Maryland women’s basketball falls short against Nebraska, 87-81, ending 7-game winning streak

Maryland women’s basketball nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter Sunday, but the comeback attempt fell short in an 87-81 loss to host Nebraska before an announced 8,795 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, ending the Terps’ seven-game winning streak.

Senior guard Lavender Briggs scored 25 points in her return from injury to spark Maryland (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten). Briggs, who has been sidelined since Nov. 25, finished 11 of 17 from the field and made 3 of 6 shots from 3-point range.

Riley Nelson added 11 points and Towson transfer Allie Kubek had 10 points and five rebounds as the Terps shot 50% from the field. But three Maryland players — Shyanne Sellers (four points), Jakia Brown-Turner (nine points) and Bri McDaniel (eight points) — fouled out of the game.

Down by as many as 10 points early in the fourth quarter, the Terps rallied within three several times in the final minutes. A 3-pointer by Briggs cut the deficit to 82-79 with 33 seconds left, but Jaz Shelley (13 points) knocked down two free throws after a foul by Briggs on the other end, and Natalie Potts added another pair of free throws following a missed 3-point attempt by Briggs and a foul on Brown-Turner to put Nebraska up 86-79 with 21 seconds to go.

“Tough day for us. We were saddled with with foul trouble most of the game, just looking at the box and seeing three players foul out. We knew their size and obviously their rebounding ability — it’s elite,” Terps coach Brenda Frese said. “They took it to us on the glass all night and did a lot of things that took way from us. They played a great 40-minute game, got a lot of contributions across the board. I thought our bench was huge. Having Lav back healthy and Riley and Faith coming off, I thought we got great minutes coming off the bench but our starters were really impacted.”

Alexis Markowski (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Potts (17 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded a double-double to lead the Cornhuskers (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten), who bounced back after losing on the road against Kansas. Callin Hake added 16 points off the bench, shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

The Terps were outrebounded 48-30 and surrendered 19 second-chance points as they struggled to match the Huskers’ production on the glass.

Maryland entered halftime trailing 39-38. The Terps briefly pulled ahead with a 7-0 run, but a 3-pointer by Shelley with 30 seconds remaining put the Huskers up by one. The game featured 11 lead changes and was tied seven times before Nebraska pulled away and held on late.

The Terps remain on the road to begin the new year with a matchup against Big Ten foe Minnesota on Jan. 3 in Minneapolis.

Maryland at Minnesota

Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Stream: Big Ten Plus