Creighton University
Nebraska
Late Rally Comes Up Short as Women's Basketball Falls to Huskers, 63-55
12/8/2010 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - The largest women's basketball crowd in D.J. Sokol Arena history (2,061) wasn't enough for the Creighton women's basketball team, as it dropped a 63-55 decision to Nebraska on Wednesday night. The game matched up the state's two Division I programs, with the Huskers emerging victorious for the sixth straight season.
Nebraska, ranked 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll this week, improved to 7-1 on the year. Creighton had its nine-game home winning streak snapped, falling to 4-3 on the year.
Freshman Carli Tritz had a career-high 21 points to lead Creighton. The Huskers were led by a freshman of their own, Jordan Hooper, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, matching the 14 points from sophomore teammate Lindsey Moore.
Nebraska came out of the gates on fire, making 10-of-12 shots from the field to open up a 25-14 lead after eight minutes. Buoyed by strong play from freshmen Tritz and Sarah Nelson, the Jays cut into that gap, getting within six points, before missing 12 straight shots from the field during a seven-minute drought. The Huskers led 36-25 at the half, matching their largest lead, behind nine points from Moore and seven each from Kaitlyn Burke and Dominique Kelley. Creighton was paced by 11 points from Tritz in the opening 20 minutes.
The teams traded baskets early in the second half. The Jays got within eight on Sam Schuett's three-pointer at the 15:59 mark. The hoop pushed the senior past the 1,000 point mark in her career. But two three-pointers by NU's Hooper, followed by a free throw from Moore and Hooper lay-up, gave NU a 51-36 lead as 13 minutes remained. Tritz hit a long trey to get the Jays within 57-46 with 6:45 remaining, only to give up a lay-up on the opposite end to stem the momentum.
Creighton kept up the fight, getting a lay-up from Sarah Nelson and three-pointer by Tritz to close within 61-53 with 1:58 left. After a Husker double-dribble, McKenzie Fujan scored inside to make it a six-point game. Fujan then stole the inbounds pass, but Schuett, a career 81.5 percent shooter at the line, would miss both. NU missed the front end of a bonus on the other end, only to have Tritz whistled for an offensive foul with 31.3 ticks to play. Kelley would be trapped and turn the ball over in the corner, but Sarah Nelson had the ball jostled loose seconds later and Kelley would sink two free throws to stretch NU's lead to 63-55 with 19.7 seconds left to end the scoring on the night.
Tritz had 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while also sinking a career-best 4-of-6 from downtown. She also led Creighton with two steals. Kellie Nelson had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while Schuett had seven points and a game-best 13 rebounds, one shy of her career-high. Creighton shot 32.8 percent from the floor, 7-of-24 (.292) from three-point range and 8-of-13 (.615) at the line. The Jays had 17 assists against just 11 turnovers, while finishing with six steals and five blocks.
Nebraska was paced by 14 points by both Hooper and Moore, while Hooper had a team-best 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Kelley had 13 points, six assists and five rebounds for NU. The Huskers outrebounded the Jays, 38-37, and had 14 assists, four steals and two blocks. Despite its hot start, Nebraska finished the game 24-of-52 from the floor, good for 46.2 percent.
The schedule won't get any easier for Creighton, as the Jays travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on 18th-ranked Notre Dame in a 1 pm (CST) start on Saturday.
NOTES: Creighton's two leading scorers, Kelsey Woodard (14.2 ppg) and Schuett (9.7 ppg) went scoreless in the first half, missing all nine field goal attempts ... Schuett became the 23rd player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career points, doing so on a three-pointer from the right corner with 15:59 left in the second half ... Schuett also became the seventh player in CU history to reach 700 career rebounds in the game ... Schuett is the sixth player in CU history with both 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds ... Tritz was Creighton's first freshman to score 20 or more points in a game since March 20, 2008, when Kelsey Woodard had 29 points at South Dakota State.
