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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (Ticker) -- The trio of Alissa Murphy, Brianne Stepherson and Becky Gottstein proved too much for 12th-seeded Nebraska. Murphy scored 26 points, Stepherson had 23 and Gottstein 20 as fifth-seeded Boston College never trailed in a 93-76 victory over Nebraska in an NCAA Tournament Mideast Region first-round game. Making its second straight tournament appearance, Boston College will face Virginia in Sunday's second round. "I was pleased with our effort, with how we distributed the ball and with our balance out on the floor," Eagles coach Cathy Inglese said. The Eagles (26-8) took the lead for good, 5-2, on a 3-pointer by Murphy with 17:17 left in the first half. Nebraska (18-13) got within 7-6 on a basket by Charlie Rogers, but Boston College scored the next 11 points to pull away. Stepherson started the run with consecutive hoops and Gottstein hit a basket before Stepherson nailed a 3-pointer. Jamie Cournoyer's bucket with 14:26 remaining in the half gave the Eagles an 18-6 lead. "My job as a point guard is to penetrate and create for the team," Stepherson said. "If I'm able to score, the other team has to play my honestly, and that creates more opportunities for my teammates." Despite shooting nearly 61 percent (17-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes, the Cornhuskers trailed, 52-40, at intermission. Nicole Kubik scored 18 points before fouling out and Brooke Schwartz added 16 for Nebraska, which could not overcome 25 turnovers and was outscored from the line, 27-14. "We turned the ball over 15 times in the first half. I think that was the story of the game," Cornhuskers coach Paul Sanderford said. "We were a step slow in reacting all night. We had to go zone to try to slow them down. That got us back in the game, but it's hard to make a run playing zone because you don't get any turnovers." .
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