The game was over quickly for MSU , who fell to the Huskers 76-56 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska went on a 22-0 run in the first half that eventually became 34-6. MSU went nine-and-a-half minutes without a score during that pivotal run.

After four games of solid basketball, MSU’s uglier tendencies reared their head once again— playing one-on-one ball on offense and not hustling enough on defense.

The outside shots weren’t falling, as they tend not to during losses. MSU was 4-of-17 from deep. The Spartans also turned the ball over 16 times and managed just eight assists for the entire game. Nebraska sophomore guard Rachel Theriot has nine points and more assists than the entire Spartan roster with 12.

Redshirt freshman guard Aerial Powers led MSU with 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Nebraska senior forward Jordan Hooper has 18 points to lead all scorers and six rebounds, and junior guard Tear’a Laudermille had 15 points. Junior forward Emily Cady has 13 points and nine rebounds..

The Spartans built an early 9-2 lead with crisp ball movement and timely shooting. Four MSU players had scored by that point.

Nebraska soon found its footing on offense, trimming the score to 14-12 by taking advantage of transition opportunities. Hooper missed an And-1 opportunity, but the Huskers grabbed the rebound and Cady scored in the paint to make it an 8-0 run, tying the game.

Cady made a layup on the next play and was fouled by senior forward Annalise Pickrel. She drained the free throw to make the run 11-0 and give Nebraska its first lead of the game, 17-14.

The Huskers abused MSU offensively, as Cady scored another layup to make it a 13-0 run. 12 of the 13 points came in the paint. Laudermille mailed a 3-pointer to make it a 16-0 run and 22-14 lead.

Agee finally snapped the run with under five minutes left, spinning to the rim for a layup. By then, Nebraska had run off 22 consecutive points and built a 28-14 lead. Theriot made a 3-pointer on the next possession, but Agee made a similar spin move to answer back. The Huskers entered halftime with a 40-20 lead.

Nebraska continued to hum in the second half, going up 51-24 with under 14 minutes left.

An 13-3 run helped trim the lead to 17, 54-37, with under 11 minutes to play. But Laudermille nailed a point-blank 3-pointer to make it a 20-point game.

The Spartans wouldn’t get within 17 points for the rest of the game, but did match Nebraska’s point total in the second half as both teams scored 36 points each. But in the end, the first half run was too much to overcome.