Saturday, March 23
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
26-5,15-3Big East
87
vs
73
UNLV
30-3,17-1Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
UNLV
16
16
21
20
73
Creighton
23
21
21
22
87
Morgan Maly and Lauren Jensen
Photo by: Justin Kreutzian
Still Dancin'! #24 Women's Basketball Tops #20 UNLV in NCAA Opener
3/23/2024 7:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bluejays win fourth NCAA game in last three seasons
Los Angeles, Calif. -- Emma Ronsiek scored all 23 of her points after halftime to help seventh-seeded and 24th-ranked Creighton to an 87-73 win over 10th-seeded and 20th-ranked UNLV in First Round action of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.
Creighton (26-5) advances to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, where it will meet the winner of tonight's game between UCLA and Cal Baptist. A tip time and television coverage for Monday's contest will be announced later tonight. UNLV ends its second straight 30-win season with a 30-3 record and has now lost six consecutive NCAA Tournament games since a 1991 First Round victory.
After falling behind 12-9 in the opening minutes that featured three ties and four lead changes, the Bluejays closed the first quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes. Jayme Horan and Lauren Jensen each made two three-pointers during the surge.
The Bluejays remained in front throughout the second quarter, extending the lead into double-digits at 33-23 after a Morgan Maly three-pointer with 6;26 left. UNLV used a 7-0 run to draw within four at 36-32 before the Bluejays hit the afterburners on an 8-0 run in under a minute to take a 44-32 lead into the break.
Creighton made 10 three-pointers in the first half and were led in the scoring column by Lauren Jensen (13), Maly (12) and Horan (9). Desi-Rae Young paced UNLV with 12 points and eight rebounds before the break.
The third quarter was the Emma Ronsiek show. After a scoreless first half when she missed all five of her shots, the senior from Sioux Falls, S.D., made seven of her first nine shots. Her 16 points in the quarter helped Creighton stretch the lead to 65-48. UNLV would score the final five points of the quarter to trim the Bluejay lead to 65-53.
Jensen and Ronsiek salted the game away with seven each in the final frame, preventing UNLV from getting within double digits throughout the fourth.
Creighton got a team-high 25 points from Jensen, 23 from Ronsiek and 16 points from Maly.
Young led the Lady Rebels with 30 points while becoming the second player in program history to surpass 2,000 career points.
NOTES: Creighton made a three-pointer for the 514th straight game ... Creighton is 19-0 when now leading at halftime this season ... Creighton is 11-0 when making 10 or more three-pointers this season .. Creighton is 24-1 this season when scoring 60 points or more ... Emma Ronsiek (1,608) moved past Laura Spanheimer (1,588) and Carrie Welle (1,604) for eighth on Creighton's all-time scoring list ... Morgan Maly (1,483) moved past Sarah Nelson (1,472) and Kelsey Woodard (1,480) and into 13th on Creighton's all-time scoring list ... Lauren Jensen (1,474) moved past Shannon Struby (1,459) and Sarah Nelson (1,472) into 15th on Creighton's scoring list ... Creighton is 18-1 this season when rebounds are even or in its favor .... Creighton is 10-0 this when recording 20 or more assists this season and has won its past 17 such games ...Creighton is now 6-1 in its last seven First Round NCAA Tournament games and 9-9 overall in all rounds of NCAA Tournament action ... The Creighton/UNLV series is now tied at 3-3 all-time, and includes Creighton's three-game win streak that started with CU's 2004 WNIT title game win over the Lady Rebels ... Creighton is now 16-50 under Jim Flanery against Top 25 teams, snapping a nine-game losing streak vs. Top 25 foes tonight ... Tonight was Creighton's first win over a team ranked 20th or better since topping No. 10 Iowa State on March 25, 2022 in the Regional Semifinal ... Creighton's 26 wins are its second-most in program history, three behind the program record of 28 in 1991-92 ... Creighton improved to 10-1 this year when Lauren Jensen scores 20+ points and 10-1 when Emma Ronsiek scores 20 or more points ... Creighton made all 10 free throw attempts and is now shooting 82.9 (344-415) at the free throw line this season, continuing to lead the nation in that category and just ahead of Santa Clara's 81.5 percent marksmanship. That mark ranks fourth-best in NCAA history for a season.
