No. 17 Nebraska eases past UCLA 77-49

Nov 8, 2013, 11:32 pm

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Two-time All-American Jordan Hooper scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 17 Nebraska beat UCLA 77-49 on Friday.

It was Hooper's 27th career double-double. Rachel Theriot recorded a career-high nine assists, and Allie Havers scored 14 points in her first career game. Last season, the Huskers advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Trailing 40-20 at the half, UCLA hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 13:43 left to make it 44-29, but could not get any closer.

One of two returning starters from last year, Thea Lemberger, led the Bruins with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting. UCLA was limited to 34 percent shooting and was outrebounded 44-23. The Bruins reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

This was the first game in the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in downtown Lincoln. The announced season-opener crowd was 9,750.