Sue Muldowney's last Final Four
1) Purdue 4) Duke 1) Nebraska 7) Arkansas
Purdue is four years removed from a title, Duke last won one six years ago and Arkansas is just two years from their first title in school history.
That leaves the Huskers who are still on the schneid having never won a title despite being perpetually good for about 40 years now. Just can't get over the hump for whatever reason.
Is this the year it all changes? Will Sue Muldowney win her 10th title or will her career end with another loss in the Final Four, while still having restored her legacy as the greatest coach Nebraska basketball period has ever and will ever know?
This is her 40th and final season.
FINAL FOUR
Code:
Nebraska 85, Arkansas 82
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arkansas (26-10, 10-6):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Samantha Reeves C 28 9-12 3-6 1 10 0 4 21
Melissa Telford PF 35 1-6 3-4 4 12 1 3 5
Madeline Poisson SF 25 2-6 0-0 0 4 1 3 5
Heidi Beck SG 28 1-7 2-3 0 4 2 2 4
Esme Anderson PG 34 7-16 0-1 4 6 6 3 16
Clarissa Powe PG 18 3-6 4-4 0 0 5 1 12
Kayla Peel PG 6 2-4 2-3 2 2 0 2 7
Jenna Melcher SF 10 2-4 0-0 0 1 2 0 4
Libby Norvell C 11 1-2 0-0 0 4 0 3 3
Ella Mallard PF 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
Olivia Quarles SF 1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3
Turnovers: 15 (M.Telford 4, M.Poisson 1, H.Beck 2,
E.Anderson 5, C.Powe 2, L.Norvell 1)
Blocked Shots: 6 (S.Reeves 1, M.Telford 4, C.Powe 1)
Steals: 3 (E.Anderson 1, J.Melcher 1, E.Mallard 1)
3P FGs: 8-24 (M.Telford 0-2, M.Poisson 1-2, H.Beck 0-4,
E.Anderson 2-7, C.Powe 2-3, K.Peel 1-3, J.Melcher 0-1,
L.Norvell 1-1, O.Quarles 1-1)
Nebraska (30-5, 15-3):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Thalia Jepson C 31 5-12 2-8 3 12 3 0 12
Heather Terry PF 11 1-2 2-2 0 0 0 4 4
Amy Shepherd PG 37 5-12 7-8 3 7 3 4 21
Melody Sanders SF 31 8-16 1-3 1 8 0 4 22
Ava Cave PG 18 0-3 2-4 0 1 7 4 2
Scarlett Gleeson SG 15 1-8 1-2 0 4 0 1 4
Madison Burk PF 18 2-5 0-0 2 4 1 2 4
Raina Stebbins SG 12 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
Alyssa Morehouse PF 13 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 2 0
Chloe Gilstrap SF 7 3-4 0-0 0 0 0 1 8
Britney Windle PF 4 1-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 2
Carolyn Knutson C 3 2-3 0-0 1 2 0 0 4
Turnovers: 11 (T.Jepson 2, H.Terry 1, M.Sanders 4,
A.Cave 2, M.Burk 1, R.Stebbins 1)
Blocked Shots: 4 (H.Terry 1, S.Gleeson 1, M.Burk 1,
C.Knutson 1)
Steals: 7 (H.Terry 1, A.Shepherd 2, M.Sanders 1, M.Burk
1, A.Morehouse 1, C.Knutson 1)
3P FGs: 12-33 (T.Jepson 0-3, A.Shepherd 4-10, M.Sanders
5-10, A.Cave 0-2, S.Gleeson 1-6, C.Gilstrap 2-2)
Player of Game: SG Amy Shepherd (NEB)
In the final, Coach Muldowney takes on Chaya Bergin, who was an assistant under her at Nebraska State. They two have never met in a Final, but Bergin so far remains the only Muldowney former assistant to ever win a national title. Can she steal #10 away from her mentor on her road to her second career national title? Bergin just a year younger than Muldowney, so one wonders how many more she has in her too.
Code:
Nebraska 88, Duke 81
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nebraska (31-5, 15-3):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Thalia Jepson C 33 2-7 2-6 3 8 2 1 7
Heather Terry PF 22 0-2 2-2 0 4 1 5 2
Amy Shepherd SF 36 11-19 1-2 3 4 1 2 29
Melody Sanders SG 33 9-18 4-4 3 6 2 0 26
Ava Cave PG 33 1-6 8-12 1 5 6 3 11
Scarlett Gleeson SG 11 0-1 3-4 1 4 1 2 3
Madison Burk PF 16 1-2 1-2 0 2 0 2 3
Raina Stebbins SG 6 1-1 3-4 0 1 0 0 6
Alyssa Morehouse PF 7 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Britney Windle PF 2 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1
Carolyn Knutson C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 7 (T.Jepson 1, A.Cave 3, S.Gleeson 1, M.Burk
1, C.Knutson 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (T.Jepson 2)
Steals: 7 (H.Terry 1, A.Shepherd 1, M.Sanders 2, A.Cave
1, S.Gleeson 2)
3P FGs: 13-30 (T.Jepson 1-3, H.Terry 0-1, A.Shepherd
6-10, M.Sanders 4-10, A.Cave 1-5, R.Stebbins 1-1)
Duke (36-4, 14-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Addison Maki C 31 2-3 1-2 2 4 3 4 5
Taylor Odum PF 34 1-3 1-2 4 15 1 3 3
Addison Hancock SF 24 6-12 0-0 4 6 0 1 12
Callie Hannan SG 23 3-9 0-2 3 6 1 5 7
Siena Williams PG 28 4-12 0-0 1 3 6 5 10
Olivia Moxley SF 26 12-21 5-8 1 6 2 2 31
Ava Pugliese PG 13 3-6 0-0 0 0 1 4 8
Aniyah Nowlin SG 3 1-2 2-2 0 0 0 3 5
Lillian Boddie PF 9 0-0 0-0 2 6 0 1 0
Myla Strand PF 2 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0 0
Penelope Tobar SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Taylor Kissinger C 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 15 (A.Maki 1, T.Odum 1, A.Hancock 3,
C.Hannan 4, S.Williams 3, O.Moxley 1, A.Pugliese 2)
Blocked Shots: 2 (T.Odum 2)
Steals: 3 (A.Maki 1, C.Hannan 1, O.Moxley 1)
3P FGs: 8-25 (A.Maki 0-1, C.Hannan 1-6, S.Williams 2-7,
O.Moxley 2-5, A.Pugliese 2-4, A.Nowlin 1-2)
Player of Game: SF Melody Sanders (NEB)
The 10th title is complete and Nebraska is completely bleeding red today. Sue Muldowney has just done what no one prior to her had been able to do. She got the Huskers a national championship.
And with that...caps a crowning achievement on a career without parallel.