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What looked to be on paper a potential blowout turned into a dogfight Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Nebraska women's basketball hung on to beat Illinois 56-48. The win improves NU to 12-4 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten play.

The Huskers had spurts of erratic defense mixed with sloppy offense. Nebraska shot 33.9 percent as a team, including 6-of-18 from 3. Turnovers were again an issue as the Huskers gave the ball away 16 times.

The biggest difference in the game came on the glass, with Nebraska grabbing a 45-29 advantage. Tilting the game even more toward the Huskers was the fact that they nabbed 12 offense rebounds to just one for the Illini.

On Australia night, Aussie Jaz Shelley posted a game-high 17 points, adding six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. It was her highest-scoring game in more than a month.

Alexis Markowski notched her tenth double-double of the season and 31st of her career with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Nebraska heads to Minnesota Sunday.