Jan. 2, 2010
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State suffered its first Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season Saturday, as Creighton used 10 three-point field goals to down the Redbirds 69-44 on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Illinois State (7-5, 1-1 MVC) shot just 35 percent from the field in the game, compared to 42 percent for Creighton (7-4, 2-0 MVC) which included a 10-for-21 effort from three-point range. Creighton's 25-point win over the Illinois State was its largest over the Redbirds since a 77-52 home win Feb. 11, 2001.
Ashleen Bracey led off the game with a jumper, before Creighton's Megan Neuvirth nailed a three-pointer to give the Jays a 3-2 lead. However, that lead did not last long as a jumper from Maggie Krick and a fast-break layup by Amanda Clifton gave the Redbirds a 6-3 lead. Creighton would then put together a 7-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Ally Jensen, to take a 10-6 lead at the first media timeout.
Creighton later took a 12-8 lead at the 13:14 mark, before Alexis Jenkins connected from long distance to cut the lead to one at the 12-11. The Bluejays then went on a 12-2 run, thanks to a trio of Kelsey Woodard three-pointers, to take a 24-13 lead with 8:03 left in the first half of play.
The lead would later grow to 13 points at 28-15 after a layup by Sam Schuett, before the Redbirds cut the lead to 10 points at 28-18 on a layup by Nicolle Lewis. However, Woodard continued her hot shooting and extended the lead back to 31-28 at the 3:07 mark with her fourth trey of the game and Schuett hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes to propel the Bluejays to a 39-22 halftime lead.
The Jays shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including a blistering 8-for-13 from three point range, and out-rebounded the Redbirds 18-15 while forcing nine ISU turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
Creighton came out shooting in the second half, extending its lead to 20 points at 44-24 on a three-pointer by Schuett at the 17:34 mark. The Redbirds chipped away at that lead, thanks to a 7-2 run and pair of layups by Emily Hanley, to cut the Jays' lead to 50-37 with 11:47 remaining in the game.
That would be as close as the Redbirds would get in the half, though, as the Bluejays gradually widened their lead to as many as 26 points at the 1:11 mark after a jumper by Kelsey Crites on way to a 69-44 road victory. Hanley led the Redbirds with 10 points, while Bracey added eight points and eight rebounds against the Jays. Schuett led four Jays in double figures with 15 points and 14 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season.
Illinois State returns to action Monday, Jan. 4, against non-conference foe SIU-Edwardsville. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill.
