WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Maly’s 24 Lifts No. 18 Creighton Past Drake

OMAHA–(CU Athletics Dec. 10)–Junior Morgan Maly (Crete, Neb.) enjoyed the rims at D.J. Sokol Arena as the hybrid post delivered a career-high 24 points to lift the 18th-ranked Creighton Women’s Basketball team to a 75-71 win over Drake on December 10.

The victory pushed the Bluejays to 8-1 on the season, while Drake fell to 5-3 overall.

Trailing 11-5 with 2:43 remaining in the opening quarter, Creighton closed the frame with an 11-3 run in the blink of an eye. Senior Rachael Saunders (Iowa City, Iowa) got things rolling with a corner three. After the Bulldogs answered with an interior bucket, junior Emma Ronsiek (Sioux Falls, S.D.) connected from long range herself. Following a Drake turnover, junior Lauren Jensen (Lakeville, Minn.) delivered a trey of her own to give the Bluejays a 14-13 lead with 1:32 in the quarter. Jensen closed the quarter with a turnaround jumper to put Creighton up 16-14 after ten minutes.

Drake reclaimed the advantage with a three-pointer on the first possession, but Creighton rattled off 13 straight points. Maly took over with a three-ball, a steal and a trey to grab a 22-17 edge (8:02). The Bluejay surge continued with a three-pointer fro Ronsiek, following by a layups by Maly and junior Mallory Brake (Hastings, Minn.) as Creighton soared out to a 29-17 lead with 5:08 left in the second quarter. Creighton maintained its advantage over the final five minutes of the half, taking a 40-28 advantage into the locker room.

Creighton’s lead grew to as much as 17 points (49-32) early in the third (6:45) and the Bluejays carried a 60-43 edge into the fourth.

Drake sliced away at the deficit throughout the fourth, shooting 61.1% in the last ten minutes (11-of-18). The Bulldogs trimmed Creighton’s lead to just two points at 68-66 with 2:27 remaining on a three-pointer from Maggie Bair, but Creighton got two free throws from junior Molly Mogensen (Farmington, Minn.) and a layup by Jensen to push Creighton’s lead to 72-66 (1:34). A late Drake three-pointer made it a one possession game again at 74-71, but Mogensen iced the contest with 1-of-2 from the free thrown line with four seconds left.

Maly’s 24-point performance led four Bluejays in double figures. Ronsiek closed the contest with 19 points, while Jensen had 13 and Saunders delivered 11 points.

Drake got a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds from Maggie Bair, while Grace Berg finished with 13 points.

Creighton returns to the court on Saturday, December 17 at 1:00 p.m. against Arkansas.