Friday, January 31
Chicago, Ill.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
14-7, 6-4BE
63
at
61
#11 DePaul
19-3, 9-1BE
1
2
3
4
F
Creighton
5
16
25
17
63
DePaul
20
21
8
12
61
Photo by: A.J. Olnes
Women's Basketball Tops #11 DePaul in One of Bluejays' Best Wins in Program History, 63-61
1/31/2020 9:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Down 41-21 at Halftime, the Bluejays Deliver Improbable Comeback Win
Chicago, Ill. -- Down 41-21 at halftime, the Creighton women's basketball team delivered arguably the best half in Bluejay history as Creighton downed #11 DePaul 63-61 at Wintrust Arena on Friday, Jan. 31st.
The win is the Bluejays' first win over an opponent ranked as high as #11, the previous top win came over #13 last season when the Bluejays bested Marquette, 71-65, on March 1, 2019.
Friday's result pushed Creighton to 14-7 on the season and 6-4 in BIG EAST play, while #11 DePaul fell to 19-3 overall and 9-1 in conference action.
Building on the final bucket of the half, delivered by senior Olivia Elger in the closing seconds of the frame, Creighton stormed out of the locker room with a 20-2 run in the third quarter. Five different Bluejays contributed on the offensive end, but the Bluejays got back into the battle with DePaul on the defensive end.
"During our comeback we did a really good job of competing and staying in front of the ball," said Bluejay head coach Jim Flanery. "Our communication picked up on the defensive end and we got more comfortable with the speed that DePaul plays at, that spurred our comeback on."
Junior Tatum Rembao led the Bluejays with seven of her nine points during the 20-2 surge, while Elger knocked down a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore Gracey Griglione, freshman Carly Bachelor and junior Temi Carda contributed, capped by a running jumper from Carda to pull Creighton within two at 43-41 (2:17). DePaul rallied with three points from the free throw line to hold an edge as the game moved to the fourth, but the momentum was clearly on the Creighton bench.
Sophomore Rachael Saunders gave the Bluejays a lift with backdoor cuts to the basket on the final play of the third, then once more to open the fourth. The result brought Creighton as close as they'd been since the opening moments, down 49-48 (9:44). Following a Blue Demon free throw, Carda dropped in a driving layup to knot the game at 50-50 (8:59). The game remained knotted until just under six minutes remained, when Creighton claimed its first lead of the night on a three-point play from Elger. The next DePaul possession saw the Blue Demons knock down a trey to tie the game, but Elger had none of that as she calmly drained a three-ball from the top of the key (56-53 with 5:12 left).
Holding a 60-57 edge with 4:14 on the clock, Elger connected from the charity stripe to make it a two possession game, then Bachelor glided through the paint to give the Bluejays their largest lead of the game at 63-57 with 3:04 remaining
The Bluejays closed the game out, the way they stormed back, on defense. Creighton kept DePaul at bay into the final minute, holding the six point lead until DePaul connected for a pair of free throws with 65 seconds remaining. A Bluejay turnover allowed DePaul to get within two with 53 seconds on the clock. After Elger's two point shot fell short, the Bluejays denied DePaul over the final 24 seconds to collect the win.
Elger led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, while Carda finished with 11 points in the win. Bachelor just missed her third straight double-double, closing the game with nine points and nine rebounds.
Stonewall led DePaul with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, while Lexi Held and Dee Bekelja each finished with 11 points.
"Tonight's win is a testament to the fight in this team and their belief in each other. I've talked often about the grit of this team, this was the best example of that so far."
The game began as poorly as the Bluejays could've imagined as the Blue Demons jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening four minutes. Fittingly Creighton's first bucket came courtesy of Elger from long range to make it 11-3 (5:58). DePaul pushed its lead to 15 points at 20-5 in the closing moments of the quarter on a trey from Chante Stonewall.
After a trifecta from Carda got the Bluejays off to a better start in the second, DePaul responded with four straight to seize a 24-8 edge with 8:28 left. Elger rallied her squad with nine consecutive points on the next three possessions, knocking down one from the charity stripe to get things going and connected twice from long range to make it 24-15 (7:08). The Blue Demons resumed control over the final stretch of the second period, taking a 41-19 lead with just under two minutes remaining. The final two minutes of the half saw Creighton deny the Blue Demons on a four-shot possession, then get a pull-up jumper from Elger to give Creighton a breath of momentum heading into the locker room down 41-21.
