Prince leads No. 24 Nebraska women as Cornhuskers hold off Illinois 81-75

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Britt Prince scored 20 points, Logan Nissley and Jessica Petrie each scored 15 points and 24th-ranked Nebraska held off Illinois 81-75 on Saturday.

Reserve Petra Bozan scored 11 points for the Cornhuskers (15-5, 4-5 Big Ten) who shot 49% (27 of 55).

Cearah Parchment scored 25 points, Berry Wallace scored 22 points, Destiny Jackson 13 and reserve Maddie Webber 11 for Illinois (15-5, 5-4).

Prince’s short jumper not a minute into the second half gave Nebraska its largest lead of the game at 43-24. The Illini got within 56-44 at the end of three quarters, but not until late in the fourth did they become a threat.

Jackson made two foul shots with 2:30 left to get Illinois within double figures for the first time since early in the first. Parchment made 1 of 2 foul shots and Jackson made two more to make it 71-65 with 1:45 left but the Illini couldn’t get any closer.

Amiah Hargrove’s 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the first quarter gave Nebraska a 9-7 lead and started a 10-0 Cornhuskers run. They led for the remainder.

Nebraska led 19-11 at the end of the first and 41-23 at halftime.

Nebraska leads the series between the two teams 22-8. The Huskers lead 10-2 in Lincoln.

Up Next

Illinois: Hosts third-ranked UCLA on Wednesday.

Nebraska: Hosts Northwestern on Wednesday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up