Bluejays Race by Roadrunners 54-53 in Women's Hoops

SAN ANTONIO - Ally Jensen scored a season-high 17 points and became the 16th player in school history to reach 100 career three-pointers as the Creighton women's basketball team defeated UTSA 54-53 Tuesday night at the Convocation Center. The second game of the UTSA Holiday Classic wasn't as close as the final score would indicate, with the home team finishing the game on an 11-2 run which included a three-pointer at the buzzer to result in the one-point margin of victory for the Bluejays.

The win moved Creighton to 6-4 on the year, while the Roadrunners dropped to 3-7 in defeat. In addition to her season-high 17 points, Jensen also tied for the team-lead with a career-high seven rebounds.

The Bluejays overcame a sluggish start to take the lead before halftime. After starting the game 0-for-9 from the field, the Bluejays made 9-of-19 shots to end the half. And while the Bluejays struggled, so did the Roadrunners, as UTSA shot 30.4 percent from the field compared to Creighton's 32.1 percent in the opening half.

Creighton trailed by as many as six in the first half, but a 12-3 run midway through the first gave the Jays a lead they would never surrender. Jensen hit CU's first three-pointer of the game to tie the score at 12 with 7:30 left in the opening half and she hit another triple during the 12-3 run which turned a 12-9 deficit into a 21-15 lead. Creighton owned a 23-18 lead at the break.

The Jays led by at least three points for the first 10 minutes of the second half until a pair of Whitney Wright free throws cut CU's lead to 34-33 with 9:12 to play. The Jays responded with an 11-2 run which was capped by Jordan Garrison's first three-pointer of the night with 4:57 to give CU a 45-35 lead.

After UTSA scored five straight, Garrison again hit a big three-pointer to push CU's lead back to eight before a Carli Tritz steal and lay-up moved Creighton's lead to 50-40. The Jays led 52-42 with just 82 seconds remaining, before the Roadrunners then went 3-for-3 from three-point range in the final 75 seconds after making 1-of-13 to that point.

Jensen's first three-pointer of the second half was the 100th of her career, making her the 16th player in school history to reach that milestone. Her 17 points tied for game-high honors with UTSA's Kamra King. Jensen hit 3-of-4 three-pointers to start the game and finished 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from long range for her 17 points. Her seven boards tied DaNae Moore for the team-lead as CU out-rebounded UTSA 38-34.

Tritz added 14 points and led the team with three assists and two steals. Garrison also pulled down a career-high five rebounds as the Jays improved to 4-0 with her in the starting lineup.

The Jays improved to 4-2 in true road games this year after going 2-8 on the non-conference road in the previous two seasons combined. CU won despite getting outscored in the paint, in points off turnovers, second-chance points and bench points.

Creighton now turns its attention to Colorado, which improved to 10-0 with a win over Texas-Pan American in the tournament's first game on Tuesday. The Jays will look to stay perfect against Colorado (2-0) and the Pac-12 (4-0) all-time under Jim Flanery when the two CU's face off on Wednesday at 5 pm.

Bluejays Race by Roadrunners 54-53 in Women's Hoops

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Garrison

Ally Jensen

DaNae Moore

Carli Tritz