WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: No. 21 Creighton Gets Road Win at Villanova

Courtesy of AlphaMedia USA Lincoln.

VILLANOVA, PA–(CU Athletics Jan. 21)–Senior Morgan Maly and Emma Ronsiek combined for 43 points and 18 rebounds to lead #21 Creighton to a 63-49 win over Villanova on Sunday, January 21.

The win pushed the Bluejays to 14-3 on the season and 5-2 in BIG EAST play, while Villanova dropped to 12-6 overall and 5-2 in conference action.

Maly and the Bluejays set the tone for the game from the jump as the Nebraska native connected on a interior jumper, then a three-pointer in the first 90 seconds. Fellow senior Molly Mogensen followed with driving layup, then Ronsiek drained her first trey to give Creighton a 10-4 edge with 5:55 remaining in the opening frame. The two squads seesawed back and forth throughout the rest of the quarter, sending the contest to the second with Creighton holding a 17-12 advantage.

Clinging to an 18-16 lead early in the second, senior Lauren Jensen delivered consecutive buckets to push Creighton’s lead back to 22-16 (7:17). Leading 26-22 with 3:33 remaining, the Bluejays seized control with a 7-2 burst to take a 33-24 edge into the locker room at halftime. Maly delivered six of those points, draining four free throws and hitting a step back jumper on the final possession.

Throughout the second half Creighton’s advantage did not fall lower than nine and grew to as much 16 in the closing moments of the fourth quarter.

Maly closed the game with 24 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth career double-double, while Ronsiek delivered 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jensen rounded out the Bluejays in double figures with 12 points.

Villanova got a game-high 29 points from Lucy Olsen in the loss.

A key statistic in the contest was three-point shooting as Villanova’s 636 game streak with at least one made trey was snapped as the Wildcats went 0-for-17 from long range. Creighton, meanwhile, extended its streak to 501 games going 6-for-19.

Creighton returns to the court on Wednesday, January 24 at Georgetown at 6:00 p.m. on FloHoops.