolves average 78.7 points per game and are led by Melvin Johnson III, who averages 17.9 points per game and leads the nation in 3-point percentage at 64.3 percent. Johnson had 26 points in a win over Lamar on Nov. 30, when he went 8-of-9 from 3-point range.

Following Saturday’s game, the Huskers will be off for final exams before returning to the court on Saturday, Dec. 21 against The Citadel.

By the Numbers
0 – Number of regular-season meetings between Nebraska and Arkansas State. The only prior matchup between the programs took place in the 1989 NIT.

4 – Number of times in the last two seasons where two Huskers had at least 20 points in a game as Shavon Shields (22) and Terran Petteway (21) each had 20-plus points in the loss to Creighton. Prior to Tim Miles arrival last year, it had not happened since 2007.

Lincoln — Join the Husker basketball staff and Rebounders Club at the second Husker Hoops Happy Hour of the season Friday, Dec. 13. The event takes place at Gate 25 in the Railyard (300 Canopy Street) across the street from Pinnacle Bank Arena, and runs from 5-7 p.m.

The event will feature door prizes, trivia, special guests, and the chance to mingle with the Husker basketball coaches during the second hour. There is no cost to attend, and no RSVP is required. For more information, contact the Husker Athletic Fund office at(402) 472-2367.