OMAHA, Neb. -- Behind a record-setting three-point shooting performance, the Creighton Bluejays ran away with 92-63 victory over the Missouri State Lady Bears Thursday (Jan. 8) evening at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Bluejays used a 21-1 scoring burst over a seven and-a-half minute span midway through the first half to take control of the contest, then buried the Lady Bears by going 9-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half to earn their first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season.
Creighton converted 15 treys on the night, which broke a Missouri State opponent record for three-pointers in a single game. Chevelle Herring scored all of her 13 points in the game’s first 20 minutes to lead the Jays first-half offensive outburst, and Kelsey Woodard carried the load in the second stanza, totaling 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first eight and-a-half minutes of the period.
The Jays torched the nets all night, shooting 58.6 percent for the game and turning in their two best halves of the season. In all, six Bluejays finished in double figures, as Creighton posted the top offensive effort by a Missouri State conference opponent since Illinois State scored 95 in its win over the Lady Bears last January at Hammons Student Center.
Despite the lopsided finish, the game started off positively for the Lady Bears, as both clubs got off to hot starts. The two clubs traded the lead five times in the first five minutes before Creighton got back-to-back three-pointers from Megan Neuvirth and Herring to take a 15-10 lead with just over 14 minutes to play in the period. Missouri State answered with a Jaleshia Roberson basket and a three-point play from Jacque Griggs to pull even with the Jays at the 12:28 mark.
That’s when the Bluejays would go to work, getting a Woodard jumper to start the key run with 11:19 to play in the period. Woodard would knock down two three-pointers over a span of two minutes, and Herring would cap the spurt with her third triple of the half with 5:09 to go to stake CU to a 36-16 advantage. The Jays would get two baskets apiece from Neuvirth and Kellie Nelson before the end of the half to take a 45-26 lead into intermission.
Creighton’s defense did its part as well, limiting the Lady Bears to just two field goals over a 10-minute, 33-second stretch. The Lady Bears would go 11-of-24 (.458) from the field in the opening stanza, but were hampered by 10 turnovers.
CU, which improved to 6-8 on the season, came out firing in the second half as well, converting seven of its first 11 field goal attempts to stretch its advantage to 64-38 with 11:22 left to play. Woodard hit all three of her tries from long range and reeled off eight straight points to key the Jays’ attack. Next, it was Stephanie Rhoten’s turn to dial it up from long distance, as the sophomore guard came off the CU bench to drill four consecutive three-pointers over a three-minute span to push the Bluejay lead to as many as 34.
The Lady Bears (4-10), who fell to 0-3 in conference play for the third time in the last three years, finished the night 23-of-46 (.500) from the field, were led by freshman Casey Garrison’s 15 points. Griggs also turned in a solid effort, totaling 11 points and a game-high seven boards.
Up next, Missouri State will travel to Des Moines this Saturday (Jan. 10) to take on Drake at 2:05 p.m., before returning to JQH Arena to host Indiana State on Jan. 17.
