Creighton University
Drake
Women's Basketball Opens MVC Play With 58-51 Win Over Drake
12/31/2010 4:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - Sam Schuett had 18 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and freshman Carli Tritz had 15 points, six rebounds and five steals as the Creighton women's basketball team opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 58-51 victory over visiting Drake on New Year's Eve.
Creighton (7-5, 1-0 MVC) led nearly the entire first half, but a 40-foot bank shot by Kristin Turk at the halftime buzzer helped Drake (6-6, 0-1 MVC) to a 23-22 halftime lead. The Jays scored the game's first five points and led by seven on three occasions. Turk, who entered the contest leading the MVC in scoring (19.6) and steals (3.1) per game, was limited to three points and a steal in the opening half. Schuett led Creighton with six points in the first half, while Drake's Rachel Hackbarth led all scorers with nine points.
The Bulldogs got another trey from Turk to open the second half scoring and would take a lead as large as 30-24 before Creighton rallied. The Jays put together a 9-2 run, capped by a left-handed hoop from Tritz, to go up 33-32 with 11:54 to play.
The teams would continue back-and-forth, before Creighton got a lay-up and three-pointer by Schuett as part of a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 48-40 with 6:05 to go. Drake answered with a bucket by Hackbarth and two free throws by Turk, cutting the deficit in half with 5:16 left.
After a Tritz trey gave the Jays a 52-46 lead with 3:03 left, Drake answered with a triple from Turk. Schuett would be fouled on a drive on the ensuing possession, sinking two at the line to put the Jays up 54-49 with 2:22 to go. Creighton would force a miss, only to have Turk steal the ball from Jensen and feed Angela Christianson for an easy lay-in with 1:34 left, making the score 54-51.
The next trip down saw Creighton extend its lead to five when Schuett fed Kelsey Woodard for a lay-up with 1:11 to play. The lead reached 57-51 on a free throw by Tritz after she was fouled in the backcourt. Drake would then use most of the shot clock before Hackbarth missed inside. Kellie Nelson would grab the rebound and be fouled, sinking one shot to finish the scoring on the afternoon.
Creighton was led by 18 points and 11 rebounds from Schuett, including 12 points and eight rebounds in the second half. Schuett's first double-double of the season was the 14th of her career.
Iowa native Tritz had 15 points in her MVC debut, making both of her three-point attempts, while tying her career-highs with six rebounds and five steals. Also in double-figures with 11 points was Woodard. The Jays shot 36 percent from the floor (18-50), but made up for that with a 17-of-23 showing at the line while also forcing 17 Drake turnovers. Creighton out-rebounded Drake, 39-33 for the game.
Drake had four players in double-figures. Turk and Hackbarth each had 11 points, while Morgan Reid and Christianson both tallied 10 points. Hackbarth also had a team-best nine rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 34.5 percent from the field (20-58), but just 4-of-15 from three-point territory. Drake was perfect on seven attempts at the line.
Creighton returns to action on Thursday with a 7 pm game at Evansville.
NOTES: Creighton is now 6-0 this year when holding the opposition to 29 first half points or fewer and has won 19 straight games when holding the opposition to 25 points or less at halftime ... Creighton had won its previous three MVC home openers by an average of 35.3 points ... Creighton now owns its first five-game win streak in series history against the Bulldogs ... Danae Moore tied a career-high with two blocked shots, the fourth time in her career she's done that ... With her 11 rebounds, Sam Schuett moved into seventh in school history in that category with 743 in her career, moving out of a tie with Janet Ensign ... Kristin Turk's previous season low had been 14 points. She finished with 11 points and eight turnovers ... CU is now 13-6 in MVC openers all-time, including 15-4 in its first MVC home game of the year. The Jays are 8-1 in their MVC home opener under Jim Flanery.
