LAWRENCE, Kan. — Guard Hannah Whitish scored a career-high 29 points as Nebraska rallied to beat Kansas 66-49 Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse, handing the Jayhawks their first loss of the season.
The Huskers (6-3) earned their first true road victory since January 2016, despite playing without leading scorer Taylor Kissinger, who missed her second straight game with a knee injury.
Nebraska trailed by 13 late in the first half, and Whitish missed six of her first seven shots. But the 5-foot-9 sophomore from Barneveld, Wisconsin, scored 25 points in the second half as the Huskers outscored the Jayhawks 39-13. She also contributed four assists and three steals.
“I think it shows the kind of toughness Hannah does have,” coach Amy Williams said on her postgame radio show. “To be able to overcome a 1-for-7 first half — that shows a lot of growth in Hannah, shows a lot of toughness. I’m just really proud of the young woman.”
Freshman center Kate Cain contributed nine rebounds and five blocks for Nebraska, which held Kansas (7-1) to four points and no field goals in the final quarter. The Huskers finished with an 18-5 edge in points off turnovers.
NU visits Drake on Saturday in pursuit of its third straight win.
Nebraska (6-3)………….12 15 19 20—66
At Kansas (7-1)………….10 26 9 4—49
NU: Whitish 7-13 11-14 29, Eliely 2-7 2-2 7, Simon 2-7 2-4 6, Cincore 2-6 1-4 5, Cain 2-3 1-2 5, Wood 2-5 0-0 6, Stallworth 1-7 1-2 3, Morton 1-5 0-0 3, Blackburn 1-1 0-0 2, Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 18-28 66.
KU: Lyons 3-11 4-6 12, Kopatich 3-12 4-6 10, Cheadle 1-3 0-0 2, Osorio 1-7 0-0 2, Helgren 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 4-9 3-5 11, Richardson 3-9 1-4 8, Wilson 1-2 0-0 3, Watts 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 16-56 13-23 49.
3-point shots: NU 8-25 (Whitish 4-9, Wood 2-4, Eliely 1-3, Morton 1-4, Simon 0-3, Stallworth 0-2), KU 4-19 (Lyons 2-5, Wilson 1-2, Richardson 1-4, Kopatich 0-4, Osorio 0-3, Watts 0-1). Rebounds: KU 42 (Cheadle 7), NU 40 (Cain 9). Assists: NU 14 (Whitish, Cincore 4), KU 11 (Lyons 6). Total fouls: KU 23, NU 22. A: 2,194
