No. 24 Nebraska women beat S Dakota State 80-71
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Jordan Hooper had her second straight double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds, Lindsey Moore scored 27 points and No. 24 Nebraska finished nonconference play with an 80-71 win over South Dakota State on Wednesday night.
The teams played evenly through the first half before Nebraska (11-1) took control against the Jackrabbits (7-6).
Moore scored 11 points over a seven-minute stretch of the first and second halves that saw Nebraska build a nine-point lead.
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Hooper followed her 21-point, 14-rebound performance against Vermont with another dominating performance. She had her fifth double-double of the season and eighth of her career.
Ashley Eide had 21 points and Jennie Sunnarborg 20 for the Jackrabbits, who battled back from a 17-point deficit to get within seven in the last two minutes.
The Huskers are off to their second-best start in program history, ranking behind the 2009-10 team that won its first 30 games.
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Moore did a little bit of everything to help the Huskers break things open in the second half. Hooper converted a three-point play after grabbing a perfectly lobbed entry pass from Moore, who got another of her six assists the next time down the floor when then slipped a nice pass to Emily Cady for an easy basket.
Moore pressured Gabrielle Boever into dribbling the ball off her foot at midcourt, scooped up the ball and went in for a layup. Moore got fouled going to the basket on the Huskers' next possession, made the free throws and Nebraska led 47-38.
The Huskers increased their lead to double digits when Hooper got trapped under the basket and rifled a pass to Moore, who swished a 3-pointer from the corner.
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There were six lead changes, six ties and neither team was ever up by more than six points in the first half. Nebraska led 36-34 at the break after Moore came off a screen and made a pull-up jumper in the lane.
Nebraska played more aggressively in the second half. The Huskers attempted 19 3-point shots the first 20 minutes and 11 the rest of the way.
They never got into the bonus in the first half, but they were shooting one-and-ones seven minutes into the second as Hooper and her teammates focused on taking the ball to the hoop.
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Moore, who averaged six points while starting every game at point guard two seasons ago, has turned into a prolific scorer who can penetrate, shoot the 3-pointer or find an open teammate. She had two steals to raise her season total to 34, three more than she had all last season.
The versatile 6-foot-2 Hooper, mostly a spot-up shooter as a freshman last season, has developed an inside game and is the Big Ten's No. 2 scorer and rebounder at better than 19 points and nine rebounds a game.
The 6-2 Cady, one of two freshman starters, scored nine points after having a career-high 18 against Vermont on Sunday.