Nebraska changes defense, defeats Chattanooga 73-59 to advance in the first round of the NCAA tournament
After falling behind by as many as nine points, Nebraska coach Connie Yori had her team abandon the zone defense they had been playing. The man-to-man defense sparked the team’s intensity as the Huskers turned their deficit into a 14-point victory over Chattanooga, 73-59.
Nebraska’s dynamic duo of guard Lindsey Moore and forward Jordan Hooper led the Huskers. Moore contributed 13 rebounds and seven rebounds, while Hooper scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Huskers were the leading three-point shooting team in the Big Ten, but used their superior size and strength to go inside, along with Moore’s driving the lane, resulting in 23 free throw attempts (18 made), compared to just one for the game for the Mocs.
Chattanooga went 19-1 in the Southern Conference, but needed a buzzer-beater to win their spot in the tournament in the conference championship game. The Mocs averaged 20 three-point shot attempts per game, and today was no exception, shooting 28 three-point attempts, hitting just ten. Leading shooter Kayla Christopher hit only 2-of-10.
In the end though, the Mocs could not stop Hooper, who hit four three-pointers in the last eleven minutes of the game to key the Huskers streak to victory.
Sixth-seeded Nebraska will now face third-seeded Texas A & M on the Aggies’ home court on Monday night, in a meeting of two former Big 12 members thriving in their new conferences.
