Nebraska beat No. 2 Iowa 82-79 at PBA Sunday, and Husker senior guard Jaz Shelley was a major contributor to the victory.
Indeed, Pinnacle Bank Arena hosted The Caitlin Clack Show on Sunday. There were only two things to predict going into the game: would Clark score the 39 points required to break the D-1 women’s career scoring record, and by what margin would the Hawkeyes defeat Nebraska?
Late in the game, things didn’t seem good for the home team, the Huskers. In actuality, Iowa was ahead by 14 points at the half, and Clark had already scored 31 points. It seemed inevitable that Iowa would win and Clark would score 39 points.
Remarkably, Clark would end the game without adding any more points. Jaz Shelley, a guard for the Huskers, needed to improve instead. With 30 seconds remaining, she made a three-pointer that gave NU its first lead of the game, 78-77. She finished the quarter with 10 points, none of which were bigger than that.
The Huskers won 82-79 thanks to four crucial free throws converted by Snazzy Jazzy in the final seconds.
There was drama in the last seconds. Clark attempted a three-point shot with seconds remaining in the game, but it clattered against the rim. After grabbing the rebound, Iowa’s graduate student guard Kate Martin scored the basket. The Huskers started their on-court celebration after her shot went wide.
These are the game’s final two minutes
Following the game, Husker head coach Amy Williams—a four-year letter winner at Nebraska from 1995 to 1998—became noticeably distraught. Furthermore, why not? Her squad had just tied the program record by defeating the team rated #2. Additionally, the game was played in front of the PBA’s first sellout audience in eleven seasons (15,042). The victory also ended the Huskers’ eight-game losing streak against Iowa.
What’s more, the victory was over an Iowa squad captained by super talent Caitlin Clark. Her points per game are just above 28 on average. In addition, Clark has won the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award, the John R. Wooden Award, and the Naismith Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
The fact that Iowa lost to Nebraska on Sunday does not take away from Caitlin Clark’s accomplishments at Iowa. There should never be any dispute about her talent as a player.
Note: The ride back home must have seemed more longer and quieter than it had for the large number of Iowa fans that packed PBA for Sunday’s basketball game in hopes of winning.
Husker women’s basketball made significant progress with their victory yesterday. I’m so happy for those women! Fantastic victory!
The 16-8 (8-5) Huskers’ next game is a Valentine’s Day trip to league leader Ohio State (21-3, 2-1). Next up is a match on Saturday, February 17th, at Purdue (10-13, 3-9).
What Say You, Huskers?
In this week’s podcast, we celebrate the incredible upset of #2 Iowa by the Nebraska women. We also quickly examine the Husker football program’s Class of ’24 composition. We also offer our last views on Sunday’s Super Bowl match and the potential implications of Husker softball star Jordy Bahl’s injury for Nebraska.
Since 2003, Dan McGlynn, also known as “Husker Dan,” has written about Nebraska football. His email address is HuskerDan@cox.net.
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