The Bluejays continue their Midwest road trip on Sunday, Feb. 2nd as the Bluejays face Marquette at 2:00 pm.
The win is the Bluejays' first win over an opponent ranked as high as #11, the previous top win came over #13 last season when the Bluejays bested Marquette, 71-65, on March 1, 2019.
Friday's result pushed Creighton to 14-7 on the season and 6-4 in BIG EAST play, while #11 DePaul fell to 19-3 overall and 9-1 in conference action.
Building on the final bucket of the half, delivered by senior Olivia Elger in the closing seconds of the frame, Creighton stormed out of the locker room with a 20-2 run in the third quarter. Five different Bluejays contributed on the offensive end, but the Bluejays got back into the battle with DePaul on the defensive end.
"During our comeback we did a really good job of competing and staying in front of the ball," said Bluejay head coach Jim Flanery. "Our communication picked up on the defensive end and we got more comfortable with the speed that DePaul plays at, that spurred our comeback on."
Junior Tatum Rembao led the Bluejays with seven of her nine points during the 20-2 surge, while Elger knocked down a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore Gracey Griglione, freshman Carly Bachelor and junior Temi Carda contributed, capped by a running jumper from Carda to pull Creighton within two at 43-41 (2:17). DePaul rallied with three points from the free throw line to hold an edge as the game moved to the fourth, but the momentum was clearly on the Creighton bench.
Sophomore Rachael Saunders gave the Bluejays a lift with backdoor cuts to the basket on the final play of the third, then once more to open the fourth. The result brought Creighton as close as they'd been since the opening moments, down 49-48 (9:44). Following a Blue Demon free throw, Carda dropped in a driving layup to knot the game at 50-50 (8:59). The game remained knotted until just under six minutes remained, when Creighton claimed its first lead of the night on a three-point play from Elger. The next DePaul possession saw the Blue Demons knock down a trey to tie the game, but Elger had none of that as she calmly drained a three-ball from the top of the key (56-53 with 5:12 left).
Holding a 60-57 edge with 4:14 on the clock, Elger connected from the charity stripe to make it a two possession game, then Bachelor glided through the paint to give the Bluejays their largest lead of the game at 63-57 with 3:04 remaining
The Bluejays closed the game out, the way they stormed back, on defense. Creighton kept DePaul at bay into the final minute, holding the six point lead until DePaul connected for a pair of free throws with 65 seconds remaining. A Bluejay turnover allowed DePaul to get within two with 53 seconds on the clock. After Elger's two point shot fell short, the Bluejays denied DePaul over the final 24 seconds to collect the win.
Elger led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, while Carda finished with 11 points in the win. Bachelor just missed her third straight double-double, closing the game with nine points and nine rebounds.
Stonewall led DePaul with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, while Lexi Held and Dee Bekelja each finished with 11 points.
"Tonight's win is a testament to the fight in this team and their belief in each other. I've talked often about the grit of this team, this was the best example of that so far."
The game began as poorly as the Bluejays could've imagined as the Blue Demons jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening four minutes. Fittingly Creighton's first bucket came courtesy of Elger from long range to make it 11-3 (5:58). DePaul pushed its lead to 15 points at 20-5 in the closing moments of the quarter on a trey from Chante Stonewall.
After a trifecta from Carda got the Bluejays off to a better start in the second, DePaul responded with four straight to seize a 24-8 edge with 8:28 left. Elger rallied her squad with nine consecutive points on the next three possessions, knocking down one from the charity stripe to get things going and connected twice from long range to make it 24-15 (7:08). The Blue Demons resumed control over the final stretch of the second period, taking a 41-19 lead with just under two minutes remaining. The final two minutes of the half saw Creighton deny the Blue Demons on a four-shot possession, then get a pull-up jumper from Elger to give Creighton a breath of momentum heading into the locker room down 41-21.
The Bluejays continue their Midwest road trip on Sunday, Feb. 2nd as the Bluejays face Marquette at 2:00 pm.
Team Stats
CU
DPU
FG%
.415
.359
3FG%
.563
.200
FT%
.588
.786
RB
34
44
TO
23
17
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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