Thursday, February 14
Omaha Civic Auditorium
7:05 PM
Creighton University
62
vs
59
Southern Illinois
Bluejays Edge Salukis, 62-59, in Women's Basketball
2/14/2008 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. ? Freshman Kelsey Woodard led the Bluejays with 14 points and senior Sara Cain pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Creighton to a 62-59 victory over Southern Illinois Thursday night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Bluejays held SIU (8-14, 4-8 MVC) to just six first-half field goals and surpassed last season's victory total with their 14th win of the year.
Creighton (14-8, 7-4 MVC) scored the first eight points of the game and kept the Salukis scoreless until Erin Pauk hit one of nine SIU three-pointers on the night 3:27 into the game. After SIU pulled within four, down 12-8 with 13:46 left in the first half, the Bluejays opened up a nine-point lead, up 20-11, 12 minutes into the game. The Jays led by as many as 11 points in the first half before taking a 28-20 lead into the break, as SIU equalled the lowest first-half point total for a Bluejay opponent this season.
SIU scored the first five points of the second half and pulled within one by using an 11-4 burst out of the locker room to cut the score to 32-31 in favor of CU. The Jays would maintain their lead until a Courtney Sales layup with 9:17 evened the game at 42. After Cain responded with a bucket, SIU answered with an Ellen Young three-pointer to take its first lead of the game, up 45-44 with 8:38 left.
From there, SIU would go up by two on an Erica Smith free-throw, but the Salukis would make just three field goals down the stretch. CU drained four consecutive free-throws to take a 48-46 lead and would never trail again. Creighton pushed ahead by six with 49 seconds to play, but two free-throws from Sales and a desperation banked three-pointer by Young cut the CU lead to 60-59 with six seconds left. Woodard would ice the game at the free-throw line and finish with 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half.
Young led all players with 16 points off the SIU bench, as the rookie made 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game. Smith (12), Jayme Sweere (11) and Sales (10) would also reach double-figure point totals for the Salukis.
Woodard scored all of her second-half points in the final 7:28 of the game to help secure the win for CU. The freshman went a career-best 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. Megan Neuvirth scored 11 of her season-high 13 points in the first half, while she added three steals. Cain surpassed her previous career-best rebounding total of nine to lead all players with 11 boards.
The Bluejays shot 52 percent (13-25) in the second half and finished 44 percent (22-50) from the field. The Jays were 0-for-6 from three-point range, snapping a streak of 228 straight games with a made three-pointer for Creighton, dating back to Dec. 20, 2000.
CU dominated the inside, out-rebounding SIU 38-27 and out-scoring SIU 32-18 in the paint. The Jays used 10 offensive rebounds to score 16 second-chance points as well.
The Jays return to the hardwood when they play host to first-place Evansville (16-7, 10-2 MVC) on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. The game can be heard live on Spirit 88.9 FM and online at www.kvss.com.
Creighton (14-8, 7-4 MVC) scored the first eight points of the game and kept the Salukis scoreless until Erin Pauk hit one of nine SIU three-pointers on the night 3:27 into the game. After SIU pulled within four, down 12-8 with 13:46 left in the first half, the Bluejays opened up a nine-point lead, up 20-11, 12 minutes into the game. The Jays led by as many as 11 points in the first half before taking a 28-20 lead into the break, as SIU equalled the lowest first-half point total for a Bluejay opponent this season.
SIU scored the first five points of the second half and pulled within one by using an 11-4 burst out of the locker room to cut the score to 32-31 in favor of CU. The Jays would maintain their lead until a Courtney Sales layup with 9:17 evened the game at 42. After Cain responded with a bucket, SIU answered with an Ellen Young three-pointer to take its first lead of the game, up 45-44 with 8:38 left.
From there, SIU would go up by two on an Erica Smith free-throw, but the Salukis would make just three field goals down the stretch. CU drained four consecutive free-throws to take a 48-46 lead and would never trail again. Creighton pushed ahead by six with 49 seconds to play, but two free-throws from Sales and a desperation banked three-pointer by Young cut the CU lead to 60-59 with six seconds left. Woodard would ice the game at the free-throw line and finish with 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half.
Young led all players with 16 points off the SIU bench, as the rookie made 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game. Smith (12), Jayme Sweere (11) and Sales (10) would also reach double-figure point totals for the Salukis.
Woodard scored all of her second-half points in the final 7:28 of the game to help secure the win for CU. The freshman went a career-best 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. Megan Neuvirth scored 11 of her season-high 13 points in the first half, while she added three steals. Cain surpassed her previous career-best rebounding total of nine to lead all players with 11 boards.
The Bluejays shot 52 percent (13-25) in the second half and finished 44 percent (22-50) from the field. The Jays were 0-for-6 from three-point range, snapping a streak of 228 straight games with a made three-pointer for Creighton, dating back to Dec. 20, 2000.
CU dominated the inside, out-rebounding SIU 38-27 and out-scoring SIU 32-18 in the paint. The Jays used 10 offensive rebounds to score 16 second-chance points as well.
The Jays return to the hardwood when they play host to first-place Evansville (16-7, 10-2 MVC) on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. The game can be heard live on Spirit 88.9 FM and online at www.kvss.com.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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