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The objective of the day was to win a basketball game, and that didn’t happen for the Nebraska women’s team on Saturday.
And near the top of coach Amy Williams’ list of things she dislikes the most is losing home games. Nebraska lost, with No. 7 Iowa playing a great second half to win 80-60.
Still, it was a different and great experience for the players and fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena with a crowd of 14,289, the most ever for a women’s home game in the 49 seasons of the program and the ninth largest in the sport this season.
That topped the previous record of 13,595, back in 2010 when Nebraska played at the Devaney Sports Center. It was 4,000 more than any previous women’s game at PBA.
The loss hurt, but Williams will remember how it felt to walk down the tunnel and into the arena a few minutes before tipoff while the school song played and the fans were seated all the way in the top level of the arena.
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“To hear (that school song with) the crowd that we had out there today gave me chills, and was really a special moment,” said the former Husker walk-on from Spearfish, South Dakota.
Sophomore center Alexis Markowski — the hometown Husker — said the day felt special.
“To be the team that had the most fans at a game is unbelievable, and we’re so thankful,” she said.
Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark was the star of the game again, scoring 30 points and having eight assists. She made four three-pointers, was 10-for-21 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 on free throws. With Iowa up by 20, Clark didn’t play the final five minutes of the game.
Iowa center Monika Czinano was also great, with 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Iowa freshman and Fremont native Taylor McCabe made a three-pointer.
Jaz Shelley led the Huskers with 19 points, Markowski had 15 and Isabelle Bourne 12.
Iowa’s offense was strong, shooting 54% from the field (32-of-59) and 50% on three-pointers (10-of-20).
Nebraska took and missed many three-pointers, going 7-for-33. Williams would have liked more shots inside, but said Iowa did a good job of taking that part of the game away.
“We got some really, really good looks, and obviously 7-for-33 from the three-point line, we need to shoot it better than that,” she said.
Nebraska was right there with the Hawkeyes, tied at 31 with 4 minutes left in the first half.
Czinano was a force for Iowa inside, making each of her first four shots. But Markowski was matching her with great moves inside, too. Markowski was 5-for-6 shooting in the first half.
Clark got going late in the second quarter, twice driving to the basket and then making a deep three. Iowa made its last four shots of the first half and led 40-33 at halftime.
Just like in Nebraska’s 95-92 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday, the Huskers just couldn’t get enough stops. Iowa made eight of its first 10 shooting attempts of the third quarter while building a 61-46 lead.
Clark has scored at least 30 points in all seven games against the Huskers.
“She’s just been a pretty special talent that you don’t run across very often, and she has the mentality to match, and that’s tough to stop,” Williams said.
With a rare Saturday afternoon game and a chance for a sellout, several buses brought high school and junior high teams to the game.
The record crowd included hundreds of Iowa fans, and they got a little more vocal after the win was in hand.
This year when Iowa goes on the road in the Big Ten, crowds go up by at least 2,000. Some of that is because it’s a matchup with a top-10 team. Clark is a contender for national player of the year, and sometimes that’s the draw.
Nebraska had 9,000 more fans Saturday than its season average.
“During the national anthem, I was just taking it all in,” Clark said. “I looked around, and it didn’t look like there was an empty seat in the house.”
After doing a TV interview on the court after the game, Clark stopped to sign autographs and take photos with fans before going to the locker room.
If Clark is growing women’s basketball — and she at least has the attention of more people — she’s happy about that.
“No matter if we’re on the road and a lot of people are cheering against us, I think it’s really good for women’s basketball,” Clark said. “I’d sign up to play in front of a crowd that’s booing and cheering against us every single day of the week.”
Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.
