Creighton University
Indiana State
Women's Basketball Concludes Regular-Season With 66-53 Win Over Sycamores
3/6/2010 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton scored the first 12 points of the game and never trailed in knocking off Indiana State 66-53 to wrap up the regular-season Saturday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center. Megan Neuvirth led all players with 22 points as the Bluejays conclude the regular-season with an 18-9 overall record and a 13-5 Missouri Valley Conference mark, good enough to earn the No. 2 seed in the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament.
As the No. 2 seed, the Bluejays will play the winner of the No. 7 seed Drake Bulldogs vs. No. 10 seed Evansville Purple Aces in a quarterfinal game on Friday at 6:05 p.m. at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
Creighton exploded out of the gates to start the game on a 12-0 run, making 5-of-6 shots to start the game. Each of the first give baskets were made by each of the five Bluejay starters, beginning with a three-pointer from Sam Schuett. Kelsey Woodard followed with a jumper and the Chevelle Herring canned a three. Kellie Nelson, who missed her first shot of the game, scored next and Megan Neuvirth's fastbreak layup put the Jays up 12-0 four minutes into the game.
The Jays pushed ahead by as many as 14 in the first half before taking a 34-23 lead into the break. Neuvirth scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, making 5-of-6 shots in the first half, including 2-of-3 three-pointers.
Creighton maintained its double-digit lead throughout the second half, with its largest lead of 17 coming on three occasions, the last after a pair of Woodard free-throws with 5:03 to play put the Jays up 60-43.
Neuvirth finished 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from long range, adding five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists in her final regular-season home game. Her five boards moved her career total to 899, 25 shy of the school record.
Schuett and Herring each finished with 11 points. Schuett made 3-of-7 three-pointers, while Herring dished a season-high six assists. Nelsonled the Jays with 10 rebounds, helping the Jays edge ISU 43-38 on the glass.
Creighton moved to 10-0 on the year when shooting at least 40 percent from the field, shooting exactly 40 percent (22-55) on Saturday. The Jays made 8-of-24 (.333) three-pointers and tied their season-high with 10 blocked shots.
Brittany Schoen led ISU with 15 points and Kelsey Luna added 13, as both players made three triples in defeat. The Sycamores finished 16-13 on the season, 7-11 in MVC play to earn the No. 8 seed and play No. 9 seed Southern Illinois in their opening game at the tournament.
Creighton will await the winner of seventh-seeded Drake (14-14, 7-11 MVC) and 10th-seeded Evansville (4-25, 1-17 MVC), as DU and UE will play on Thursday at 8:35 p.m. The Jays will play their first game as the third quarterfinal contest on Friday at 6:05 p.m. A video webcast will be provided by the league (subscription fee) and all Creighton postseason games can be heard on KOIL AM 1180 and on www.koilam1180.com.
