INDIANAPOLIS — Alexis Markowski scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and 10th-seeded Nebraska coasted to an 84-60 win over Rutgers in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Cornhuskers (20-10) face No. 7 seed Illinois, a team they lost to by nine, in the second round on Thursday.
Amiah Hargrove had 13 points and Alberte Rimdahl 12 off the bench for Nebraska, which won 69-62 at Rutgers in their only other meeting this season. Britt Prince added 10 points and five assists. Markowski upped her school record for double-doubles to 51.
Destiny Adams led the Scarlet Knights (11-19) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Awa Sidibe and Mya Petticord both added 11. Rutgers had five 3s and shot 36% after an 8 of 14 fourth quarter, when it scored 23 points.
Nebraska shot 55%, including 13-for-31 from 3-point range. All four double-digit scorers had two 3s, as did Logan Nissley.
Markowski had 14 points in the first half, including five in a late 11-0 surge in the first quarter that helped the Cornhuskers take a 22-13 lead. Markowski, Prince and Hargrove each had a 3 in the run and Nebraska, which averaged eight a game, had eight at halftime.
Nebraska got a couple of early 3s in the second half and closed the third quarter with eight-straight points for a 61-37 lead.
Iowa 81, Wisconsin 54
Lucy Olsen scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half on 8-for-12 shooting, and 11th-seeded Iowa beat No. 14 seed Wisconsin in a first-round matchup.
Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe each scored nine points as the Hawkeyes (21-9) shot 57.4% (35-for-61), including 55% (11-for-20) from 3-point range.
Serah Williams scored 22 points for Wisconsin (13-17).
Wisconsin’s Tess Myers made a jumper with 6:37 left in the first quarter to give the Badgers a 9-6 lead. From there, Iowa all but buttoned it up by launching into a 19-0 run to close the quarter.
Olsen started and ended the run with layups and in between, McCabe, Affolter and Feuerbach made 3s for a 25-9 advantage. Iowa led by double digits the rest of the way and was up 43-23 at halftime and 65-39 after three quarters.
Iowa advances to play No. 6 seed Michigan State on Thursday.
Washington 79, Minnesota 65
Elle Ladine had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Sayvia Sellers and Dalayah Daniels each added 15, and No. 12 seed Washington beat No. 13 seed Minnesota in its first Big Ten Tournament appearance.
Washington (19-12), which also beat the Gophers 72-62 on Feb. 26, will look for its sixth straight victory Thursday against No. 5 seed Michigan in the second round. The Huskies lost their only regular-season matchup with the Wolverines 82-69 on Jan. 15.
Daniels put Washington ahead 32-30 on a putback basket in the closing seconds of the first half and Ladine had 15 points at the break.
Washington used a 12-0 run to go ahead 52-38 with 2:50 left in the third quarter. Sellers made two 3-pointers during the run, and she found Tayra Eke for Washington’s fifth straight field goal.
After Minnesota closed the third quarter with a 7-0 run to pull within 54-48, Hannah Stines scored five points during Washington’s 7-0 run to open the fourth for a 13-point lead.
Stines finished with 14 points for Washington, which has won the last six meetings.
Grace Grocholski scored 21 points and Mallory Heyer added 11 for Minnesota (20-11). All 11 of Minnesota’s losses came against Big Ten opponents.
The Gophers dropped to 11-32 in the tournament, with their only appearance in the final occurring in 2005.
Big Ten Tournament
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Wednesday’s games
(12) Washington 79, (13) Minnesota 65
(10) Nebraska 84, (15) Rutgers 60
(11) Iowa 81, (14) Wisconsin 54
Thursday’s games
(8) Oregon vs. (9) Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN
(5) Michigan vs. Washington, 1:30 p.m., BTN
(7) Illinois vs. Nebraska, 5:30 p.m., BTN
(6) Michigan State vs. Iowa, 8 p.m. BTN
Friday’s quarterfinals
(1) USC vs. Oregon/Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN
(4) Maryland vs. Michigan/Washington, 1:30 p.m., BTN
(2) UCLA vs. Illinois/Nebraska, 5:30 p.m., BTN
(3) Ohio State vs. Michigan State/Iowa, 8 p.m., BTN
Saturday’s semifinals
2 and 4:30 p.m., BTN
Sunday’s final
3:30 p.m., CBS-2
