3 hours Ago By Nathan Swaffar
SIOUX FALLS — It was No. 21 Nebraska’s night from behind the arc against South Dakota women’s basketball in the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday night. The Huskers shot 58.
8% from 3-point range against the Coyotes as they dropped their fourth straight game to start the season 113-70. Those 113 points were the highest total by a women’s team in the Pentagon’s history. ADVERTISEMENT Although Nebraska didn’t start off dominating from 3-point range, the percentage steadily improved as the game went along and USD struggled to find the answer on how to stagger the efficient shooting night.
The 20-made 3-pointers from the Huskers were also a school record. One of the primary reasons Nebraska shot so efficiently from behind the arc was because head coach Carrie Eighmey said USD put a greater emphasis on slowing down all-conference center Alexis Markowski and defending more inside-out. “You have to take away something and you can't guard Markowski one-on-one,” Eighmey said.
“I think the couple situations where we put her in one-on-one, she scored it every time. So for us, trying to make her feel bodies and then work out to shooters is a challenge. They're long so they're able to get some shots off that you might be able to get out and contest if it’s 5-foot-8 instead of 6-foot-2.
” The two started off fairly even as the Coyotes started the day shooting 75% from the field and only trailed 17-15 halfway through the first quarter, but things began to deteriorate from there. The Huskers began to open the taps from behind the arc, a trend that would continue for the rest of the matchup. Nebraska started to pull away and the lead grew to 29-18 by the end of the first quarter.
But the strong shooting from the Huskers only continued into the second quarter and by the end of the first half, they led 60-33. Nebraska shot 60% from behind the arc in the first half and hit 12 3-pointers by the end of the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Coyotes’ hot start dissipated and they only hit 37.
5% of their field goals in the second quarter. The third quarter was much better for the Coyotes as they only lost the scoring battle by five points. However, the Huskers were still shooting over 60% from field goal range, 50% from behind the arc and held a sizeable 84-52 advantage.
Into the fourth quarter, the Huskers eventually broke the century mark while the Coyotes were still working on damage control. In the end, Nebraska finished the day with a 58.8 shooting percentage from 3, made 20 and was also just as impressive from the field shooting 63.
1%. ADVERTISEMENT Grace Larkins paced the Coyotes with 28 points, six assists and three rebounds. Alexi Hempe finished with 14 points including four 3s.
For the Huskers, Britt Prince finished with a team-high 23 points while Natalie Potts finished with 22. USD (0-4) will return to Vermillion to face NAIA-level Bellevue University on Monday, Nov. 18 while Nebraska (4-0) will return home to face North Alabama on Tuesday, Nov.
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