Nebraska overcome by Oregon

Eugene, Ore. - Nebraska led 63-52 after the opening possession of the fourth quarter, but an injury to forward Eliza Maupin and a foul-out by Amiah Hargrove with approximately five minutes remaining left the Huskers short-handed down the stretch, as home-standing Oregon escaped with an 80-76 win over the Huskers on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

Nebraska went 0-for-12 from three-point range in the final quarter, while the Ducks went 15-for-18 at the free throw line in the period, including 9-for-10 in the first 5:30 of the quarter despite the Huskers leading during the entire stretch.

The Huskers slipped to 16-11 overall and 5-11 in the Big Ten, while Oregon improved to 19-9 and 7-8 in the conference.

Britt Prince led Nebraska with 18 points and five assists, while Logan Nissley contributed 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in a gutsy effort as she battled illness.

Petra Bozan and Amiah Hargrove each contributed 11 points despite battling foul trouble throughout the game, while Jessica Petrie put five Huskers in double figures with 12 points off the bench.

As a team, Nebraska hit 42.6 percent (29-68) of its shots from the field but just 6-of-25 three-pointers. Through three quarters, the Huskers were 26-of-41 (.634) from the field and 6-of-13 (.461) from long range while building a nine-point lead on the road against the NCAA NET 23 Ducks. 

However, a 10-1 foul discrepancy to start the second half allowed Oregon to stay within striking distance. A strong fourth-quarter finish from Katie Fiso propelled the Ducks to victory. Fiso, who finished with 19 points, scored 10 points in the final 3:37 with her first field goal of the quarter giving Oregon a 68-67 lead.

Ehis Etute led Oregon inside with 21 points and six rebounds, while being credited with drawing nine fouls on the Huskers. She went 9-for-10 at the free throw line.

Janiyah Williams also played a huge role off the bench for the Ducks, going 5-for-5 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, to finish with 12 points in just 15:30. Oregon outscored Nebraska by 21 points during her stretches on the court.

Oregon finished at 50 percent (26-52) from the field, including 7-of-17 (.412) from beyond the arc. The Ducks also hit 21-of-24 free throws, combed to 12-of-13 by the Huskers.

Nebraska outrebounded the Ducks, 32-21, including 14 offensive boards on the night, while also winning the turnover battle, 16-15.

Nebraska took a shot from Oregon in the first four minutes, as the Ducks jumped out to their biggest lead at 15-8 after six early points from Ehis Etute and three straight three-pointers from Duck guards Katie Fiso, Mia Jacobs and Sophia Bell.

But the Big Red battled back as Oregon's Jacobs left the court at the first media timeout (4:36) and did not return the rest of the half. The Huskers outscored the Ducks 10-5 after the timeout to send the game to the second quarter tied at 20 . Nissley led the Huskers with seven first-quarter points including a three-pointer to close the scoring in the period.

After closing the first period on a 5-0 run from Nissley, Nebraska opened the second with six straight points from Prince and Petrie to cap an 11-0 Husker run to take a 26-20 lead. 

Nebraska'ls lead grew to 37-26 after an Amiah Hargrove jumper with 1:59 left, before the Ducks closed the period on a 7-0 run to cut the Big Red lead to 37-33 at the half.

The Huskers hit 16-of-30 first-half shots (.533), including 2-of-6 threes, while winning the turnover battle, 10-9. Prince led the Big Red with eight first-half points, while Hargrove and Nissley each contributed seven points.

The Ducks responded by hitting 13-of-28 shots, including 5-of-11 three-pointers (.455), while outrebounding the Big Red 15-13. Etute led the Ducks with eight points, while Fiso contributed seven points.

Oregon opened the third quarter with a three-pointer from Sophia Bell to pull within three points at 37-36, before Nebraska responded with an 8-0 run that included threes from Bozan and Nissley to force a Duck timeout. Nebraska then took its biggest lead of the night after another three from Nissley and a bucket from Hargove put the Big Red up 50-38 with 5:51 left in the third. 

The Huskers maintained a 61-52 lead at the end of three quarters.

Nebraska will continue its road trip to the Pacific Northwest by traveling to Washington on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off between the Huskers and the Huskies is set for 2 p.m. (CT) / Noon (PT) with live audio available from the Huskers Radio Network. The game will be televised live by the Big Ten Network.