LINCOLN — The Big Ten’s best post player — Iowa’s Megan Gustafson — had one of her biggest games, but the upstart Nebraska women’s basketball team still scored a big upset over the No. 20 Hawkeyes.
NU (13-6 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten) built a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter before Iowa, which lost two of its top three guards in December, started chipping away behind Gustafson, the 6-foot-3 center who drew double and triple-team defenses but still managed to score 29 points and grab 17 rebounds before fouling out.
A Gustafson jumper cut Nebraska’s lead to 56-53 with six minutes, 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter. That’s when Nebraska’s Maddie Simon came up with the biggest shots of her Husker career. Both were 3-pointers.
First, Simon took a pass from teammate Hannah Whitish at the top of the key. She nailed the shot for a 59-53 lead. That gave NU a little breathing room. Her corner 3-pointer a few possessions later extended the lead to 64-53.
Again, Iowa (15-4 and 3-3) came back. Gustafson cut the lead to 66-61 with a layup at the 2:02 mark. After Gustafson fouled out, Iowa still kept pushing, and Nebraska, which hit just 17 of 35 free throws on the night, kept missing free shots.
But Gustafson fouled out, which left the Hawkeyes without a post presence. So Iowa guard Kathleen Doyle — who was once signed to play with Nebraska — airballed a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left. The she missed a reverse layup with 27 seconds left. Iowa forward Hannah Stewart missed a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left. Iowa guard Alexis Sevillian had her 3-pointer blocked by Whitish with 11 seconds left. All those misses — plus NU freshman Taylor Kissinger hit a trio of free throws — led the final margin.
Nebraska was led by Whitish (18 points and five assists) and Simon (19 points, four rebounds). Iowa won the rebounding battle 53-40 but missed all seven of its 3-point shots. NU made nine of 25 from beyond the 3-point line.
