Creighton University
UC Riverside
Bluejays Bounce Highlanders in Women's NIT Opener
3/21/2009 9:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. ? Creighton made 9-of-18 three-pointers and both Megan Neuvirth and Kelsey Woodard scored better than 20 points as the women's basketball team defeated UC Riverside 64-51 Saturday night in the first round of the Women's NIT at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Neuvirth led all players with 24 points and Woodard added 21 points and six assists as the pair combined to make 9-of-14 three-pointers in the victory. The victory advances the Bluejays in the WNIT, where they will play at Kansas on Monday night in the second round.
The Jays (22-11) and Highlanders (19-12) battled back and forth in the opening half, exchanging the lead six times in the game's first 11 minutes. UCR never led by more than two, taking a 17-15 lead on a Kemie Nkele three-pointer with 9:21 left in the first half. Creighton answered with the game's next 10 points ? keyed by two Woodard three-pointers ? and it would never trail again.
CU's largest lead in the opening half was at 25-17 following a Kristina Voss lay-up. The Jays led 30-23 with 3:10 left in the half, but UCR closed with the final four points of the half, including a put-back bucket by Nkele at the first-half buzzer to make the halftime score 30-27 in favor of the Bluejays.
Twenty of CU's 30 first-half points came as a result of 12 Highlander turnovers. Woodard scored 11 of her 21 points in the first half, going 3-for-6 from long range.
A pair of Nkele free-throws brought UCR within two 3:33 into the second half, 35-33, but the Highlanders would never get closer as the CU offense snapped out of a six-game funk. Creighton used a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to push ahead by 12, leading 47-35 with just over 10 minutes to play. The Jays' lead would balloon at 15 as the CU won its 11th straight game at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
In the second half alone, Neuvirth was 7-for-9 from the field, making both of her three-pointers and scoring 16 points. The MVC's Defensive Player of the Year finished with a game-high 24 points and team-high seven rebounds, while going 4-for-5 from long range in the win. Woodard was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc in the game, finishing with 21 points and game-high six assists.
Nkele, the Big West Player and Defensive Player of the Year, led UCR with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Seyram Gbewonyo added 10 points for the Highlanders.
Creighton out-rebounded UCR 35-29, limiting the Highlanders to just six offensive boards. The Jays converted 17 UCR turnovers into 29 points in the win.
The Bluejays now turn their attention to Kansas (18-13), where they will play at 7 p.m., on Monday night. CU lost to KU in Omaha, 59-58 in overtime, on Dec. 13 this season. The Jays seek revenge and hope to keep their season alive when they play at Allen Fieldhouse Monday night. The game can be heard live on 88.9 FM KVSS in Omaha and 102.7 KBZR in Lincoln and online at www.kvss.com.
NOTES: Creighton is now 12-5 all-time in the WNIT, including 10-3 under head coach Jim Flanery ... CU is 4-1 at home all-time in the WNIT and has lost in the first round of the event in just two of its seven appearances ... CU went 2-0 against Big West schools this year, while Neuvirth scored 50 points in two games against Big West foes - scoring a career-high 26 against UC Davis on Dec. 20 ... The Jays improved to 18-6 on the year when making at least six three-pointers in a game ... Neuvith now has 319 rebounds this season - adding to her school record and ranking 10th in a season in MVC history ... Woodard moved from 11th to ninth on the CU career three-point list as she now has 136 in two years, surpassing older sister Kristi (132) and Angela Timmons (134) on Saturday ... Woodard's 84 three-pointers this year rank fourth in CU single-season history ... Woodard is 11-for-19 (.579) from three-point range in three career WNIT games ... Voss played in her 123rd career game Saturday, tying Ally Thrall for fourth in a Bluejay career.
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