LOUISVILLE, KY (AP) — Kayleigh Truong scored a career-high 20 points to lead Gonzaga to a 68-55 victory over Nebraska in the first round of women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Truong, a junior guard, scored 15 of her points in the second half, and those came after she landed awkwardly in a second quarter collision with Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley. That caused her to miss the final five minutes of the first half.
She made up for it in good time, though, as she scored the first two baskets of the second half. Gonzaga (27-6) never looked back. The Bulldogs, in winning their sixth straight, led by as much as 68-52 in the waning minutes of the contest.
Nebraska (24-9) started strong, jumping out to an 11-6 lead midway through the first quarter. However, the Bulldogs defense settled in and slowed down a Husker offense that entered the tournament with the nation’s eighth-best scoring average (78.5 ppg).
While Nebraska couldn’t dictate the tempo, Gonzaga controlled the boards. In winning their sixth straight, the Bulldogs, who came into Friday’s contest with the country’s sixth-best rebounding margin (10.3 per game), outrebounded the Huskers 40-33.
A 7-0 run midway through the second quarter gave Gonzaga a 30-24 lead. The Bulldogs would take a 33-30 advantage into halftime and would extend that through the third quarter/second half.
Sam Haiby led the Huskers with a season-high 20 points.
Melody Kempton and Yvonne Ejim added 14 each for Gonzaga, which shot 46.4%. Shelley finished with 11 for Nebraska, which struggled to shoot 32.1%.
Gonzaga will face the winner of top-seed Louisville and Albany on Sunday.
BIG PICTURE
Gonzaga: Defense wins championships. On this six-game run, the Bulldogs have limited opponents to 40% shooting or worse in each game. If they’re to make it to Wichita for the Sweet 16, they’ll likely need one more game just like that.
Nebraska: The Huskers lost their second straight to end their season. They found themselves frustrated by a Gonzaga defense that denied them good looks. The 32.1% shooting was the Huskers’ second-worst performance of the season.
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