Creighton (26-5) advances to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, where it will meet the winner of tonight's game between UCLA and Cal Baptist. A tip time and television coverage for Monday's contest will be announced later tonight. UNLV ends its second straight 30-win season with a 30-3 record and has now lost six consecutive NCAA Tournament games since a 1991 First Round victory.
After falling behind 12-9 in the opening minutes that featured three ties and four lead changes, the Bluejays closed the first quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes. Jayme Horan and Lauren Jensen each made two three-pointers during the surge.
The Bluejays remained in front throughout the second quarter, extending the lead into double-digits at 33-23 after a Morgan Maly three-pointer with 6;26 left. UNLV used a 7-0 run to draw within four at 36-32 before the Bluejays hit the afterburners on an 8-0 run in under a minute to take a 44-32 lead into the break.
Creighton made 10 three-pointers in the first half and were led in the scoring column by Lauren Jensen (13), Maly (12) and Horan (9). Desi-Rae Young paced UNLV with 12 points and eight rebounds before the break.
The third quarter was the Emma Ronsiek show. After a scoreless first half when she missed all five of her shots, the senior from Sioux Falls, S.D., made seven of her first nine shots. Her 16 points in the quarter helped Creighton stretch the lead to 65-48. UNLV would score the final five points of the quarter to trim the Bluejay lead to 65-53.
Jensen and Ronsiek salted the game away with seven each in the final frame, preventing UNLV from getting within double digits throughout the fourth.
Creighton got a team-high 25 points from Jensen, 23 from Ronsiek and 16 points from Maly.
Young led the Lady Rebels with 30 points while becoming the second player in program history to surpass 2,000 career points.
NOTES: Creighton made a three-pointer for the 514th straight game ... Creighton is 19-0 when now leading at halftime this season ... Creighton is 11-0 when making 10 or more three-pointers this season .. Creighton is 24-1 this season when scoring 60 points or more ... Emma Ronsiek (1,608) moved past Laura Spanheimer (1,588) and Carrie Welle (1,604) for eighth on Creighton's all-time scoring list ... Morgan Maly (1,483) moved past Sarah Nelson (1,472) and Kelsey Woodard (1,480) and into 13th on Creighton's all-time scoring list ... Lauren Jensen (1,474) moved past Shannon Struby (1,459) and Sarah Nelson (1,472) into 15th on Creighton's scoring list ... Creighton is 18-1 this season when rebounds are even or in its favor .... Creighton is 10-0 this when recording 20 or more assists this season and has won its past 17 such games ...Creighton is now 6-1 in its last seven First Round NCAA Tournament games and 9-9 overall in all rounds of NCAA Tournament action ... The Creighton/UNLV series is now tied at 3-3 all-time, and includes Creighton's three-game win streak that started with CU's 2004 WNIT title game win over the Lady Rebels ... Creighton is now 16-50 under Jim Flanery against Top 25 teams, snapping a nine-game losing streak vs. Top 25 foes tonight ... Tonight was Creighton's first win over a team ranked 20th or better since topping No. 10 Iowa State on March 25, 2022 in the Regional Semifinal ... Creighton's 26 wins are its second-most in program history, three behind the program record of 28 in 1991-92 ... Creighton improved to 10-1 this year when Lauren Jensen scores 20+ points and 10-1 when Emma Ronsiek scores 20 or more points ... Creighton made all 10 free throw attempts and is now shooting 82.9 (344-415) at the free throw line this season, continuing to lead the nation in that category and just ahead of Santa Clara's 81.5 percent marksmanship. That mark ranks fourth-best in NCAA history for a season.
Team Stats
UNLV
CU
FG%
.508
.484
3FG%
.250
.441
FT%
.444
1.000
RB
29
35
TO
9
11
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
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