PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State battled No. 16/15 University of Nebraska tough until a decisive scoring run by the Cornhuskers midway through the second half keyed them to an 82-61 victory at Beasley Coliseum Wednesday.

WSU (2-1) was held to 32 percent shooting including 2-of-27 from behind the arc while Nebraska (3-0), winners of the Big Ten Conference Tournament last season, shot over 43 percent and had all five starters score in double figures. Washington State was held to 27 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes while Nebraska shot over 45 percent and produced a 31-19 rebounding advantage in the second half.

Senior center Shalie Dheensaw led Washington State with her sixth career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds along with three blocks. Junior guard Lia Galdeira added 14 points and senior guard Tia Presley finished with 13 points. Freshman forward Louise Brown grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.

Washington State received some early production from Dheensaw who led all scorers with 12 points in the first half. The 6-5 center sparked a 12-0 WSU run midway through the first period with back-to-back jumpers as the Cougars erased a nine-point deficit and held Nebraska scoreless over a seven-minute stretch. Presley followed Dheensaw's buckets with a driving layin and Brown got on the board with a layup of her own. Dheensaw added two more jumpers as the Cougars owned a 31-28 lead late in the half.

Nebraska countered with a six straight points in the final minute before Brown sank a three from 30 feet away at the buzzer to send the game into the half tied at 34. The Huskers shot 40 percent from the floor while WSU shot nearly 36 percent but just 2-of-12 from behind the arc.

Dheensaw opened the second half with a jumper for the Cougars but Nebraska settled in and used a decisive run to pull way as the WSU shots started to rattle out. The Huskers produced a 13-1 run to open up a double-digit lead midway through the half before another 9-0 run pushed there lead to as much as 21 with eight minutes remaining.

The Cougars made things interesting late in the half as Galdeira caught fire with six quick points, cutting the Nebraska lead to 69-59 with 3:13 remaining. The Huskers again answered and were able to put things out of reach after grabbing a couple clutch rebounds converting on the offensive end to hold off the Cougars.

Washington State will wrap up its four-game homestand Friday against Seattle University at 8:30 pm. following the WSU men's game at 6 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum.