Nebraska sure is enjoying its unbeaten season.
Kelsey Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth straight double-double and the 30th of her career to help the Cornhuskers rout Texas Tech 89-47 on Wednesday night.
Nebraska (18-0, 5-0 Big 12) is off to the best start of any Big 12 team since the conference's inception in 1996-97. The Huskers and top-ranked Connecticut are the only unbeatens left in Division I.
``It's kind of fun being 18-0,'' Cornhuskers coach Connie Yori said. ``Winning is contagious and when you win, you expect to win.''
The Cornhuskers, who entered the Top 10 for the first time in school history on Jan. 18, never trailed and led by 20 or more points throughout the second half.
Griffin said she and her teammates aren't looking at Nebraska's ranking.
``We honestly say that when we don't know what our ranking is, or we don't care, we honestly mean it,'' she said. ``We know we're far from perfect. We have a lot of work to do.''
It is the first time Nebraska has beaten the Lady Raiders in Lubbock in eight tries, and the 42-point margin of victory was the largest against a conference road opponent in team history.
``We just played well, and I know Tech probably did not play their best game, and sometimes when those two things collide you see this kind of game,'' Yori said. ``I think it was a lot about the way we played and it was just one of those deals.''
Yvonne Turner, who finished with 13 points, now has made 20 3-pointers in the past four games. She hit 3 of 5 against the Lady Raiders.
Her success from outside ensures Griffin effectiveness inside, Yori said.
``Yvonne's ability to stretch defenses opens up things for our inside game and opens up things for driving lanes and the fact that she has shot it so well obviously makes us hard to guard,'' she said.
Freshman Christine Hyde scored a career-high 15 points to led Texas Tech (13-6, 1-4). It was the worst loss of the season for the Lady Raiders. They lost 91-53 to Tennessee in November.
``This was unexpected,'' Yori said. ``We had not planned to come in here and win by this margin. That's really not what we had anticipated. I thought we played really well. We did a great job of sharing the ball.''
The loss was also the worst for Lady Raiders coach Kristy Curry since she came to Texas Tech in 2006.
``I think you just have to give Nebraska credit,'' she said. ``I don't think I've seen a basketball team that's that good in my four years in the league.''
Texas Tech missed all 12 of its 3-pointers, while Nebraska hit 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.
``We pressure and that's our style,'' Yori said of holding the Lady Raiders without a 3. ``And we pressure for 40 minutes on the full court and you hope that there's a certain wearing effect there. And we have pretty good depth. So we're able to do that and keep that sustained.''
