Creighton’s Ally Thrall scored seven of her career-high 23 points in overtime to help the Bluejays outlast the Missouri State women’s basketball team, 79-73, Sunday afternoon in Omaha. Thrall scored 18 points after intermission to help CU overcome a 13-point second-half deficit to improve to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
A senior guard, Thrall connected on back-to-back three-pointers just over one minute into the overtime period to give Creighton the upper hand. She scored all but one of the Bluejays’ points in the extra stanza to send the Lady Bears to their 15th consecutive road loss in a game that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes.
Missouri State, which dropped to 2-11 overall and 0-2 in league play, grabbed the early lead in the contest, scoring the game’s first six points and taking an 8-3 lead on a Marisha Brown layup at the 16:11 mark. Creighton shot its way to a brief lead on the strength of Kelsey Woodard’s two three-pointers, but MSU responded with a 10-2 scoring run to take a 20-15 advantage.
CU reeled off seven unanswered points to retake the lead, going on top 22-20 on two Sara Cain free throws with 7:46 left in the half. The Lady Bears scored the next eight points, taking a 28-22 advantage on Melissa Busby’s three-pointer with 6:29 to go. MSU would go on to outscore the Jays 21-12 to close the half, taking their largest lead of the game on a Tiff Terwelp basket to push their lead to 41-32 in the final minute of play before taking a seven-point lead into the break.
The Lady Bears started the second half just as they did the first, scoring the first six points to extend their lead to 47-34, their largest of the ballgame.
The Bluejays used a 17-4 run to climb back into the game, evening the score at 54-54 on Kelsey Crites 18-footer with 9:16 to go.
The two teams traded the lead five times over the game’s final nine minutes. Brown’s three with 2:10 to go gave MSU a 70-68 lead, but CU’s Michelle Kaus answered with a trey of her own at the 1:20 mark to give the Bluejays a one-point edge.
Tahnee Balerio made one of two foul shots with 0:59 left to make it a 71-71 game. Balerio had a chance to win the game in regulation, but her 18-foot jumper was off the mark as time expired.
The loss overshadowed a standout performance by Tiff Terwelp, who scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, just one shy of her career high. Balerio and junior forward Maggie Dwyer each chipped in 14 points, while Brown added 13.
Missouri State will come home for a pair of MVC games next week, beginning with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against Evansville on Thursday. The Lady Bears will then face off against the defending Valley champions, Southern Illinois, on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
