Photo by: Joel Deman
#21 Women's Basketball Shakes Off Slow Start for 79-69 Win Over Villanova
2/24/2024 3:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Omaha, Neb. -- Down 21-6 late in the first quarter, #21 Creighton showed its experience with a 79-69 win over Villanova in a game on FOX on Saturday, February 24.
The win pushed the Bluejays to 22-4 on the season and 13-3 in BIG EAST action, while the Wildcats dropped to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in conference contests.
After going 0-for-17 from beyond the arc against Creighton in the first meeting, Villanova hit its first four treys to race out to a 12-2 lead (7:55). The Wildcats continued to light the nets up as Villanova pushed its advantage to 21-6 (2:48) and closed the opening frame shooting 71.4% from beyond the arc (5-of-7) and 53.3% from the field (8-of-15).Â
Down 23-8 in the closing moments of the first quarter, senior Molly Mogensen raced coast to coast to beat the the first quarter buzzer. Mogensen's effort gave Creighton a boost of energy as fellow senior Morgan Maly opened the second quarter with an interior bucket on a turnaround jumper and a deep three-ball to bring Creighton within single digits at 23-15.
Moments later Maly repeated the feat, this time connecting from long range first to cut the deficit to 27-22 (6:04). The Bluejays continued to chip away throughout the second quarter, finally seizing the lead at 33-31 on a trailer three-pointer by senior Lauren Jensen with 1:20 remaining. Villanova got the final bucket of the frame to send the teams into halftime knotted at 33-33.
The second half saw Maly deliver a third haymaker of five straight points, getting an interior bucket and a trey to push Creighton out to a 38-33 edge (9:06). The Bluejays did not look back, pushing their advantage to 11 at 54-43 in the closing moments of the third.
The final frame saw Creighton extend the lead to as much as 21 points at 76-55 (3:40) and secure the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament with the win.
Jensen led four Bluejays in double figures with 20 points. Maly was just one bucket back with 18 points, while Emma Ronsiek and Mogensen finished with 15 and 13 points respectively.
Lucy Olsen led all scorers with 26 points for Villanova, while Maddie Webber closed the contest with 10 points.
The Bluejays return to D.J. Sokol Arena for the final time on Tuesday, February 28 to take on Xavier. The contest is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.
The win pushed the Bluejays to 22-4 on the season and 13-3 in BIG EAST action, while the Wildcats dropped to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in conference contests.
After going 0-for-17 from beyond the arc against Creighton in the first meeting, Villanova hit its first four treys to race out to a 12-2 lead (7:55). The Wildcats continued to light the nets up as Villanova pushed its advantage to 21-6 (2:48) and closed the opening frame shooting 71.4% from beyond the arc (5-of-7) and 53.3% from the field (8-of-15).Â
Down 23-8 in the closing moments of the first quarter, senior Molly Mogensen raced coast to coast to beat the the first quarter buzzer. Mogensen's effort gave Creighton a boost of energy as fellow senior Morgan Maly opened the second quarter with an interior bucket on a turnaround jumper and a deep three-ball to bring Creighton within single digits at 23-15.
Moments later Maly repeated the feat, this time connecting from long range first to cut the deficit to 27-22 (6:04). The Bluejays continued to chip away throughout the second quarter, finally seizing the lead at 33-31 on a trailer three-pointer by senior Lauren Jensen with 1:20 remaining. Villanova got the final bucket of the frame to send the teams into halftime knotted at 33-33.
The second half saw Maly deliver a third haymaker of five straight points, getting an interior bucket and a trey to push Creighton out to a 38-33 edge (9:06). The Bluejays did not look back, pushing their advantage to 11 at 54-43 in the closing moments of the third.
The final frame saw Creighton extend the lead to as much as 21 points at 76-55 (3:40) and secure the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament with the win.
Jensen led four Bluejays in double figures with 20 points. Maly was just one bucket back with 18 points, while Emma Ronsiek and Mogensen finished with 15 and 13 points respectively.
Lucy Olsen led all scorers with 26 points for Villanova, while Maddie Webber closed the contest with 10 points.
The Bluejays return to D.J. Sokol Arena for the final time on Tuesday, February 28 to take on Xavier. The contest is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.
Team Stats
VU
CU
FG%
.458
.525
3FG%
.429
.600
FT%
1.000
.750
RB
32
29
TO
13
8
STL
1
7
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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